Uplift Hospice has acquired Stoneridge Hospice in Arizona for an undisclosed amount.

Uplift’s footprint stretches across the southwest and into the mountain states with locations in Texas, Arizona and Nevada. The Stoneridge transaction adds density to its Arizona operations and brings the company’s average daily census up to 500 patients.

The owners of Stoneridge were looking to exit the business and were more concerned about cultural alignment than the financial terms, according to Uplift CEO Owen Lawrie.

“This was through a very organic relationship in the community. [Stoneridge owners] were looking for a place that they could have a soft landing for their patients and employees,” Lawrie told Hospice News. “It’s probably not a deal we would typically do, but just because it was near and dear to our hearts in our local community, we thought we could do a great service to the owners, the patients and the employees. Keep employees on who wanted to stay, keep all the patients and continue the legacy of the owners, just who had done a fantastic job, historically.”

Uplift’s Arizona operations are its largest with an ADC of 300, with another hundred in Las Vegas and another 100 in Houston.

As of 2022, Arizona had the 12th highest concentration of seniors age 65 and older among the U.S. states, the U.S. Census Bureau indicated. That year, 18.8% of the state’s 7.58 million population had reached the age 65 threshold. That number is expected to exceed 20% by 2030.

Hospice utilization in Arizona exceeds national averages at more than 54%, according to the National Alliance for Care at Home.

Stoneridge marks Uplift Hospice’s second transaction this year. In March, it acquired Star of Texas Hospice. Financial terms were confidential.

“[Stoneridge] was clearly a group of folks who really cared about their people. They were in it for the right reasons. They were not focused on money. They were focused on patient care and doing the right thing,” Lawrie said. “So, for us, it was just such a nice fit culturally. Geographically, it was great as well, right in our headquarters area and our largest census base, but really, first and foremost, it came down to the people and the culture.”