Compassus has announced a home health and hospice joint venture with Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH), a Ohio-based health system.
Through the new JV, Compassus will manage operations for 10 home health agencies and 11 hospice operations across five states.
The news of the joint venture comes on the heels of Compassus’ partnership expansion with Ascension, and its Ascension Saint Thomas at Home arm.
It’s been a point of emphasis for Compassus to partner with companies that have aligning visions and missions. Compassus CEO David Grams told Home Health Care News his company was able to ground itself in that commitment with BSMH.
“Our society is aging and people want to be receiving care in their home,” Grams said. “Which was amplified and ratified by the pandemic. There’s a recognition on the part of health care providers that we need to increase access, advance clinical outcomes and be good stewards of resources. I think these partnerships are grounded in those objectives.”
The Brentwood, Tennessee-based Compassus provides home health, hospice, palliative and home infusion services to more than 100,000 patients annually across more than 250 locations in 29 states.
BSMH is the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the United States, according to a joint press release from the two organizations. The health system’s 60,000 employees offer services through more than 1,200 care sites in seven states.
“As the dynamic health care environment continues to evolve, we want to make sure we keep our patients at the center of everything we do,” BSMH COO Don Kline said in a statement. “Finding the right partner for this important, specialized work has been essential to ensuring continuity of care well into the future. We are confident that we have identified a mission- and vision-aligned partner in Compassus that will help to fulfill our important commitment to caring for patients at every stage of life.”
Compassus and BSMH will each hold a 50% stake in the JV. Under the agreement, BSMH will maintain ownership of its existing hospice assets in specific locations, while Compassus will manage the operations.
An undisclosed number of the health system’s employees will transfer to work at Compassus, Grams said.
Partnerships like these, he said, should help the caregiver capacity issue that continues to be a headwind in home-based care.
“The demand side of home-based care is not going to have any problems,” Grams said. “We have a conversion in the space and that’s because there’s not enough caregiver capacity. In increasing that caregiver capacity, you create an opportunity for the health system to do well.”
Compassus is also in talks with other health systems about future potential joint ventures, Grams noted.
“We’re in discussions with other organizations and we’re excited about the ongoing opportunity to partner with additional health systems to advance their success in a value-based care world,” he said.
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