Announced Tuesday, the firm is acquiring the McKinney, Texas-based Angels of Care from Varsity Healthcare Partners.

“I am extremely grateful to the entire VHP team for their extensive capital, operational and strategic support, which was instrumental in enhancing the growth and success of AOC during our partnership,” Angels of Care CEO Jessica Riggs said in a statement.

Angels of Care providers private-duty nursing, skilled nursing, respite care and a range of therapy services in the home to medically complex children and young adults. The company employs more than 2,000 private-duty nurses, skilled nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists, attendants and specialists.

Its footprint currently spans Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Arizona and Pennsylvania. That reach grew from two states to seven states under Varsity Healthcare Partners’ watch, which began in 2019.

In comes Nautic Partners, which already has home health assets in its portfolio. It is one of the backers of the April Anthony-led VitalCaring, along with The Vistria Group.

Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Nautic Partners is a middle-market private equity firm with three major industry focuses, one of which is health care.

The company has historically invested in community-based health care providers, including those in behavioral health, primary care and post-acute management. It also backs Integrated Home Care Services (IHCS).

Private equity dealmaking has been slow in home-based care over the last couple of years, after a surge in 2020 and 2021. But most experts are expecting it to tick up in 2024, particularly if interest rates come down.

Terms of the Angels of Care deal were not disclosed. Angels of Care and Nautic Partners could not be reached for comment prior to the publishing of this story.

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As a response to the growing demand for integrated delivery models in the post-acute care sector, private equity firms Blue Wolf Capital Partners and Peloton Equity have partnered to launch rehabilitative health care provider ClearSky Health.

Austin, Texas-based ClearSky Health plans to develop and acquire in-patient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), as well as post-acute services companies.

For now, ClearSky Health will be entirely devoted to the IRF space, a spokesperson told Home Health Care News, though Blue Wolf has extensive experience in home health, home care and hospice as well.

“The post-acute care sector in the U.S. is evolving towards integrated delivery models and value-based care, and we believe IRFs are well-positioned to play an important role in this transformation,” Ted Lundberg, co-founding partner at Peloton Equity said in a press release announcing the news.

New York-based Blue Wolf made major moves last year when the private equity firm backed a three-way merger that created one of the largest home health providers in the U.S. The combined company — which operates under the name Elara Caring — provides care for more than 65,000 patients across 16 states.

“Blue Wolf’s commitment to ClearSky Health reflects our strategy of continuing to invest in the post-acute care industry,” Jeremy Kogler, a partner at Blue Wolf Capital, said in the release. “We are actively seeking opportunities to develop and acquire additional assets in this highly fragmented and growing market.”

Adam Blumenthal, founder and managing partner at Blue Wolf, recently participated on an M&A panel at HHCN’s Capital + Strategy Forum in Washington, D.C.

During the panel, Blumenthal provided an update on Elara Caring, noting that the bulk of Blue Wolf’s efforts were currently focused on completing integration and teaming up with states policymakers on efforts related to opioid addiction.

Darby Brockette — who most recently served as the chief executive officer of Ernest Health — will serve as the CEO of ClearSky Health.

Perry Memorial Hospital purchases In-Home Care VNA

In order to expand into the at-home health arena, Perry Memorial Hospital, a Princeton, Illinois-based health care organization, will take over ownership of In-Home Care VNA.

Also based in Princeton, In-Home Care VNA provides home health services including skilled nursing and rehabilitation.

Under terms of the acquisition, In-Home Care VNA will rebrand as Perry Home Care beginning in June. Perry Home Care will serve residents in Bureau, Putnam, Marshall, LaSalle, Lee and Stark counties in Illinois.

“Perry Home Care providing home health aligns with the Perry Mission to provide compassionate, quality health services to the people and communities we serve,” Annette Schnabel, president and CEO of Perry Memorial Hospital, told the Bureau County Republican.

Workforce challenges and financial struggles have increasingly prompted several hospitals to turn to outside home health agencies to either replace, reinforce or manage their internal operations.

From 2016 to 2018, 177 hospitals or health systems acquired home health agencies, according to proprietary data from The Braff Group.

CIT leads $425 million senior credit facility

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) and its Healthcare Finance business have led a $425 million senior credit facility on behalf of AdaptHealth LLC. The financing is the latest in a series of CIT-led moves aimed at supporting AdaptHealth’s growth.

AdaptHealth — which has over 1,000 employees — is an Oaks, Pennsylvania-based home medical and respiratory equipment provider with 160 locations in 36 states. More than 1 million patients annually use in-home equipment provided by the company.

New York-based CIT is a financial holding company that provides services to commercial and individual customers. The AdaptHealth credit facility will be used to refinance existing debt and provide access to growth capital.

The new financing will also be used to support the entry of BlueMountain Capital Management LLC, a diversified alternative asset manager, as a minority investor in AdaptHealth.

“We greatly appreciate the expertise and agility that CIT has demonstrated in supporting our financing and banking needs as we have continued to expand our customer base and geographic footprint,” AdaptHealth CEO Luke McGee said in a press release announcing the news.

Varsity Healthcare Partners completes Angels of Care partnership

Varsity Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm focused on health care services, has completed its growth equity investment in Sherman, Texas-based Angels of Care. Investment terms were not disclosed.

Angels of Care provides long-term home health services to pediatric patients and has over 3,000 clinicians across 18 locations.

Under terms of the partnership, Varsity will provide the capital to fuel Angels of Care’s continued growth.

Jessica Riggs will remain in her role as CEO, along with the current management team, which will maintain all respective roles.

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Cornerstone Healthcare Group Holding, Inc. named Steve Jakubcanin as president and CEO.

Cornerstone Healthcare is a health care company based in Dallas that is comprised of three business segments: long-term acute care, behavioral health and senior living. It is owned by funds managed by Highland Capital Management, L.P.

Jakubcanin has more than 15 years of health care leadership experience, specializing in long-term acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, home health care, personal care services, hospice and medical home care.

Jakubcanin will report to James Dondero, co-founder and president of Highland and chairman of the Cornerstone board of directors. He joins Cornerstone from Accentcare, where he served as chief operations officer. Prior to that, he served as the senior vice president of Kindred Healthcare’s central region.

ConnectDoc Names New Vice President of Strategic Partnerships

ConnectDoc, a provider of in-home medical alert monitoring, appointed Matthew Forman as vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships.

In this role, Forman will be responsible for creating and managing health system partnerships providing acute care transfer and population management solutions.

Forman most recently served as a regional director at St. Joseph’s Health, where he managed the referral service line to create and maintain referral channels for the Northern California region. He has also served as a physician liaison for Sutter Health and as a business development manager for Maxim Healthcare Services.

Varsity Healthcare Partners Adds Operating Partner

Varsity Healthcare Partners (VHP), a healthcare-focused private equity firm, named Steven Boyd as an operating partner. Boyd is the former CEO of Evolution Health and Ascension Health at Home, subsidiaries of Envision Healthcare Holdings (NYSE: EVHC).

Boyd will assist Varsity with investments from its recently closed $300 million second fund. Prior to his time with Envision, Boyd was the CEO of Guardian Healthcare before it was sold to Envision.

Varsity also announced the hiring of Michael Fisher, Aaron Habra and Ayush Singhania as principals of the firm.

Fisher has spent the majority of his career analyzing, advising and investing in healthcare services companies. Prior to joining Varsity, Fisher was a vice president with Enhanced Equity Funds.

Before coming to Varsity, Habriga was an associate at A&M Capital Opportunities. Ahead of that, he was an associate at Silver Oak Services Partners.

Singhania was a principal at Aurora Capital Group before joining Varsity. He also served as an associate at Fortress investment Group.

Principium Health Appoints Chief Medical Officer

Principium Health, a provider of home-based primary care services for health plans and health systems, appointed Steven R. Counsell, M.D. as chief medical officer.

Counsel brings more than 25 years of experience in geriatric medicine to his new role. Prior to joining Principium Health, he served as the Mary Elizabeth Mitchell professor and chair in geriatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and as founding director of the IU Geriatrics program.

He was a 2009-2010 health and aging policy fellow and is chairman of the board of directors and past president of the American Geriatrics Society.

Counsell pioneered the GRACE (Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders) Team Care model, which was initially funded as a National Institutes of Health trial and was later commercialized and implemented across multiple provider organizations.

Written by Amy Baxter

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