Transactions: HCS-Girling’s Deal With Pinnacle Home Care; BrightSpring Health To Acquire Haven

HCS-Girling Backs Pinnacle Home Care

HCS-Girling and Pinnacle Home Care announced earlier this month that the two companies have a definitive agreement to enter into a strategic partnership. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The New York-based HCS-Girling provides home health and home care services, and Pinnacle Home Care is one of the largest home health providers in the state of Florida.

“Pinnacle is an important provider in the Florida market, having established a reputation for excellent clinical quality and a very strong corporate culture,” Jeffrey and Agnes Shemia, the co-CEOs of HCS-Girling, said in a statement. “HCS-Girling and Pinnacle both share a unique founding story as clinician-founder-led platforms. We are extremely excited about this partnership and the ability to service patients across geographies, working hand in hand with Shane and the Pinnacle leadership team to provide best-in-class care.”

Together, the two companies will “link the care continuum across two growing markets,” according to the release.

“Pinnacle and Girling are a perfect match with meaningful cultural overlap,” Pinnacle Home Care Founder and CEO Shane Donaldson said in a statement. “Both businesses are founder- (and clinician-) owned and operated and privately held. Both organizations recently celebrated 20 years of service in their respective communities, an important marker in how far both have come in their journeys as health care providers. Pinnacle looks forward to serving our patients, staff and referral partners for the next 20 years.”

HCS-Girling also recently acquired the personal care operations of Addus HomeCare Corp. (Nasdaq: ADUS) in New York.

Pinnacle’s chief sales officer said that the partnership with HCS-Girling will bring the company “considerable balance sheet strength.” The leadership teams will remain the same at each organization.

“We are so proud of our Pinnacle Family and all that we have achieved over the past several years,” Pinnacle President Michael Froning added. “Growth across the Florida home health market has not come without challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as PDGM and RCD. As Pinnacle developed our longer-term strategies, we knew that future growth would require larger capital support, but we actively chose not to follow the path of our competitors to be acquired by a payvider or private equity, or the publicly traded home health providers.”

BrightSpring Health Services acquires Haven Hospice

On Monday, BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Haven Hospice, a Florida-based operator that provides services in North Central Florida.

The deal was worth $60 million, according to BrightSpring, and expands its service capabilities in a Certificate of Need (CON) state.

The company has closed multiple home-based care deals in 2024 already.

“We are excited to welcome Haven Hospice into BrightSpring, bolstering our existing hospice care line of business and expanding our hospice services into the CON state of Florida,” BrightSpring President and CEO Jon Rousseau said in a statement. “The delivery of compassionate hospice care is critical for patients and their families, and we’re committed to delivering that to high-need Floridians. It is extremely difficult to enter the Florida hospice market, and with this recent expansion of services, we can now provide high-quality care to more patients and their families during the most difficult time in their lives.”

In addition to hospice care, the Haven acquisition will also allow BrightSpring to provide advance care planning and palliative care. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

Compassus and OhioHealth enter home health, hospice partnership

The home-based care provider Compassus has formed a partnership with the health system OhioHealth. Specifically, the former will manage the latter’s home health and hospice service lines.

“We’re proud to collaborate with OhioHealth to deliver high-quality, patient-centered home health and hospice care to ensure patients and families have the support they need wherever they call home,” Compassus CEO Mike Asselta said in a statement. “As our teams come together, we’ll continue to focus on patients, partnership and innovation to deliver superior care.”

The Brentwood, Tennessee-based Compassus provides home health care, home infusion, palliative care and hospice care services. Its 7,000 employees provide care across 30 states.

The company also entered into a similar agreement with Bon Secours Mercy Health earlier this year.

As a part of the agreement, Compassus will “manage operations as both organizations work to ensure smooth continuity of care for patients and families.”

The OhioHealth network includes 15 hospitals, more than 200 ambulatory sites and home-based care services that serve patients in 50 counties in Ohio.

Northrim Horizon acquires Noble Hospice and Palliative Care

The private equity firm Northrim Horizon has acquired Noble Hospice and Palliative Care. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal took place through Northrim’s portfolio company ITC, which is a personal care provider, according to Hospice News.

“As long-term business builders, we try to view the world in decades as opposed to three-to-five years, which allows us the luxury to block-out short-term noise in markets,” Jack Lawson, Northrim operating partner and Noble’s new CEO, told Hospice News. “We believe hospice is an enduring segment within the broader home care industry and provides essential services to patients in a cost-effective and preferred setting. We are big believers that the best long-term care meets patients where they are.”

The Arizona-based Noble’s network includes a patient census of about 200.

“Noble has a strong track-record of growth, an experienced clinical and operations team and an enduring, patient-focused model of care that makes for a fantastic entry-point in the industry,” Lawson said. “We believe Noble Hospice has a business model and standard of care that will stand the test of time.”

HHAeXchange acquires Cashé

The New York-based home care technology platform HHAeXchange has acquired Cashé Software, a Minnesota-based home care operations and billing company.

“Today marks an exciting milestone as we join forces with Cashé. In addition to its robust product set, the company shares HHAeXchange’s passion for homecare, technology and innovative software,” HHAeXchange CEO Paul Joiner said in a statement. “Home care agencies need purpose-built technology to support them in delivering quality care. We are thrilled to partner with the Cashé team to collaborate on our vision of delivering the most comprehensive solution that drives operational efficiency, increases compliance, and improves health outcomes.”

Cashé already works with more than 400 home care agencies in Minnesota, according to the press release.

“For 20 years, Cashé has been focused on ensuring our customers can rely on our software to help them deliver the best care in the home,” former Cashé President Praba Manivasager, who will join HHAeXchange’s leadership team, said in a statement. “This commitment is strengthened by our partnership with HHAeXchange, and we look forward to working together as a team to accelerate our vision of building the software platform that sets the standard for efficient workflows and insightful data.”