Odyssey Hospice, part of Gentiva Health Services, Atlanta, signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, signed a five-year corporate integrity agreement with HHS' inspector general's office and agreed to pay $25 million, all in relation to an investigation of Odyssey's continuous-care services.

As part of the agreements, according to an Odyssey Hospice news release, Odyssey will provide special education for employees and conduct audits of its hospice division over five years. The release did not say whether Odyssey had admitted or denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The investigation related to services provided from Jan. 1, 2006, through Jan. 22, 2009, before Gentiva purchased Odyssey HealthCare for about $1 billion in August 2010 .

"Gentiva cooperated fully with this investigation, which covered a period prior to our acquisition of Odyssey, and the settlement is consistent with our efforts to instill Gentiva's culture of compliance throughout the company," said John Camperlengo, Gentiva's general counsel and chief compliance officer, in the release.

A Gentiva spokesman declined further comment.