Christus Health is the latest hospital chain to put its home health business into a joint venture with a national home health operator.
Catholic-sponsored Christus has agreed to contribute 21 home health, hospice and long-term hospitals to a joint venture with LHC Group that the Lafayette, La., company will run, the companies said Tuesday.
Health systems are offloading non-core home health businesses that typically are lower-margin than their hospitals and outpatient operations.
"We are committed to providing our patients and their families the best quality and compassionate care beyond the doors of our hospitals and clinics and into post-acute settings, including the patient's home and hospice," said Paul Generales, Christus Continuing Care's CEO. "In partnering with LHC Group, we're acting on this commitment and gaining additional expertise and resources."
Under the deal, LHC will consolidate or book about $80 million in annualized revenue from the home health operations, the companies said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal is expected to be completed this quarter. Irving, Texas-based Christus operates more than 60 hospitals and long-term care facilities in 60 cities in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia and Chile.
Earlier this year, 72-hospital LifePoint Health of Brentwood, Tenn., finalized a deal with LHC that put LifePoint's 20 home health and 10 hospice locations in a similar joint venture with LHC.
In June, 48-hospital Baylor, Scott & White of Dallas put its home health and hospice operations into a joint venture with Dallas-based AccentCare.
Christus' two-hospital system in Lake Charles, La., has agreed to form a joint venture with Imperial Calcasieu Surgical Center, an ambulatory surgery center also in Lake Charles, near the Texas border.
