Kindred Healthcare CEO Benjamin Breier will step down after the company is acquired by LifePoint Health, the for-profit post-acute care provider announced Monday.
LifePoint Health, a Brentwood, Tennessee-based system that operates 87 hospitals, signed a definitive agreement in June to acquire Louisville, Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare, which has 62 long-term care hospitals, 25 inpatient rehabilitation facilities, more than 100 acute rehabilitation facilities and two behavioral health centers. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approvals.
"It has been an honor to lead Kindred and the company's dedicated team members," Breier said in a news release. "Together, we have built Kindred into the nation's leading specialty hospital company, with a reputation for delivering compassionate, quality care that improves patient outcomes."
Breier joined Kindred Healthcare in 2005 as president of its rehabilitation division and rose to president of its hospital segment in 2008, chief operating officer in 2010 and chief executive in 2015.
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During Brier's years in the top leadership role, he oversaw significant changes to the business, including gathering a group of buyers to take the company private three years ago, exiting the nursing home market in 2017 and expanding its rehabilitation services footprint. In addition, the health insurer Humana and two private equity companies divided and bought Kindred's long-term care and home healthcare operations in 2018.
Lisa Gillespie contributed to this story.