Gentiva Health Services

Gentiva Health Services is a provider of home health care, hospice, and related health services in the United States. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to its October 2014 acquisition by Kindred Healthcare, it was a Fortune 1000 company with over $1.7 billion in annual revenue and a member of the S&P 600 index.

The company offers a range of services, including nursing, physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy, cardiac and pulmonary care, disease, pain management, and other health and medical services.

Gentiva provides health services to over half a million patients annually through over 420 U.S. locations in 40 states. Its subsidiary companies include Donelson, Emerald Coast, Gilbert's, Healthfield Group, Hospice of Charleston, Lazarus House, Tar Heel, Total Care, and Wiregrass.

History
Gentiva Health Services was founded on August 6, 1999, when Olsten Corporation split off its healthcare assets to form an independent, public company. Olsten Corporation was founded in 1946 by William Olsten. The company grew through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In 1971, it began focusing on its health care division under the name Olsten Healthcare. In the 1990s, its health care division began acquiring other companies. The division acquired Upjohn's health services division. Following its acquisition of Lifetime Corporation, which included Office Angels, Gentiva became the largest provider of home healthcare services in the nation, operating as Olsten Kimberly QualityCare. In 1995, Olsten Kimberly QualityCare launched CareCentrix. A year later, after acquiring Quantum Health Resources, Gentiva began offering home-based pharmaceutical infusion services. That same year, it acquired NeuroCare Rehab Without Walls, and became the sole national provider of neurorehabilitation for Cigna. It also acquired Nurses House Call. In 1997, it changed its name to Olsten Health Services.

In 1999, Olsten Corporation split its healthcare division into an independent, publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange, named Gentiva Health Services. In its first three years of independent operation, Gentiva launched its Gentiva Orthopedics, Gentiva Cardiopulmonary, and Safe Strides programs, and it sold its pharmaceutical services division to Accredo for $415 million in cash and stock and its health care staffing unit to InteliStaf Holdings Inc. and The Carlyle Group. In 2008, it launched its neurorehabilitation and senior health programs.

In 2009, Gentiva moved its headquarters from Melville, New York, to Atlanta. By 2010, the company acquired First HomeCare of Houston, Heritage Home Care Services, The Healthfield Group, Gilbert's Home Health and Hospice, Physicians Home Health Care, and Hospice of Charleston. In that same year, it acquired Mid-State Home Health, Magna Home Health, and Medicare-Certified offices of Coordinated Home HealthCare. In 2011, the company sold its majority stake in CareCentrix to Water Street Healthcare Partners. In 2011, the company closed or divested 34 home health branches and nine hospice branches and sold its IDOA business to Premier Home Health Care Services, which was acquired Odyssey Healthcare and sold its Rehab Without Walls business to Southern Home Care Services.

The company's $1 billion purchase of Odyssey Healthcare was the largest hospice acquisition in U.S. history. In 2012, it acquired Advocate Hospice, Family Home Care Corporation and North Mississippi Hospice. In October 2013, the company acquired Harden Healthcare Holdings and Hope Hospice.

On October 9, 2014, Kindred Healthcare and Gentiva announced that the companies had entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Kindred would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Gentiva common stock. The agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The transaction was valued at $1.8 billion, including the assumption of net debt. The deal was officially signed into agreement effective January 31, 2015, with Gentiva becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Kindred.

In November 2023, Gentiva completed the acquisition of ProMedica’s home health, palliative, and hospice business after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. The deal included the transition of over 4,000 ProMedica employees to Gentiva and plans were made for transition between the companies. ProMedica's hospice and home health locations will be rebranded to Heartland Hospice and Heartland Home Health respectively by early 2024, while its palliative care services will adopt the Empatia Palliative Care brand under Gentiva. Gentiva's president and CEO, David Causby, highlighted the acquisition as a milestone that would expand care access and services to more patients and welcomed the ProMedica caregivers into the team.

Home health
The home health division consists of direct home nursing and therapy services operations, including specialty programs and its consulting business. As of December 31, 2011, the home health segment conducted its business through more than 270 locations in 39 states. The division is separated into five geographical regions, which are further separated into geographical operating areas. Each operating area includes branch locations, through which home healthcare agencies operate.

The division offers a number of individualized home programs that are used to care for patients, by providing therapy and rehabilitation, as well as support to allow a patient to stay in their home. These programs include Gentiva Orthopedics, Gentiva Safe Strides, Gentiva Cardiopulmonary, Gentiva Neurorehabilitation, and Gentiva Senior Health. The division provides consulting services to home health agencies, which include operational support, billing and collection activities, and on-site agency support and consulting.

Hospice
The hospice division serves terminally ill patients and their families through more than 150 locations operating in 29 states. The division is separated into five geographic regions, which in turn are further separated into geographic operating areas, each of which includes branch locations. Depending on a patient's needs, each hospice patient is assigned an interdisciplinary team consisting of a physician, nurse(s), home health aide(s), medical social worker(s), chaplain, dietary counselor, bereavement coordinator, and other care professionals. Hospice services are provided primarily in the patient's home or other residence, such as an assisted living residence or nursing home, or in a hospital.

The hospice division also offers individualized programs that include a dementia specialty program, a cancer specialty program, a cardiac specialty program, and a pulmonary specialty program.