Merger, handshake

Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) may be the first of many nonprofit home healthcare and hospice companies Amedisys acquires.

Just hours after the Baton Rouge, LA-based home care and hospice provider announced it would buy the 125-year-old VNA, Amedisys CEO Paul Kusserow said during a Bank of America healthcare conference the company is open to buying more small nonprofits that might continue to struggle from the financial fallout of the pandemic.

Paul Kusserow, Amedisys

“When all of the subsidies of the CARES Act go away we want to be able to articulate that we can take really good care of people just like a not-for-profit or a VNA could,” Kusserow said. “We are very excited about this and we want to show good results.”

VNA provides hospice and home healthcare services in Omaha, NE, and Council Bluffs, IA. The nonprofit said it inked the deal with Amedisys because changes in the healthcare industry required it to find outside investors to ensure the financial viability of its programs.

VNA President and CEO James Summerfelt also said the sale will allow it to focus on programs benefiting the poor and low-income, including homeless shelters, parenting support and mother and child services.

Headshot of James Summerfelt
James Summerfelt, VNA

“This was our original mission, and there is still tremendous need in our community. We want to ensure that the needs of individuals and families can be met with expertise and compassion well into the future,” Summerfelt said.

Amedisys has not been shy about wanting to grow larger through mergers and acquisitions. Kusserow said earlier this year the industry is ripe for consolidation, especially if smaller agencies struggle to pay back loans advanced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Amedisys is one of the nation’s largest home care, home health and hospice providers, operating in 39 states and the District of Columbia.

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