(Source: Business Wire)
LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LHCG), one of the largest providers of home nursing services in the United States and operators of seven long-term acute care hospitals (LTACH) throughout Louisiana, and New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System announced today that they have entered into a LTACH joint venture. The LTACH venture is in addition to the February 1, 2009, home health venture between LHC Group and Ochsner designed to better serve residents in southeast Louisiana.
This joint venture includes an LHC Group purchase of 75% and an Ochsner purchase of 25% of a LTACH located in Kenner, Louisiana. Net revenue for the LTACH during the most recent 12 months was approximately $5.6 million. This joint venture is not expected to add materially to LHC Group's earnings in 2009.
"Caring for our communities is Ochsner's first concern. By expanding our joint venture with LHC Group, we are able to broaden services for patients who are most in need and require long-term acute care. Ochsner is also a seven-hospital system; therefore, we recognize the local need for an LTACH, and the strong leadership that LHC Group will provide is an assurance to us and the community that this will be an outstanding facility for our patients and their families," said Warner Thomas, President and Chief Operating Officer of Ochsner Health System.
Keith G. Myers, Chief Executive Officer of LHC Group, added, "Ochsner Health System has a reputation for excellence, and we are proud to expand our partnership. Together, through our home health joint venture and our LTACH joint venture, LHC Group and Ochsner have developed a healthcare partnership that will serve as the standard of excellence in the greater New Orleans area and throughout southeast Louisiana. We welcome the new employees who will become part of the LHC Group family through this acquisition. LHC Group and Ochsner share a common goal of providing high quality patient care in an environment that is exciting and rewarding for our employees and caregivers."
About LHC Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, LHC Group (www.lhcgroup.com) operates 210 home nursing locations, 20 hospice locations and seven LTACHs in 17 states. Through the Company's 48 partnerships with non-profit hospitals, LHC Group has developed a proven track record of working with hospital partners to provide the highest quality of patient care in the communities that it serves while continually receiving the highest marks in employee satisfaction. LHC Group has more than 5,800 employees throughout the United States.
