LHC Group and Orlando Health announce joint venture agreement

Partnership to include home health and home and community based services in four Florida cities

LAFAYETTE, La., June 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) and Orlando Health have announced signing a definitive agreement to form a new joint venture to enhance home health and home and community based services (HCBS) in the state of Florida. The joint venture will include six total locations – three current Orlando Health providers and three current LHC Group providers in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, and Altamonte Springs.

It is anticipated that the joint venture agreement will be finalized on August 1, subject to customary closing conditions, at which time LHC Group will purchase majority ownership and assume management responsibility. LHC Group expects incremental annualized revenue from this joint venture of approximately $3.5 million and that it will not materially affect its 2020 diluted earnings per share.

“We look forward to expanding the availability of in-home healthcare services in the state of Florida, particularly in cooperation with an outstanding partner like Orlando Health,” said Keith G. Myers, LHC Group’s chairman and CEO. “Throughout the state, Orlando Health has earned a reputation for quality through hard work, dedication to patients, and a commitment to the health of the communities they serve. Working together, we will bring that same level of service to even more people.”

“We are pleased that Orlando Health will partner with LHC Group, a leader in providing home health and home and community based services,” said Greg Ohe, SVP ambulatory services, Orlando Health. “LHC Group has been recognized for more than 20 years for its commitment to delivering person-centered care. This agreement will create for the community the most convenient, responsive, high-quality, and full continuum of care currently available."

Orlando Health is a not-for-profit healthcare network based in Orlando. The system spans nine Florida counties with nearly 450 locations that include 13 wholly-owned or affiliated hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer centers, heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, more than 300 physician offices for adults and pediatrics, and 11 urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care.