The Ensign Group Acquires Arizona Hospice Agency


SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif., Aug. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign™ group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, home health care, hospice care, medical transportation, and assisted living companies, announced today that a subsidiary of Cornerstone Healthcare, Inc., Ensign’s home health and hospice portfolio subsidiary, had acquired the assets of Agape Hospice and Palliative Care, which provides hospice services out of a home office in Tucson, Arizona. The acquisition was effective August 1, 2019, and will become part of The Pennant Group, Inc., on upon the completion of the previously-announced spin-off.

“This acquisition deepens our presence in Arizona where we have a strong cluster of high performing operations,” said Barry Port, Ensign’s Chief Executive Officer. "Agape Hospice’s quality clinical product and excellent financial outcomes make it a perfect partner for our facilities and operations in the area."

“The team at Agape Hospice has built a stellar reputation in the Tucson community for delivering exceptional end-of-life care for its patients, and for its impassioned approach to bereavement support its patients’ families,” stated Danny Walker, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Pennant Group, Inc. “We are very pleased to partner with the Burns family in transitioning Agape Hospice and Palliative Care into the Cornerstone portfolio and will seek to build upon their enduring legacy.”

​“We founded Agape Hospice six years ago with the goal of working together with our children to improve the quality of care in our community for our seniors and others at the end of their lives,” said Tammy Burns, Co-Founder of Agape Hospice and Palliative Care, LLC. “The nature of healthcare and hospice is changing rapidly, and we believe Cornerstone Healthcare is in a great position to continue the caring tradition of Agape Hospice.  We have been blessed to be a part of the development of Agape Hospice as it has become one of Tucson’s best hospice providers.”  

Agape Hospice and Palliative Care will continue to operate under its current name, retaining the staff and management, and continuing to provide quality care and commitment to its patients and patients’ families.

In separate transactions on the same day, Ensign announced that its affiliates acquired the operations of Mainplace Senior Living, a 91-unit assisted living community in Orange, California, as well as the real estate and operations of The Terrace at Mt. Ogden, a 114-bed skilled nursing facility in Ogden, Utah. Both acquisitions were also effective August 1, 2019. 

Mr. Walker reaffirmed that Cornerstone is actively seeking additional opportunities to acquire both well-performing and struggling home health, hospice, and home care operations across the United States.

About EnsignTM:  

The Ensign Group, Inc.'s independent operating subsidiaries provide a broad spectrum of skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health and hospice services and other rehabilitative and healthcare services at 257 healthcare facilities, twenty-eight hospice agencies, twenty-six home health agencies and nine home care businesses in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. More information about Ensign is available at http://www.ensigngroup.net.


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