LHC Group Announces Home Health Joint Venture With CHRISTUS Continuing Care

LAFAYETTE, La., March 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LHC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:LHCG), a national provider of home health and hospice, announced today that it has entered into a home health joint venture with CHRISTUS Continuing Care, which is part of CHRISTUS Health, to provide home health services in Texarkana, Texas, and the surrounding communities.

The primary service area of this joint venture spans nine counties in Texas with an estimated population of approximately 302,000, of which almost 15% are over the age of 65. The joint venture is a merger between the LHC Group Texarkana, Texas, home health agency and the CHRISTUS HomeCare – St. Michael / CHRISTUS Continuing Care agency.

CHRISTUS Continuing Care operates or manages home care, hospice agencies and long term acute care hospitals throughout Texas, Louisiana, Utah, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and Georgia.  Its passionate associates ensure that CHRISTUS Health's hospitals and clinics are able to provide a full continuum of care to all those who need it, bridging the gap between hospital services and care at home.  They work tirelessly to bring the compassionate, high quality care associated with the CHRISTUS Health brand outside the walls of a traditional hospital.  The 2,700 associates and medical staff who comprise CHRISTUS Continuing Care make CHRISTUS Health one of the largest providers of faith-based, not-for-profit care in the U.S.

Chris Karam, Chief Executive Officer of CHRISTUS Continuing Care, said, "In searching for a home health partner, we were looking for an organization that shares our vision of placing patient care and employee satisfaction at the forefront of every decision. With their achievement of having all of their agencies Joint Commission accredited, as well as their outstanding employee satisfaction results, we know that LHC Group shares our common vision. We believe this new partnership will expand the quality and scope of services to the patients and communities we serve and are excited to partner with an organization such as LHC Group that has a successful track record in working with hospital partners."