LAFAYETTE, La., November 10, 2020)—LHC Group, Inc. announced that it has agreed to purchase East Valley Hospice and East Valley Palliative Care in Mesa, Arizona. The agreement is expected to close on Jan. 1, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

LHC Group expects annualized revenue from this purchase of approximately $4.8 million and that it will not materially affect its 2020 diluted earnings per share. Both providers will continue to operate under the East Valley Hospice and East Valley Palliative Care names, respectively.

"We look forward to welcoming the teams at East Valley to our LHC Group family of providers," said Keith Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO. "We share a mission and vision to provide high-quality, in-home service to those who place their trust in us. Together, we will be able to bring hospice and palliative care to even more patients and families in Mesa and the surrounding Phoenix metro area."

This acquisition expands the company's scope of services in the Phoenix market—in alignment with its co-location growth strategy to provide multiple in-home healthcare services in markets where there is a need and established, sensible benchmarks are met.

In San Marcos, Texas, the company finalized an expansion of its joint venture with CHRISTUS Health to enhance hospice services in that market. LHC Group first announced the purchase agreement in October 2020.

LHC Group operates more than 110 hospice locations around the nation. In-home, end-of-life hospice care helps patients live comfortably, with dignity, when a cure is no longer possible. Hospice professionals provide the emotional, spiritual, and medical support needed when patients are facing the final stages of life. Hospice care can be provided in any place a patient calls home, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Palliative care is specialized medical care that focuses on quality of life for patients and their families dealing with the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. Palliative treatment is appropriate for patients who have been given a prognosis of one year or less and are not ready or eligible for hospice care. Palliative care may be provided concurrently with or without home health care and without regard to the presence of curative or life-prolonging care or homebound status.

LHC Group is a provider of in-home health care and hospice services and the joint venture partner of choice for almost 400 leading hospitals across the United States.