LHC Group and Orlando Health expand partnership in Florida

LAFAYETTE, La., March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LHCG) and Orlando Health today announced a further expansion of their joint venture (JV) into the St Petersburg, Fla., market.

The companies will add Bayfront Home Health Services to the partnership's portfolio. The home health agency, which was already part of the LHC Group family, will align with Orlando Health's Bayfront Health St. Petersburg hospital. Orlando Health recently purchased the hospital from Community Health Systems.

LHC Group and Orlando Health formed their JV partnership in 2020 to share ownership and governance of Orlando Health's home health agencies as well as select LHC Group agencies located near Orlando's facilities. The JV includes five home health agencies and one home and community based services (HCBS) agency in the Orlando area.

The partnership combines the experience and expertise of both companies, creating new opportunities to develop and expand in-home services in the communities they serve. The JV is governed by a board with equal representation from both companies.

Hospital and home health JV partnerships focus on delivering patient-centered care in the comfort of the patient's home or place of residence. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency, LHC Group has repeatedly proven to be essential in helping its hospital and health system JV partners deliver industry-leading quality care in the most cost-effective setting. More than ever before, hospitals and health systems are fully leveraging LHC Group's infrastructure and capabilities as an integral part of their healthcare delivery model – helping patients manage their conditions, avoid unnecessary hospital readmissions, communicating on capacity planning, following COVID-19 protocols, and accepting patients at the top of the home health acuity capability.

Orlando Health is a not-for-profit healthcare network based in Orlando that serves the southeastern United States. The 3,200-bed system includes 15 wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer and heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, physician offices for adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care.

LHC Group is a leading national provider of in-home healthcare services and the JV partner of choice for almost 400 hospitals across the United States.

About LHC Group, Inc.
LHC Group, Inc. is a national provider of in-home healthcare services and innovations for communities around the nation, offering quality, value-based healthcare to patients primarily within the comfort and privacy of their home or place of residence. The company's 32,000 employees deliver home health, hospice, home and community based services, and facility-based care in 35 states and the District of Columbia – reaching 60 percent of the U.S. population aged 65 and older. As the preferred joint venture partner for almost 400 leading U.S. hospitals and health systems, LHC Group works in cooperation with providers to customize each partnership and reach more patients and families with an effective and efficient model of care.

About Orlando Health
Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $7.1 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States. Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for its pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in Pinellas County. It is the home of the nation's largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health is a statutory teaching system that pioneers life-changing medical research. Nearly 4,200 physicians, representing more than 80 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs nearly 22,000 team members. In FY20, Orlando Health served nearly 150,000 inpatients and nearly 3.1 million outpatients. During that same time period, Orlando Health provided approximately $760 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com.

Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements and information in this press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our objectives, plans and strategies, and all statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future. These statements are often characterized by terminology such as "believe", "hope", "may", "anticipate", "should", "intend", "plan", "will", "expect", "estimate", "project", "positioned", "strategy" and similar expressions, and are based on assumptions and assessments made by LHC Group's management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and LHC Group undertakes no duty to update or revise any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from forward-looking statements are described in LHC Group's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors", as well LHC Group's current reports on Form 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE LHC Group, Inc.