Amedisys Makes Executive Moves; Bristol Hospice Names New CFO

Amedisys appoints new chief strategy officer

Home health and hospice provider Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) recently named Nick Muscato as its new chief strategy officer. Muscato previously served as senior vice president of finance for seven years before stepping into the role.

Moscato has led the company’s investor relations activities and has played a “pivotal role” in its long-term growth strategy, the company indicated in an announcement.

“He has been key to the creation and implementation of Amedisys’ strategy,” said President and CEO Chris Gerard in an announcement. “His innovative mind and unique ability to forecast the future of our industry will be invaluable to Amedisys’ upward trajectory.”

Amedisys cited Muscato’s integral roles in strategic investments such as the joint venture strategy the company is pursuing with its Tennessee-based subsidiary Contessa Health, which grew its reach into the high-acuity home care space. Contessa in January expanded services with the launch of a home-based palliative care program in concert with Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.

“Working for a company that allows more seniors to heal and age where they most want to be — in the home — has been incredibly rewarding, and I look forward to advancing this cause as part of the executive leadership team,” said Muscato. “I am honored to help Amedisys fulfill its vision and extremely excited about all of the opportunities we have in front of us.”

New CFO takes the reins at Bristol Hospice

Utah-based Bristol Hospice has named Jerry Copeland as its new CFO. He is expected to play a vital role in managing the company’s growth capital and its expansion plans.

Copeland was most recently CFO of Reliant at Home in Texas and served in the same role for Dallas-based Sage Hospice before that. In these positions, he oversaw annual budgeting, cash flow projection, revenue cycle management and billing.

His experience in the hospice sector includes growing and scaling organizations through merger and acquisitions, a key consideration for the private equity-based Bristol, a portfolio company of Webster Equity Partners.

Executive recruiting firm The Tolan Group assisted in the candidate selection process, led in part by managing partner Kaye Johnson.

“Having worked with Bristol Hospice on a previous search assignment, we were excited to work with them again and see Copeland join the executive team,” said Johnson in an announcement. “[He] was a perfect match given his experience, track record and desire to succeed. We know he will be instrumental in carrying on the success that Bristol has become known for throughout the hospice community.”

Bristol Hospice was founded in 2006 and provides hospice and palliative care across more than 45 locations in 13 states nationwide. The company most recently expanded with the acquisition of Hospice Select in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas for an undisclosed sum.

The hospice is among the largest multi-regional players and has grown seven times larger since private equity firm Webster Equity Partners purchased the company in 2017.

Hospice of Southern Maine fills ranks with new hires, welcomes new board member

Hospice of Southern Maine has hired a number of new employees across several of its departments, including finance, operations and governance.

The hospice named Nick Paquette as its finance and health care operations director, responsible for managing and overseeing aspects of budgeting, policies and internal controls, patient intake and billing services. Paquette is a certified public accountant who formerly worked as the director of parish financial services for the Catholic Diocese of Poland.

“Nick brings the skills and experience needed to responsibly safeguard our assets and provide the fiscal oversight needed to continue meeting our mission now, and long into the future,” said Hospice of Southern Maine CEO Daryl Cady in a company announcement.

Hospice of Southern Maine provides care to more than 1,600 patients across 68 communities in the state.

The hospice also brought on Carolyn Wesoloski as a registered nurse and Catherine Whinery as an infection control and prevention nurse. Recent hires also include nurse case managers Caitlin Cunningham and Annette Drouin. It also welcomed a new hospice aide, Meagan York.

Hospice of Southern Maine’s is also onboarding social workers Elizabeth Leclaire and Sara Olmsted, as well as Maria McCann as bereavement support counselor.

The hospice hired Neil Cormier as an IT support specialist, Kimberley Dallaire as its billing supervisor and new events coordinator Kimberly Curless.

Nathan Howell recently joined the nonprofit hospice’s board of directors. He previously served as president of Southern Maine Health Care since 2018 and was CEO and president of the North Star Health Alliance and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in New York prior to that.

“We are delighted and fortunate that Nate has chosen to serve on Hospice of Southern Maine’s board,” said Cady in an announcement. “Our mission is to provide compassion, care and comfort through the end of life for patients, and the passion, health care acumen and national experience Nate brings are a tremendous asset for us.”