In case you missed it, Hospice News has launched a new specialty publication for palliative care professionals. You can subscribe to Palliative Care News here: Subscribe today!
St. Croix Hospice has opened a de novo in the Clarinda, Iowa, community.
As part of its growth strategy, St. Croix Hospice often looks for markets in which hospice utilization is comparatively low, including historically underserved rural communities, St. Croix Hospice Founder and CEO Heath Bartness previously told Hospice News. The Minnesota-headquartered hospice provider is a portfolio company of the private equity firm H.I.G. Capital.
Local demographics were among the factors driving St. Croix Hospice to expand in Iowa.
“Nearly 37% of Iowa residents live in rural communities, and 21% of the state’s population receive Medicare. With many rural residents being part of the aging population, Iowa has great need for rural end-of-life services,” said Heath Bartness, Founder and CEO of St. Croix Hospice, in a statement. “Older rural residents may experience limited access to health care compared to their more urban counterparts, and our new Clarinda location will provide increased hospice access to patients living in southwestern Iowa.”
Close to 560,000 seniors live in Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Aging. In 2019, people 65 or older represented 17.5% of the state’s population.
A little more than 21,000 Medicare patients in Iowa elected hospice in 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). California saw the highest utilization at 156,000 that year, and Alaska the lowest at slightly above 1,200.
St. Croix Hospice cares for as many as 4,400 patients daily with more than 65 locations across its ten-state footprint, which is concentrated in the Midwest.
The company has been on a growth trajectory for several years. It opened four de novo locations last year in Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. Those were in addition to six that launched in 2022.
In October 2022, St. Croix Hospice moved into Indiana with its acquisition of Adaptive Hospice. Other 2022 deals include the acquisition of Michigan-based Corpore Sano Hospice as well as Illinois-based Lexington Hospice Care last summer. Financial terms for these transactions were undisclosed.
“The opening of the new Clarinda branch reflects our unwavering commitment to bringing compassionate care closer to wherever patients call home,” Statewide Clinical Director Briana Hilmer said in a statement. “Patients and families will experience faster response times from our clinical team during their time of need as our staff live and commute within the communities they support.”
Companies featured in this article:
