Maryland-based Hospice of the Chesapeake has penned an agreement to acquire nearby Calvert Hospice for an undisclosed amount. Both organizations are nonprofits.
The two providers have collaborated for several years in a collaborative sharing best practices and supporting growth in specific markets, according to Hospice of the Chesapeake Communications Director Sandra Dillon.
“Given the rapidly changing hospice industry and environment, we recognize it can be difficult for smaller hospices, like Calvert Hospice, to introduce new programs and expand the care they provide,” Dillon told Hospice News. “As likeminded not-for-profit organizations with similar founding’s and legacies it made sense from multiple perspectives that we would be stronger together rather than apart.”
Hospice of the Chesapeake has cared for patients since 1979, prior to establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. The organization in 2021 cared for more than 3,800 hospice patients as well as more than 2,095 on palliative care and close to 500 in bereavement.
Post-acquisition Hospice of the Chesapeake will serve four Maryland counties. Upon closing, the provider will release additional details on expanded services in Calvert’s service region, as well as leadership roles and organizational structure.
Hospice of the Chesapeake in Oct. 2021 acquired Hospice of Charles County, making the combined organization one of the largest providers in its region. Financial terms were undisclosed.
Calvert Hospice in 2021 cared for 388 hospice patients with an average daily census of 36.
Seniors 65 and older account for 12.9% of the population in Charles County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and represent 15.9% of the state’s overall population. Maryland’s population of individuals 60 and older is projected to outpace other age groups by 2030.
Hospice utilization among Medicare decedents in Maryland reached 47.6% in 2018, just under the national average of 50.3%, according to the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization.
“We believe this acquisition, when finalized, will strengthen, and expand the care provided to patients and their families in Calvert County as well as create a combined organization that is focused on the full care continuum across our region — serving everyone who needs us, at the right time, in the right place and with the care they deserve,” Hospice of the Chesapeake CEO Mike Brady told Hospice News.
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