St. Croix Hospice has expanded its Missouri footprint with a de novo in the Wildwood community.
The new office is the company’s eighth location in Missouri. Favorable demographics are among the factors that make Missouri an attractive market for hospices. The proportion of seniors older than 65 in Missouri’s population is expected to reach 19.1% by 2025, up from 13.5% in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
“Rural communities often encounter numerous obstacles in accessing high-quality end-of-life care as they struggle with scarce resources, geographical barriers and a shortage of experienced professionals,” Bartness said in a statement. “Our new Wildwood branch will bolster our support for the surrounding rural communities in eastern Missouri by providing them with the increased accessibility and convenience of our expert care team.”
St. Croix Hospice cares for as many as 4,400 patients daily across its ten-state footprint, which is concentrated in the Midwest. The Minnesota-headquartered hospice provider is a portfolio company of the private equity firm H.I.G. Capital.
The company has been on a growth trajectory in 2023. The company has opened four devo locations so far this year in Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. This is 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 aging population in the Wildwood, Missouri region necessitated additional hospice resources, according to Rachel Choate, regional director of clinical operations for St. Croix Hospice.
“Over 18% of the population in Wildwood, Missouri is aged 65 and older, with more individuals expecting to receive personalized end-of-life care each year,” said Choate in a press release. “Adding an additional branch to the eastern region of Missouri will better meet this need and allow more patients to receive a continuity of care while bringing our dedicated care team closer to their patients and families.”
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