LHC Group and Erlanger Health System Finalize Joint Venture Agreement

LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) and Erlanger Health System today announced finalization of a new joint venture to enhance home health and community-based services in Chattanooga and southeast Tennessee. The joint venture includes a Chattanooga facility providing both skilled home health care and non-skilled community-based services, further expanding LHC Group’s joint venture presence and services footprint in the state of Tennessee.

LHC Group is purchasing majority ownership of the facility in Chattanooga and assuming management responsibility. The facility will operate under the name Erlanger ContinuCare Home Health. LHC Group expects annualized revenue from this joint venture of approximately $7 million and that it will not materially affect its 2017 diluted earnings per share.

“Our organizations share a commitment to delivering the highest quality care while helping patients recover in the comfort of home and preventing costly and avoidable hospital readmissions,” said Keith G. Myers, LHC Group’s chairman and CEO. “LHC Group has a proven history of successful hospital partnerships that are enhancing post-acute care for patients around the nation. Erlanger Health System is recognized for its commitment to the health and well-being of its patients and their families. We are proud to partner with Erlanger Health System to deliver superior home health services to the people of southeast Tennessee, and we welcome our Erlanger colleagues into the LHC Group family.”

“LHC Group, like the Erlanger Health System, is recognized as a leader across the country for its community-based services,” said Donna Bourdon, Erlanger vice president and president of ContinuCare HealthServices, Inc. “It is a great pleasure to enter into this strategic partnership with LHC Group for the provision of home health services based on a common mission of quality, service, and compassionate care. As we team up to expand our home health services for infants, children, and adults, we also look to improve the health of our community, reduce length of stay and avoidable readmissions, and get our patients safely back to their homes.”

Based in Chattanooga, Erlanger Health System is a multi-hospital system with five hospitals: the Baroness Hospital, Children's Hospital at Erlanger, Erlanger North Hospital, Erlanger East Hospital, and Erlanger Bledsoe Hospital. It is a Level I Trauma Center, providing the highest level of trauma care for adults. Erlanger is also an academic teaching hospital through its affiliation with the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga.

Hospital and home health partnerships focused on delivering patient-centered care in the comfort of the patient’s home are increasingly a key component in helping patients manage their conditions and achieve the best possible health. LHC Group is the joint venture partner of choice and partners with 75 health systems consisting of more than 250 hospitals across the United States.

About LHC Group, Inc.

LHC Group, Inc. is a national provider of non-acute healthcare services, providing quality, cost-effective healthcare to patients primarily within the comfort and privacy of their home or place of residence. LHC Group provides a comprehensive array of healthcare services through home health, hospice, community-based services, and facility-based services.

About Erlanger Health System

The Erlanger Health System has five Tennessee-based medical hospitals and six emergency departments, including the region’s only children’s hospital and Level I Trauma Center, providing the highest level of trauma care. Affiliated with the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, Erlanger is also the region’s only academic teaching center and treats more than a quarter million patients every year.

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