Gentiva Health Services

Gentiva Health Services was founded on August 6, 1999, when Olsten Corporation split off its healthcare assets to form an independent, public company. Olsten Corporation was founded in 1946 by William Olsten. The company grew through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In 1971, it began focusing on its health care division under the name Olsten Healthcare. In the 1990s, its health care division began acquiring other companies. The division acquired Upjohn's health services division. Following its acquisition of Lifetime Corporation, which included Office Angels, Gentiva became the largest provider of home healthcare services in the nation, operating as Olsten Kimberly QualityCare.[3] In 1995, Olsten Kimberly QualityCare launched CareCentrix. A year later, after acquiring Quantum Health Resources, Gentiva began offering home-based pharmaceutical infusion services.[2][4] That same year, it acquired NeuroCare Rehab Without Walls, and became the sole national provider of neurorehabilitation for Cigna. It also acquired Nurses House Call. In 1997, it changed its name to Olsten Health Services.

In 1999, Olsten Corporation split its healthcare division into an independent, publicly-traded on the Nasdaq exchange, named Gentiva Health Services. In its first three years of independent operation, Gentiva launched its Gentiva Orthopedics, Gentiva Cardiopulmonary, and Safe Strides programs, and it sold its pharmaceutical services division to Accredo for $415 million in cash and stock[5][6] and its health care staffing unit to InteliStaf Holdings Inc. and The Carlyle Group.[7] In 2008, it launched its neurorehabilitation and senior health programs.

In 2009, Gentiva moved its headquarters from Melville, New York, to Atlanta. By 2010, the company acquired First HomeCare of Houston, Heritage Home Care Services, The Healthfield Group, Gilbert's Home Health and Hospice, Physicians Home Health Care, and Hospice of Charleston. In that same year, it acquired Mid-State Home Health, Magna Home Health, and Medicare-Certified offices of Coordinated Home HealthCare. In 2011, the company sold its majority stake in CareCentrix to Water Street Healthcare Partners.[8] In 2011, the company closed or divested 34 home health branches and nine hospice branches and sold its IDOA business to Premier Home Health Care Services, which was acquired Odyssey Healthcare[9] and sold its Rehab Without Walls business to Southern Home Care Services.

The company's $1 billion purchase of Odyssey Healthcare was the largest hospice acquisition in U.S. history.[10] In 2012, it acquired Advocate Hospice, Family Home Care Corporation and North Mississippi Hospice. In October 2013, the company acquired Harden Healthcare Holdings and Hope Hospice.[3]

On October 9, 2014, Kindred Healthcare and Gentiva announced that the companies had entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Kindred would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Gentiva common stock. The agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The transaction was valued at $1.8 billion, including the assumption of net debt.[11] The deal was officially signed into agreement effective January 31, 2015, with Gentiva becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Kindred.

• Official website
• "Feds Conclude Investigation of Payments to Gentiva", Long Island Business News, November 16, 2001