Legacy Hospice acquires Safe Harbor

Legacy Hospice expanded into Missouri by acquiring Safe Harbor Hospice for an undisclosed sum.

The 13-county Safe Harbor Service Region expands Legacy’s presence in southeastern Missouri. In total, Legacy now operates 19 offices across seven states, predominantly in rural areas. The company is backed by Chicago-based private equity firm Prairie Capital.

Safe Harbor’s asset, which currently sees an average of 55 patients daily, represents a significant growth opportunity for Legacy, according to CEO Clark Blair.

“We believe the opportunity for Safe Harbor to grow is enormous. Since February 2021, Legacy has grown our census organically by over 63%. We have no reason to believe that this growth will not continue,” Blair said in an interview with Hospice News. “We are actively integrating our state-of-the-art technology into the Safe Harbor location, along with extensive employee training and education so they can get the same results.”

Favorable demographics are one of the factors that make Missouri an attractive market for hospices.

According to the US Census Bureau, by 2025, the proportion of older people over 65 in Missouri’s population will reach 19.1%, compared with 13.5% in 2000.

Hospice utilization in Missouri reached 50.2% of deceased Medicare patients in 2018, in line with the national average for that year, according to the National Organization for Hospice and Palliative Care. Utah leads the nation in usage with 60.4%.

“Based on Safe Harbor’s reputation in the community and among its professional partners, it’s clear that it’s aligned with Legacy’s mission, vision and values,” Blair said. “With the added coverage area, Safe Harbor Legacy is able to provide hospice services to wider rural communities in southeast Missouri.”

Overall, both buyers and sellers remain optimistic about deals in Missouri, according to Alex Veach, director of transaction services at mergers and acquisitions consultancy Agenda Health. Agenda advised Safe Harbor on the Legacy deal.

Veach said Safe Harbor began exploring a potential sale as early as 2020. They contacted Agenda and the firm initiated discussions with potential buyers as Safe Harbor worked to meet its growth targets.

“We started working with the Safe Harbor team in the last few years,” Veach told Hospice News. “We worked with their team to create a pool of buyer groups that we thought would best suit their needs for a deal, and ultimately decided the Legacy team was best suited for that goal.”

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