Hospice Source bulks up in California

CARROLLTON, Texas – Hospice Source has deepened its presence in the California hospice market with the acquisition of Martinez, Calif.-based Superior Healthcare.

“We have an existing patient load out there and it’s really in service of our mission: providing compassionate care to as many hospice partners and their patients and families as we can,” said Clay Hooten, director of marketing and communications at Hospice Source. “(Superior Healthcare) gives us the ability to do that on a larger scale in that part of California.”

Founded in 1997, Hospice Source offers full-service DME to hospice providers from its 62 locations in 13 states.

Superior Healthcare also specializes in DME to hospice providers, but that’s not all they have in common, Hooten says.

“They very much held up the ideals that we do in terms of commitment to quality and how they conduct themselves internally and externally, so we were attracted to that right off the bat,” he said.

Like DME, hospice is also facing steep challenges with reimbursement. One way Hospice Source gives its partners a leg up is through its HMS software, which offers consolidated billing, real-time visibility into utilizations and centralized ordering, but that’s not the core of its business.

“We call it every patient, every time,” said Hooten. “Quality has to be paramount because as a DME provider we're not caring for patients, but we’re very much an ambassador of the hospice.”

When it comes to further expansion, it's all about timing and like-minded values.

“We certainly want to grow and if that comes organically great, if that comes through acquisitions great, but there’s nothing on the horizon so far,” said Hooten.