It’s official: Enhabit Home Health & Hospice began operating as a separate company from Encompass Health on Friday, following a six-month legal and regulatory process. The new firm began trading Friday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “EHAB.”
Enhabit President and CEO Barb Jacobsmeyer called the spin-off from Encompass an exciting new chapter for the company.
“We remain rooted in our philosophy of providing a better way to care for patients and their loved ones,” Jacobsmeyer said in a statement. “As an independent company, we will have enhanced strategic and operational flexibility to put the interests of our patients, people, and investors first as we strive to bring high-quality, compassionate care to every patient where they are most comfortable: in their homes.”
The company also named veteran healthcare executive Tina Brown-Stevenson and veteran financial services executive Susan LaMonica to Enhabit’s board of directors.
Encompass announced in January it would spin off its home health and hospice division from its rehabilitation hospital unit, after a year-long review of the business. The company said a spin-off, rather than a merger or sale of the division, would benefit shareholders and provide more strategic flexibility for each business.
Early last month, Encompass provided guidance for Enhabit for the remainder of the year. The new company is expected to earn between $1.64 and $2.01 a share for 2022 on projected revenues of $165 million to $185 million. It also admitted that Enhabit’s hospice business could face capacity constraints over the next several months due to ongoing staffing challenges.
Enhabit has more than 10,000 employees providing home health and hospice services in 351 locations across 34 states.
