The National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization are on track to begin merging by July. In a related development, NAHC’s president William Dombi disclosed that he intends to retire by the end of 2024.

“Both boards have authorized an affiliation agreement; it’s fully drafted,” Ken Albert, chair of NAHC’s board of directors, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse in an interview. “We’re looking to transition July 1 of this year. The transition board has been selected. I’ll serve as chair of that transition board; [NHPCO board chair] Melinda Gruber will serve as vice chair. Board members have been identified, and then that next six months from July to December will kind of be the operational integration. We’re in the process of recruiting a new CEO right now, and then all the tech-side, the backend, office-end, that’s going on right now.”

Albert added that neither Bill Dombi or Ben Marcantonio, NHPCO’s chief executive officer, would be eligible to lead the new organization. However, Dombi may remain associated with the new organization in some capacity, he said.

“His title with [the new organization] is ‘president emeritus and of counsel,’” Albert said. “So he’ll continue to stay on as the new counsel for us and really in an advisory capacity with regard to the new organization as that transition is over in 2025.”

The current merger between NAHC and NHPCO represents the organizations’ fourth time attempting to combine. They have previously stated that a merger would help create a “unified voice” advocating on behalf of the home health, home care and hospice industries.

Dombi’s impact on the sector cannot be understated, Albert added.

“He’s contributed to the healthcare sector — particularly the post-acute, home health and hospice sector — for almost 40 years. It’s a huge part of who he is professionally,” he said. “Bill Dombi deserves to be celebrated for his contributions to the industry, and as the NAHC board winds down, we have an ad hoc committee that has been working to identify opportunities to acknowledge his contributions and celebrate him as NAHC winds down and becomes the new organization.”