Enhabit
Corporate brand
UnclaimedEnhabit is a United States provider of home health and hospice care formed through the 2022 separation of Encompass Health's home-based care business.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Enhabit is a Dallas-based American provider of home health and hospice services. The company was established in July 2022 when Encompass Health separated its home health and hospice operations into an independent company. Enhabit inherited a network that had developed through the growth of Encompass Home Health, acquisitions by HealthSouth and Encompass Health, and the integration of multiple regional care providers. The business traces its operating history to Encompass Home Health, a Dallas company formed in 1998. It initially expanded through Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico before receiving private-equity investment and broadening its geographic footprint. In 2004, the founding management sold a controlling interest to Apax Partners. Thoma Cressey Bravo acquired Apax's interest in 2007; after the firm's 2008 split, ownership of the home-health business passed to Cressey & Company. HealthSouth, an Alabama-based operator of inpatient rehabilitation services, purchased Encompass Home Health from Cressey & Company in 2014 for $750 million. HealthSouth subsequently combined the acquired business with its own home-health and hospice operations. A 2015 acquisition of CareSouth Health Systems' home-health operations added 45 locations across seven states and strengthened the company's presence in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, and Virginia. HealthSouth adopted the Encompass Health name in 2018, and the home-based business was marketed as Encompass Health Home Health & Hospice. Further acquisitions expanded Encompass Health's network. The 2018 purchase of Camellia Healthcare added home-health and hospice locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee. In 2019, Encompass Health acquired Alacare Home Health & Hospice for $217.5 million, adding 23 home-health and 23 hospice locations in Alabama. The deal made Encompass Health the largest home-health and hospice provider in that state. The 2021 acquisition of Frontier Home Health and Hospice added locations in Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming. Enhabit was created during a period of strategic pressure on Encompass Health's home-based care division. Activist investor Jana Partners urged Encompass Health in 2020 to separate or sell the business, while the sector faced operational and reimbursement pressures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and Medicare sequestration. Encompass Health considered continuing to operate the division, selling it, or distributing it to shareholders. It ultimately selected a tax-free spin-off, creating a separately traded home-health and hospice company. At formation, Barbara Jacobsmeyer, previously Encompass Health's chief operating officer, became Enhabit's chief executive officer, while Crissy Carlisle, formerly responsible for investor relations at Encompass Health, became chief financial officer. Leo Higdon, a longtime Encompass Health board member and chairman, became Enhabit's board chair before leaving the chair and board in 2024 after deciding not to seek reelection. Enhabit operates home-health and hospice locations across 34 U.S. states, with particular concentration in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. The company has been described as the fourth-largest U.S. home-health provider and a leading hospice operator. Its services are delivered in patients' homes and are oriented toward skilled clinical care, recovery, chronic-condition management, end-of-life care, and support for families. In May 2026, Kinderhook Industries acquired Enhabit for $1.1 billion, taking the company private. The transaction marked a change from Enhabit's period as an independent public company to private-equity ownership.
History
Enhabit's history combines the development of a regional home-health operator with the portfolio strategies of several private-equity and healthcare companies. The predecessor business, Encompass Home Health, was established in Dallas in 1998 and initially expanded across Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. In 2004, its founding management sold a controlling stake to Apax Partners. Thoma Cressey Bravo acquired Apax's interest in 2007. Following the firm's 2008 division, Cressey & Company retained ownership of the home-health company. In 2014, HealthSouth acquired Encompass Home Health from Cressey & Company for $750 million. HealthSouth integrated the acquired company with its own home-health and hospice operations while retaining Dallas as the business's base. The 2015 acquisition of CareSouth Health Systems' home-health operations added 45 locations in seven states, expanding the network in the Southeast and increasing its presence in Florida and Virginia. HealthSouth changed its corporate name to Encompass Health in 2018. The home-based division was subsequently known as Encompass Health Home Health & Hospice. That year, Encompass Health acquired Camellia Healthcare, adding 14 home-health and 18 hospice locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee. In 2019, it acquired Alacare Home Health & Hospice for $217.5 million, adding 23 home-health and 23 hospice locations in Alabama. In 2021, the purchase of Frontier Home Health and Hospice added 20 home-health and hospice locations across Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming. Encompass Health faced pressure from Jana Partners in 2020 to separate the home-health and hospice division. The debate took place amid sector-wide difficulties linked to the pandemic and Medicare sequestration. After considering continued ownership, a sale, and a spin-off, Encompass Health chose to distribute the business as an independent public company. Enhabit was formed in July 2022. Barbara Jacobsmeyer became chief executive officer and Crissy Carlisle became chief financial officer. Leo Higdon, a longtime Encompass Health director and chairman, became Enhabit's initial board chair. The resulting company operates home-health and hospice locations in 34 states, with a concentration in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. Its services include skilled clinical care in patients' homes and hospice support for people with serious or terminal illness. In 2024, Higdon left the board after declining to seek reelection. In May 2026, Kinderhook Industries acquired Enhabit for $1.1 billion, converting the company from an independent public company into a privately held, private-equity-owned business.
- 2026
Kinderhook Industries takes Enhabit private
[1]Kinderhook Industries purchases Enhabit for $1.1 billion.
- 2022
Enhabit becomes an independent company
[1]Encompass Health completes the spin-off of its home health and hospice division, creating Enhabit, Inc.
- 2021
Frontier Home Health and Hospice is acquired
[1]The deal adds 20 home-health and hospice locations in Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.
- 2020
Jana Partners presses for a strategic separation
[1]Activist investor Jana Partners urges Encompass Health to sell or separate its home-health and hospice business.
- 2019
Alacare Home Health & Hospice is acquired
[1]The $217.5 million acquisition adds 23 home-health and 23 hospice locations in Alabama.
- 2018
HealthSouth adopts the Encompass Health name
[1]The parent company brings its rehabilitation and home-based care activities under the Encompass Health identity.
- 2018
Camellia Healthcare is acquired
[1]The transaction adds 14 home-health and 18 hospice locations across Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
- 2015
CareSouth home-health operations are acquired
[1]The acquisition adds 45 locations in seven states and expands the company's southeastern U.S. footprint.
- 2014
HealthSouth acquires Encompass Home Health
[1]HealthSouth buys the company for $750 million and combines it with its existing home-health and hospice operations.
- 2007
Thoma Cressey Bravo recapitalizes the company
[1]Thoma Cressey Bravo purchases Apax Partners' interest in the business.
Products and positioning
A large U.S. home-based care provider focused on skilled home health and hospice services, with a geographically concentrated network and roots in Medicare-oriented care delivery.
Home-based healthcare
Home health services
Enhabit's home-health business provides skilled clinical care in patients' residences. The service model supports recovery, chronic-condition management, rehabilitation, and other needs that can be addressed outside an institutional setting. Care is delivered through local teams across the company's U.S. network and is rooted in the Medicare-oriented home-health operations developed by its predecessor businesses.
Hospice care
Hospice services
Enhabit provides hospice care for patients with serious or terminal illness and related support for families. Hospice operations form the second major pillar of the company alongside home health. Services are delivered through local hospice locations and are intended to support comfort, symptom management, and care coordination in home and community settings.
Brand decisions
2026
Kinderhook Industries acquisitionM&ABackground
Enhabit operated as an independent home-health and hospice company after its separation from Encompass Health.
Action taken
Kinderhook Industries acquired Enhabit for $1.1 billion.
Aftermath
The acquisition took Enhabit private and ended its period as an independent publicly traded company.
Acquisition value. $1.1 billion (May 2026)
2022
Spin-off of the home health and hospice divisionStrategyBackground
Encompass Health faced activist pressure from Jana Partners and broader operating challenges in the home-based care sector. It evaluated retaining, selling, or separating the division.
Action taken
Encompass Health distributed the home-health and hospice business as a separate company named Enhabit, Inc., in July 2022.
Aftermath
The transaction created an independent home-based care company with its own management and board.
Sources1 sources
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