The Ensign Group Acquires Hospice Operations in Prescott Valley, Arizona

MISSION VIEJO, Calif., March 13, 2017 -- The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign™ group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, home health care, hospice care, and assisted living companies, announced today that on March 1, 2017, a subsidiary of Cornerstone Healthcare, Inc., Ensign’s home health and hospice portfolio company, acquired Hospice of the Pines, a provider serving Prescott, Sedona, Cottonwood, Dewey and other communities across Yavapai County, Arizona. 

“Hospice of the Pines is an important addition to our hospice operations,” said Christopher Christensen, Ensign’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “It continues the growth of our Cornerstone operations across Arizona, offers the opportunity to provide an outstanding continuum of care with our existing skilled nursing and assisted living operations in Prescott, and reflects Cornerstone’s strategic commitment to meeting the expanding need for hospice services throughout the United States.” 

“We are pleased for this opportunity to partner with Hospice of the Pines’ outstanding clinical team, which has established a reputation for top-quality care,” said Cornerstone’s President Daniel Walker.  “We look forward to the growth of Hospice of the Pines as we seek to become the area’s premier provider of hospice services and ensure that patients throughout the county have access to life-changing hospice care.”

With the acquisition, Cornerstone subsidiaries now operate twenty hospice operations, seventeen home health operations, and three home care operations in nine western states. Mr. Walker affirmed that Cornerstone is actively seeking additional opportunities to acquire both well-performing and struggling home health, hospice, and home care operations across the United States.

Mr. Christensen affirmed that he expects the operations to be accretive to earnings in 2017.

About Ensign^TM:  

The Ensign Group, Inc.'s independent operating subsidiaries provide a broad spectrum of skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health and hospice services, and other rehabilitative and healthcare services at 211 healthcare facilities, fifty-one of which are owned, twenty hospice agencies, seventeen home health agencies and three home care businesses across fourteen states. More information about Ensign is available at http://www.ensigngroup.net.

CONTACT: The Ensign Group, Inc., (949) 487-9500, [email protected]