ATLANTA, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/— Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIV), the largest provider of home health and hospice services in the United States based on revenue, today announced the acquisition of Advocate Hospice, located in Danville, Indiana.

Founded in 2006, Advocate has successfully positioned itself within the community as one of the leading providers of end of life care.

“The addition of Advocate Hospice to the Gentiva family enables us to expand our coverage in central and southern Indiana and to leverage our existing hospice and home health capabilities in the state,” said Gentiva CEO Tony Strange. “Going forward, we will continue to pursue acquisitions that make strategic sense and fill in geographic gaps in both of our divisions, while balancing these efforts with our continued focus on debt repayment.”

The transaction is being funded from Gentiva’s cash reserves and is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial results.

About Gentiva Health Services, Inc.

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. is the nation’s largest provider of home health and hospice services based on revenue, delivering innovative, high quality care to patients across the United States. Gentiva is a single source for skilled nursing; physical, occupational, speech and neurorehabilitation services; hospice services; social work; nutrition; disease management education; help with daily living activities; and other therapies and services. GTIV-G

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this news release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” “assumes,” “trends” and similar expressions, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current plans, expectations and projections about future events. However, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: economic and business conditions; demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing governmental regulations; the impact on our Company of healthcare reform legislation and its implementation through governmental regulations; legislative proposals for healthcare reform; changes in Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payer reimbursement levels; the outcome of any inquiries into the Company’s operations and business practices by governmental authorities; effects of competition in the markets in which the Company operates; liability and other claims asserted against the Company; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; ability to access capital markets; availability and terms of capital; loss of significant contracts or reduction in revenues associated with major payer sources; ability of customers to pay for services; business disruption due to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, or terrorist acts; ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquisitions the Company may make and achieve expected synergies and operational efficiencies within expected time-frames; ability to maintain compliance with its financial covenants under the Company’s credit agreement; effect on liquidity of the Company’s debt service requirements; and changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies and estimates. For a detailed discussion of certain of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in this news release, please refer to the Company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section contained in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Financial and Investor Contact:
Eric Slusser
770-951-6101
eric.slusser@gentiva.com

or

John Mongelli
770-951-6496
john.mongelli@gentiva.com

Media Contact:
Scott Cianciulli
Brainerd Communicators
212-986-6667
cianciulli@braincomm.com

SOURCE Gentiva Health Services, Inc.