April 4, 2008 – Sta-home Health Acquires Hospice Provider
Company Changes Name to Reflect Expansion of Available Services

Sta-home Health Agency today announced it has formally acquired its sister hospice provider and changed its name to Sta-home Health & Hospice. The company has also unveiled a revised logo to reflect its new name and services.

The name properly reflects the continuum of care that Sta-home will be able to provide its patients, said Sta-home CEO Vincent E. Caracci.

“The real beneficiaries will be those patients who are eligible for hospice,” said Caracci. “Now our patients can experience a seamless transition from home health to hospice which is a fundamentally different and more intense level of care.”

“This change will result in a better quality of life for the hospice patient.  Previously when a Sta-home patient became eligible for and desired to receive hospice benefits the patient had to terminate longstanding personal relationships with existing caregivers and transition to a new set of caregivers.  Now, that patient’s caregivers can become a part of the hospice team that delivers the next level of care.”

Sta-home Health Agency is a family-owned Mississippi corporation. It was founded in 1976 by Joyce and Vic Caracci and is the state’s largest privately held home health care provider. Today, it is licensed in 46 counties and has more than 750 employees. It provides home health care to an approximate daily census of 4,700 Mississippians.

Sta-home Hospice was formed in 1992.  Today, it has 90 employees who provide hospice care to approximately 135 Mississippians daily, in their homes or other places of residence. Hospice care is for those individuals who have been certified by a physician as terminally ill and having less than six months to live.

Sta-home Health Agency provides home health services under a plan of care ordered by the patient’s physician. The treatment team can include nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, home health aides and a dietician. Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and patients’ needs are evaluated every 60 days.

Sta-home Hospice provides palliative, emotional and spiritual care to patients and their families under a holistic approach ordered by the patient’s physician and hospice’s medical director. The hospice team typically includes nurses, certified aides, social workers and a chaplain.  The team meets every 14 days to evaluate the patient’s condition and determine how best to provide pain and symptom management and preserve quality of life for the patient and family.
“This merger is a step we have been studying for a long time, and we believe it will be a positive situation for the patients and both companies,” said Caracci. “Sta-home Health Agency has built a premier reputation for home health services, and we believe that same philosophy and commitment to excellence will enable Sta-home Health & Hospice to become Mississippi’s best home health and hospice company.”