Providence and Compassus: Preserving and Expanding Access to Home-Based Care in Oregon
What is Happening
Providence and Compassus are working together to form a joint venture to deliver high-quality home health, hospice, community-based palliative care and private duty services across several West Coast states, including Oregon.
Why This Collaboration Matters
As demand for care at home continues to grow—driven by an aging population, rising chronic illness rates and patient preference—Providence has sought a mission-aligned counterpart to preserve, strengthen and expand these services across the state.
How You Can Support
Public comments are a critical part of the review process. We encourage patients, families, caregivers and community members to share why this joint venture is important and how it could benefit Oregonians in need of home-based care.
Compassus' History with Nonprofit Care
Compassus has a long-standing history of collaborating with faith-based, nonprofit health systems to deliver high-quality, mission-aligned care in the home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Myths vs Facts
Compassus Evolution
This year Compassus celebrates 18 years of providing high-quality home-based care. While our company has grown tremendously since our founding through the addition of new services, team members and the number of communities we serve, treating our patients and families with personalized care has always remained our focus.
What's Happening?
Providence and Compassus are working together to form a joint venture to deliver high-quality home health, hospice, community-based palliative care and private duty services across several West Coast states, including Oregon.
By partnering with Compassus, Providence ensures the long-term sustainability of its home health and hospice services in Oregon. The collaboration also enables Providence to focus its efforts on delivering best-in-class acute and outpatient care.
Providence and Compassus have successfully launched this joint venture in Alaska, Texas and Washington, and we are excited about the positive momentum we are seeing in these markets. However, Oregon has undertaken an extended regulatory review of this transaction. We are working with Oregon regulators to demonstrate that this transaction will preserve and improve in-home services in Oregon as well.
We respect the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) process and remain fully committed to transparency, compliance and collaboration throughout the review period.
Why This Collaboration Matters
As demand for care at home continues to grow—driven by an aging population, rising chronic illness rates and patient preference—Providence has sought a mission-aligned counterpart to preserve, strengthen and expand these services across the state.
- Compassus is a leading national provider of integrated home-based care services with extensive experience partnering with nonprofit health systems.
- In addition to expanding access to home-based care services for Oregonians, the joint venture will:
- Improve the patient and caregiver experience
- Enhance clinical quality and health outcomes
- Preserve Providence’s commitment to vulnerable populations
Importantly, this transaction advances Providence’s not-for-profit and charitable mission. The JV must be operated to further charitable purposes by promoting health for a broad cross-section of the community, especially low-income and disadvantaged persons and satisfies the community benefit standards set forth in federal law.
This transaction will accelerate Providence’s financial improvement, boost system-wide investment and preserve and improve home health, hospice and community-based palliative care services in Oregon.
Current Status
- March 20, 2025: OHA accepted a complete notice of the proposed transaction.
- April 18, 2025: OHA began a comprehensive review, expected to conclude later in 2025.
- June 13, 2025: OHA issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) asking Compassus and Providence to answer numerous questions and submit additional information in connection with OHA’s review of the transaction.
How You Can Support
Having adequate access to home-based care services is critical for Oregon’s aging population and alleviating pressure on overwhelmed inpatient care facilities like hospitals.
Your voice in support of this joint venture will help ensure Oregonians can continue receiving home-based services into the future.
Public comments are a critical part of the review process. We encourage patients, families, caregivers and community members to share why this joint venture is important and how it could benefit Oregonians in need of home-based care.
To submit a comment, include the word “Compassus” and use one of the following methods:
- Email: hcmo.info@oha.oregon.gov
- Voicemail: 503-945-6161
- Online form: Submit a comment to OHA here
Your voice matters and can help shape the future of home-based care in Oregon.
Compassus' History with Nonprofit Care
Compassus has a long-standing history of collaborating with faith-based, nonprofit health systems to deliver high-quality, mission-aligned care in the home. Today, Compassus is majority-owned by faith-based, nonprofit health systems, including Ascension, one of the largest Catholic health systems in the country. Compassus also operates successful joint ventures with Bon Secours Mercy Health and OhioHealth.
These partnerships are rooted in shared values. That same foundation guides Compassus in its proposed joint venture with Providence in Oregon. The JV must be operated to further charitable purposes by promoting health for a broad cross-section of the community, especially low-income and disadvantaged persons and satisfies the community benefit standards set forth in federal law.
Compassus has consistently demonstrated its ability to expand access to care and improve quality outcomes through its joint ventures. A strong example is its largest joint venture to date with Ascension:
- Since mid-2020, 12 new patient care locations have been opened.
- Patient admissions increased by 13%, allowing more individuals to receive timely care at home.
- The average CMS star rating across all joint venture agencies improved from 3.5 to 4.25, with 100% of agencies now achieving a CMS quality rating of 4 stars or higher, up from just 23% in 2020.
These results reflect Compassus’ clinical excellence, advanced technology and deep experience in home-based care management.
In conjunction with Providence, Compassus will bring this same expertise to Oregon, helping ensure patients and families have access to the compassionate, high-quality care they need, when and where they need it most.
Why are Providence and Compassus forming a joint venture?
Home-based care is evolving rapidly. Collaborating with Compassus, an organization solely focused on home-based care, allows Providence to expand access, enhance quality and deliver care more effectively in the setting patients prefer: their homes.
Will patient access change?
No. The joint venture is committed to maintaining access for all patients, including low-income and underserved individuals.
What about caregiver compensation and benefits for those who would be included in the joint venture?
The joint venture will provide the same compensation and substantially similar benefits for Providence caregivers, including recognition of prior years of service. Compassus brings operational expertise and technology to support caregivers of the anticipated joint venture.
What is the goal of this joint venture?
The goal is to:
- Expand access to home-based care services for Oregonians
- Improve the patient and caregiver experience
- Enhance clinical quality and health outcomes
- Preserve Providence’s commitment to vulnerable populations
- Support Providence’s financial improvement strategy
Myth
Fact
Patient Care Services
The joint venture will lead to cost-cutting, increased staff workloads and reduced patient services.
Providence chose Compassus as its home-based care partner to preserve and expand home-based care services, not reduce them. Compassus is majority owned by not-for-profit health systems. Its mission is to partner with forward-looking nonprofit health systems to deliver the highest-quality home-based care.
The joint venture will support Providence caregivers and expand patient services through access to tools and resources specifically designed for home-based care.
The joint venture will cut programs that are unprofitable, harming patients and caregivers.
Providence is creating this joint venture to preserve and improve home-based care services. Providence chose Compassus as its joint venture partner because of its long track record of expanding access and improving quality through service line investments and process improvements.
Compassus has a long-standing history of joint ventures with faith-based, nonprofit health systems, and the joint venture must operate in alignment with Providence’s charitable mission. These partnerships are rooted in shared values. That same foundation guides Compassus in its proposed venture with Providence in Oregon.
Providence caregivers will retain their current pay packages when their roles transition to the joint venture.
The joint venture intends to reduce or discontinue essential services, such as pediatric home health.
Providence has acknowledged to ONA members that there will be a reduction in pediatric homecare services.
The joint venture has no plans to reduce or discontinue pediatrics at any of Providence’s home health service programs. Compassus successfully operates pediatric care programs in many of its existing home health markets.
The joint venture will have a disproportionate impact on rural and underserved communities that face challenges accessing health care services, leading to higher rates of hospitalization and poorer health outcomes.
The joint venture is committed to maintaining access for patients in all of Providence’s existing service areas, including low-income patients and those in underserved areas. Providence must consent to any changes to services or areas. The joint venture is contractually obligated to maintain access for patients, regardless of ability to pay. Compassus successfully and sustainably serves many rural communities across the country, and this joint venture will continue to serve Providence patients in rural areas.
Quality
Patient care, health outcomes, citizens and communities will be negatively impacted by the joint venture.
Serving people in their homes, many of whom are at their most vulnerable, is a deeply held part of Providence’s mission.
Improving outcomes for our patients is the foundation of the care Compassus provides.
Compassus excels in its proven partnerships with best-in-class providers, delivering high-quality care and tailoring services to meet the needs of patients and caregivers. Its investments in integrated home-based care technologies enable clinicians to spend more time at the patient’s bedside, enhancing care delivery and reducing caregiver burnout.
Caregiver Employment and Support
Note: For caregivers under a Collective Bargaining Agreement, the joint venture will honor their existing CBA,
and the terms supersede general information provided to other Providence caregivers.
The joint venture will lay off staff, particularly experienced nurses who command higher wages, and will limit the time home care workers can spend with patients.
The JV will honor all existing collective bargaining agreements for caregivers. Certain details will need to be negotiated, for example, where the JV’s health and welfare plans are not identical to existing plans. Caregivers’ pay, role and structure will transition to the joint venture with little change. The joint venture will support Providence caregivers and expand patient services through access to tools and resources specifically designed for home-based care.
Caregivers will be constrained from providing the care patients need under the joint venture.
After the closing, the existing Providence home–based caregivers will continue providing the same services in the same locations. The JV will provide care pursuant to Providence’s ethical and religious directives, consistent with current practice. The parties do not anticipate that the closing will result in any changes in the scope of services. Improving outcomes for patients is the foundation of the care the joint venture will provide. Compassus will bring integrated home-based care technologies to the joint venture, which will enable clinicians to spend more time at the patient bedside, enhancing care delivery, improving quality and reducing caregiver burnout.
For-profit home health and hospice agencies often employ fewer registered nurses, social workers and full-time clinicians compared to non-profit agencies
Compassus tailors its services to fit the needs of each program, regardless of size or scope. This experience spans a range of program models—from smaller teams to large-scale operations with hundreds of caregivers, which is similar to Providence markets. No matter the structure or staffing needs, the joint venture will be equipped to deliver the same high standard of care.
Caregiver career sustainability will be threatened under the joint venture.
Compassus brings operational expertise and technology to support caregivers. The anticipated joint venture will provide the substantially similar compensation and substantially similar benefits for Providence caregivers, including recognition of prior years of service. With Compassus’ recent joint venture partnership with OhioHealth, the employee survey conducted in May 2025 showed an increase in employee engagement rate, exceeding OhioHealth’s threshold of the year prior. The increase denotes respondents who gave favorable answers to questions categorized under employee engagement drivers.
The joint venture will establish a new reimbursement system for Providence, which could impact staff wages. The change in reimbursement may also pose limitations in the availability of certain services and potentially impact retention.
Pay practices and compensation will remain substantially similar as caregivers are transitioned to the joint venture.
The joint venture intends to change the pay practices of Providence home health and hospice nurses to pay per visit.
Providence caregivers will retain their current pay practices after the transition to the joint venture. There are no plans to change pay practices for caregivers who are not already on a pay-per-visit schedule.
Transaction Review
The proposed joint venture failed to file the proper paperwork with Oregon’s Healthcare Market Oversight (HCMO) to allow state regulators time to review the sale.
The entities are seeking to sidestep the approval process.
Providence and Compassus have fully complied with the HCMO review process. The parties initially contacted OHA about this transaction in November 2024, prior to any outreach by third parties, and made all necessary filings when they were due.
Compassus respects the regulatory processes in every community it seeks to enter, and the state of Oregon has a clear process for review of proposed health care transactions. From the outset, Compassus took into consideration that regulatory reviews could extend its anticipated transition timeline.
The Oregon Health Authority intervened in the proposed joint venture at the request of the Oregon Nurses Association.
OHA did not intervene in the proposed joint venture at the request of ONA. Under OHA’s Health Care Market Oversight Program, OHA is required by law to review certain material change transactions involving health care organizations like this joint venture. Compassus notified the OHA in November 2024 of its proposed Providence transaction and sought guidance regarding its review processes, well ahead of the ONA’s December 10 letter.
Compassus Ownership
Compassus’ ownership structure could affect services offered, patient care, admissions and discharges as well as staffing levels and employee compensation.
Compassus is more than 50% owned by nonprofit health systems including Ascension, one of the largest Catholic health systems in the country. Compassus also operates successful joint ventures with Bon Secours Mercy Health and OhioHealth.
Compassus is a partner of choice for mission-driven non-profit health systems because of its shared values and proven track record in delivering high-quality home-based care services. It has consistently demonstrated its ability to expand access to care and improve quality outcomes through its joint ventures.
The joint venture aims to improve service offerings and quality of patient care, maintain staffing levels required to deliver high-quality care and maintain current compensation levels for staff as described above.
For-profit operators of hospices perform worse than nonprofits. Studies have found evidence that for-profit companies employed fewer clinicians and were more likely to be accused of providing worse care while increasing costs.
In 18 years of serving patients and families, Compassus has earned a reputation for providing high-quality care with a full suite of home-based care services delivered by dedicated clinicians. Investment by its business partners has sustained growth and supports innovation so Compassus can serve more patients with care that improves comfort, safety and quality of life. The company’s financial model has no impact on the quality of care it provides patients and families, and it is held to the same quality standards as other providers in the industry.
Compassus’ ownership structure means that care is limited in a cookie-cutter fashion regardless of patient needs.
Compassus administers care locally through more than 280 touchpoints across 32 states. Compassus’ value is in the compassion and expertise of its teams, who work collaboratively to manage patient conditions and meet goals of high-quality care delivery alongside referring physicians, health systems, long-term care partners and family members.
This is what makes Compassus a national leader in providing high-quality, compassionate, person-centered care to individuals wherever they call home. Its continuum of integrated home-based care services ensures patients and their families have the support they need and brings peace of mind to them and other health care providers serving on the patient’s care team.