Our History

Borne Identity

Bill Borne begins his career as an RN at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, a teaching hospital that was a celebrated institution of healing in the city. Here, Bill finds his love for caring for patients and discovers the power of nursing.

Christen Elizabeth Clement

Not long after graduating as a nurse, Bill's niece Chrissy passes away at age 5 with a cerebral hemorrhage. Bill vows one day to establish a foundation in celebration of her life and to give back to those in need.

A Company is Borne

Bill co-founds Analytical Nursing Management Corporation (ANMC) as a nurse consulting company. While marketing his consulting service, Bill lands an ER night-shift staffing opportunity at a small hospital.

Analytical Medical Enterprise (AME) is then established to staff nurses and therapists in hospitals and sub-acute health care facilities.

A parrot named "Bird" is our unofficial mascot. On a daily basis, while operating the business from his home, Bird shrieks, "Bill's the Boss!" - so loudly that it's hard to carry on a phone conversation.

Is There a Nurse in the House?

Gena Kalil, our first visiting nurse, joins Lynn Bernhard, our first DOO, when we open our first home health care center.

Kudos to Us!

The Baton Rouge Business Report names AME as Company of the Year!

They Grow Up So Fast

Analytical Medical Enterprises Inc. (AME), grows fast enough to earn the 75th spot on 1989's Inc. 500, which ranks the fastest-growing small private companies.

Special Delivery

We acquire certain assets owned by Medisys (aka CareVan) to form our home care division brand, named Amedisys.

Pete Hartley

After joining Amedisys in 1990, Pete Hartley's first major contribution is helping create AMS, which would grow into our proprietary patient care management system.

Fly Like an Eagle

Lannie Liggett (left), who spearheaded our staffing operations, and Lynn Bernhard (right), our first Director of Operations, flank Bill Borne with custom-made eagle statues as a tribute to their dedication to Amedisys. Each statue is one of a kind since the artist who created these pieces literally broke the molds in their honor.

I Know the Name of a Good Therapist

Richard O'Quinn and James Jackson of Livingston Parish in Louisiana become our first visiting therapists. This is the beginning of Amedisys becoming a multi-disciplinary health care provider.

Taking Care of Business

We reorganize our organization to focus on supplemental staffing, home care and rural health primary care services. We've always had nursing at our heart and technology as our innovation engine.

On August 17, 1994, we begin trading on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market.

Where in the World Did the Name "Amedisys" Come from?

Prior to changing the name of ANMC to Amedisys, a deeper look into the word is explored. The name was created when AME merged with Medisys, but we want to know if there is a deeper interpretation of the word before using "Amedisys" as our corporate brand name.

In Latin, 'Medicor' means 'to heal' and in Greek, 'Systema' means 'the whole compounded of several parts.' Bill knew he wanted to focus on a holistic approach of providing care for the nation's elderly. And so a Medicor Systema (Amedisys) began its mission of healing the whole person. 

In August 1995, we officially change our name to Amedisys, and our ticker symbol on the NASDAQ becomes "AMED".

President Clinton signs the Balanced Budget Act, cutting home health reimbursement retroactively by 50%, forcing Amedisys to rethink its business model. Bill Borne sees the future and convinces the Board of Directors to invest in growing our home health care services.

Rise to the Top

Amedisys adds 35 care centers in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee with the Columbia/HCA home health acquisition. That addition positioned us as one of the top five home health companies in America.

First, There Were Ten

The first Core Beliefs are launched, helping building a consistent culture across Amedisys as we expand across the nation.

The Big Three

Amedisys begins to design and launch its first disease management programs, including wound care, cardiac disease, and diabetes.

Southern Dominance

With 1,100 full-time employees operating 50 home health care nursing offices, Amedisys is the premier home care nursing company in the South.

At this time, our multidisciplinary services include:

• RNs and LPNs
• Physical and Occupational Therapists
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Medical Social Workers
• Home Health Aides

Now With New Disease Management Programs

We expand our disease management programs to include orthopedics/rehabilitation, pain management, pulmonary/respiratory conditions, pneumonia, cardiovascular accident, and cancer.

The First Joffrion Award is Given

This award is established in memory of John Joffrion, who served as the Chief Financial Officer at the time of his passing. The annual winner of the Joffrion award is the corporate employee who made the most significant contribution that year.

Friends in High Places

Amedisys partners with industry leaders to enhance its disease management programs, including ConvaTec, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Hill Rom, and MeadJohnson Nutritionals.

Less is More

The implementation of the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) causes the home health care industry to experience major consolidation for the first time in its history - from approximately 11,000 agencies in 1997 to 7,000 in 2002.

Developing Need

Some of our best and brightest clinical and IT minds team up to expand AMS, our proprietary care management technology, to focus on health care at home. This would become AMS2 and help Amedisys charge ahead as an industry leader.

Our team of more than 1,400 employees provide care to nearly 50,000 patients.

Hospice Joins the Family

Amedisys enters into the world of hospice with the acquisition of 11 Tenet home health agencies and two associated hospices.

The Southwest Initiative Prepares for Takeoff

Amedisys' executive leaders create the "Southwest Initiative," with the goal of becoming the employer of choice in the home health care industry. The name comes from studying other companies known for their employee focus, one of which was Southwest Airlines.

1.6 Million Visits Made

Our caregivers made over 1.6 million individual visits to patient homes.

Christen Foundation

The Christen Foundation is founded in memory of Bill's neice, Christen Clement, who passed away at the age of 5. Since then, the Amedisys family has donated more than $3 million to our fellow employees in need and to charities in the communities we serve.

Time for Your Close Up, Mr. Borne

Our founder and CEO Bill Borne is named Forbes Entrepreneur of the Year and is featured on the cover of its November 2004 issue.

Amedisys Rising

Forbes Magazine, BusinessWeek and Investor's Business Daily rank Amedisys as a top performing company.

We Make Housecalls

Amedisys acquired Housecall Medical Resources with 57 home health agencies in Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana, and nine hospice locations in Tennessee and Virginia.

Introducing AMS2 and MercuryDoc

Amedisys launches our redeveloped proprietary health care at home technology, AMS2, and MercuryDoc, our physician care management portal.

First Spirit of Excellence Awards

Amedisys launches a company-wide awards program to honor those who embody the "Service is our Passion" motto: Home Health Aide of the Year; Caregiver of the Year; Overall Spirit Award; and the Christen and Jr. Christen Award winners.

We operate 261 Medicare-certified home health agencies and 14 Medicare-certified hospice agencies in 19 states, and our family has grown to over 6,800 employees.

Balancing Act

We launch Balanced for Life®, an innovative falls prevention program designed to provide balance training, environmental assessments for risk factors, and several advanced medical assessments to help reduce the risk of falls.

Strengthening the Communities We Serve

Supported by contributions from the Christen Foundation, the Adventa Hospice agencies (part of Amedisys) of Chattanooga, Athens, and South Pittsburg, Tennessee sponsor Camp B.E.A.C.O.N. (Bringing Encouragement, Assistance & Comfort to Others in Need), a weekend camp for children ages 6-17 who are grieving the death of a loved one.

Camp activities include share times for camp attendees to tell their stories, talk about memories, and share their feelings. The kids also participate in art therapy (the quilt is one example), music expression, and recreational activities.

There's a PoC for That

PoC is launched, beginning the conversion from paper to Point Of Care technology. The new technology enables our clinicians to document patient information electronically in AMS2.

We have 325 home health and 29 hospice agencies in 30 states.

IntegriCare Joins the Team

We acquire IntegriCare, bringing 19 home health care centers in 9 states into the Amedisys family.

We celebrate Amedisys' 25th Anniversary

@Home With Amedisys

We launch our "@Home" suite of evidence-based disease management protocols including Heart@Home, COPD@Home and Rehab@Home.

The 4 Cs

Comprehensive Continuous Chronic Care Management in the Home (C4M) - our integrated model designed to deliver care to the most complex, chronic and costly population in the comfort of their own homes - is born.

Innovation is Key

Highlighted as one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the Country by InformationWeek.

It's Not Work if You Love It

Louisiana State Nurses Association names Amedisys Home Health Services as Outstanding Employer of the Year (other than a hospital).

Amedisys Joins the Alliance

Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation is formed. Bill is the founding Chairman of this Alliance, which is dedicated to improving the nation's health care system by supporting research and education to demonstrate the value that home-based care can bring.

A Doctor in the House

Michael Fleming, MD, FAAFP joins Amedisys as the industry and our first Chief Medical Officer.

Health Care Reform Presents Opportunity

The passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) opens the doors to new, more collaborative and innovative health care delivery models including ACOs and bundled payments - positioning Amedisys to expand its role in the health care ecosystem as a critical post-acute care partner.

Amedisys Blazes the Trail for Care Transitions

Company launches the industry's first nationwide Care Transitions Program based on the studies and best practices defined by Dr. Naylor and Dr. Coleman.

An Elite Group

257 Amedisys Home Health care centers across the country named to the 2011 HomeCare Elite™, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States.

We Love Hearts

Amedisys employees' contributions rank second in the nation in fundraising for the American Heart Association, next to only the AHA itself.

The Partnership Begins

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare is established in 2010 to work with government officials to ensure access to quality home health care services for all Americans. Representing more than 1,500 community- and hospital-based home health care agencies nationwide, the Partnership is dedicated to developing innovative reforms to improve the program integrity, quality and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation's seniors.

Our expert nurses, therapists and other caregivers deliver more than 11 million patient care visits, serving over 400,000 patients.

Proof is in the Performance

We are a recipient of the Home Health Pay for Performance (HHP4P) award from CMS. Based on Amedisys' analysis of publicly available information from CMS.gov, Amedisys receives the highest reward for this demonstration for the second year in a row. We were also a recipient in 2010.

Welcome Beacon!

Amedisys acquires Beacon Hospice in the Northeast with 24 care centers in the northeast, making Amedisys Hospice the 4th largest hospice company in the nation.

Amedisys is an Innovator

Louisiana Governor's Technology Awards names Amedisys Innovator of the Year for MercuryDoc.

Three Amedisys care centers are the first to earn accreditation for integrated health care standards for behavioral health disorders from the ACHC.

Moving on Up

Fortune magazine ranks Amedisys #999 on the Fortune 1000 List.