“We have witnessed an increased demand from patients to heal in the safety of their own home, fueled by COVID-19, which has solidified the value and future of in-home care service businesses,” Mark Thomas, co-founder and partner of M&A Healthcare Advisors, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse.

Although rising interest rates and inflationary pressures could have some companies tapping the breaks on acquisitions, the Pennant Group is proceeding full speed ahead. During an earnings call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday, Pennant Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Walker said the company is having ongoing discussions with potential sellers of home care and hospice agencies.

“It’s always difficult to predict what those conversations will look like for the next 12 months; we see signs that they will continue to be strong,” Walker said. “We are excited to continue our historical acquisition pace in our home health and hospice segment in particular where we have strength. While we don’t have any quotas or targets for how we deploy our capital, we feel really good and feel really optimistic about continuing to grow there.”