MISSION VIEJO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign™ group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care, assisted living and urgent care companies, announced today that it has acquired Discovery Care Centre, a skilled nursing facility and assisted living facility with 45 skilled nursing beds and 24 assisted living units located in Salmon, Idaho, and Owyhee Health & Rehabilitation Center, a skilled nursing facility with 49 beds located in Homedale, Idaho. The acquisitions were effective August 1, 2012.
"These opportunistic acquisitions solidify Ensign's presence in important markets in Idaho," said Christopher Christensen, Ensign's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The combination of the two facilities with Ensign's existing operations in Idaho further enhances our ability to continue to provide high quality healthcare services to the markets we serve and strengthens our existing operating synergies," he added.
The two Idaho facilities were acquired from a well-regarded Idaho family that had operated them for several years. "We are pleased that the former owners would entrust their life's work to us, and we are committed to growing and enhancing what they've built," Mr. Christensen added. He also noted that Ensign expects the operations in the two facilities, which had a combined occupancy rate of approximately 64% at acquisition, to be accretive to earnings in 2012.
Ensign also acquired the underlying real estate and other operating assets of Palomar Vista Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility with 74 beds located in Escondido, California, on August 1, 2012. An Ensign subsidiary has been operating the facility since July 2003 under a lease with an option to purchase.
The Escondido purchase and the Idaho purchases were made with cash and bring Ensign's growing portfolio to 107 facilities, 83 of which are Ensign-owned. Ensign affiliates hold purchase options on four of its 24 leased facilities. Mr. Christensen reaffirmed that Ensign is actively seeking additional opportunities to acquire both well-performing and struggling skilled nursing, assisted living and other healthcare-related businesses across the United States.
About Ensign™
The Ensign Group, Inc.'s independent operating subsidiaries provide a broad spectrum of skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health and hospice services, urgent care services and other rehabilitative and healthcare services at 107 facilities, four hospice companies and six home health businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Nebraska and Oregon. More information about Ensign is available at http://www.ensigngroup.net.
The Ensign Group, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13849