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Addus HomeCare said its personal care census fell year over year in the third quarter, mainly among clients needing fewer hours, as caregivers increasingly seek 40-hour work weeks. The company is expanding its caregiver app and selecting cases it can staff effectively; it said higher-hour cases and same-store personal care hours increased. Addus is also preparing to acquire AccentCare personal care assets in a deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.
Addus HomeCare reported a year-over-year decline in its personal care census in the third quarter of 2026, saying the drop was concentrated among clients needing fewer care hours as caregivers increasingly seek 40-hour work weeks. CEO Dirk Allison said the company is expanding its caregiver app and choosing cases it can staff effectively, while still serving lower-hour clients.
On the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Allison said higher-hour cases increased year over year, even as the overall personal care census declined. He also said Addus’ service percentage continued to improve and that same-store personal care hours rose year over year. The service percentage refers to the share of authorized care hours the company is able to provide; the source report did not give a specific figure for it.
Addus is rolling out Addus Connect, an app that lets caregivers check schedules, change their work hours and availability, and view patient information. Allison said the app performed well in Illinois and was being rolled out in Texas, with New Mexico planned next. He said the rollout could help the company serve more of the hours authorized by states.
The company’s other approach is to be more selective about accepting cases, with attention to whether it can staff them. Allison said Addus wants to balance that approach with its relationships with referral sources and stressed that it will continue caring for clients who need fewer hours. The goal, he said, is to find more effective ways to match those cases with caregivers’ preferred schedules.
Staffing Shapes Personal Care Growth
The census change illustrates how caregiver availability and preferred work schedules can affect the number and type of clients a home care provider can serve. If caregivers favor fuller schedules, cases requiring only a small number of weekly hours may be harder to staff, according to Allison. That creates a business trade-off: Addus is trying to increase the hours it delivers while maintaining service for clients whose needs are lower.
The strategy also matters as Addus prepares to expand through acquisition. Its ability to recruit and schedule caregivers will affect how it serves current clients and integrates additional operations, though the company has not said how the staffing approach will change after the acquisition.
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Third-Quarter Results and Acquisition
Addus, based in Frisco, Texas, provides home care, home health and hospice services. The company serves about 62,500 people across 263 locations in 24 states, according to the report. Its personal care segment generated $301 million in third-quarter revenue, up 9% from a year earlier. Companywide net revenue was $387.7 million, an increase of 7%, while adjusted EBITDA was $51.2 million, up 13.5% year over year.
On Sept. 14, Addus agreed to buy personal care service assets from AccentCare for about $275 million. The assets span 10 states and serve 13,700 clients in average daily census, according to the source report. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 and would give Addus operations in six states where it does not currently operate: Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington. Allison estimated the deal would expand Addus’ revenue base by about 19%.
The earnings call also covered home health, Addus’ smallest segment. It generated $17.7 million in the quarter, or 4.6% of company revenue. Allison said this was the segment’s first positive year-over-year revenue quarter in years, attributing the result to a new leadership team. He said Addus plans to grow home health as opportunities arise.
“The slight decline in our personal care census over the prior year has primarily been in our lower hour cases, as our higher hour cases have increased year over year.”
— Dirk Allison, Addus HomeCare CEO
Staffing and Deal Details Ahead
Addus did not disclose the size of the census decline, the number of lower-hour cases affected, or a specific target for improving its service percentage. The source report also provides no numerical comparison for how much the app changed caregiver availability or service delivery in Illinois. The extent to which the Texas and planned New Mexico rollouts will affect staffing remains unknown.
The AccentCare transaction had not closed at the time of the report. Its expected first-quarter 2027 closing is a forecast, and the final effect on Addus’ census, staffing requirements and revenue will depend on the acquired operations and integration. The report did not provide a detailed integration plan.
App Rollout and Acquisition Closing
Addus plans to continue deploying Addus Connect in Texas and then New Mexico, while refining how it matches caregivers with clients who need fewer hours. The company has not announced a timetable for measuring the rollout’s results beyond Allison’s expectation that the service percentage could improve.
Investors and clients will also be watching for further updates on the AccentCare asset purchase, which Addus expects to close in Q1 2027. Future company updates may clarify how the added locations and clients affect staffing and personal care operations.
Key Questions
Why did Addus’ personal care census decline?
CEO Dirk Allison said the decline was mainly among lower-hour cases, which he said are harder to staff as caregivers increasingly seek 40-hour work weeks.
Did Addus provide more personal care hours despite the census decline?
Yes. Allison said same-store personal care hours increased year over year, alongside an improvement in the company’s service percentage. The report did not give the exact change in either measure.
How is Addus responding to the staffing challenge?
The company is expanding its Addus Connect caregiver app and being more selective about cases it believes it can staff effectively. Allison said Addus will continue serving clients who require fewer hours.
When is the AccentCare personal care acquisition expected to close?
Addus expects the approximately $275 million deal to close in the first quarter of 2027. It had not closed at the time of the report.
Source: homehealthcarenews.com
