Caris Healthcare

What Caris Healthcare does

Caris Healthcare, L.P. is a privately held for-profit hospice and palliative care provider founded in 2003 by Norman McRae and headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. The company delivers comfort-focused end-of-life care, palliative care, and pediatric hospice services (through the Caris Kids program) to patients with life-limiting illnesses across more than 30 office locations in Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Georgia, serving approximately 1,100 patients daily with a workforce of 501-1,000 employees and 591 dedicated volunteers. Care is delivered by interdisciplinary teams (medical director, nurses, CNAs, social workers, chaplains, volunteers) in patients' homes, nursing facilities, and assisted living communities, with 24/7 referral intake via phone and fax.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally low-tech: no proprietary platform is disclosed, and patient acquisition, care coordination, and quality measurement rely on fax/phone referrals, in-person visits, and third-party benchmarking through Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP). The company differentiates through the proprietary 'Three Most Important Things' patient-centered framework, SHP 'Premier Performer' (top 5%) and 'Superior Performer' (top 20%) caregiver satisfaction awards, CHAP Accreditation with Age-Friendly Care Certification, ANCC reaccreditation for nursing continuing professional development, and We Honor Veterans Level 4 status across all eligible locations.

Revenue is generated primarily through the Medicare Part A Hospice Benefit under a managed-services model, with secondary reimbursement from Medicaid and private insurance. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by insurance coverage and level of care. Go-to-market is sales-led via Caris Representatives who act as embedded liaisons to physicians, hospitals, and skilled nursing/assisted living facilities (notably NHC Healthcare), supplemented by community outreach, volunteer programs, and the HUGs grief support group. The company is affiliated with the Your Life, Our Mission Hospice Foundation, a not-for-profit arm established in 2007 that supports both domestic hospice education and a partnership with Hospice of Ethiopia.

Name

Caris Healthcare

Legal name

Caris Healthcare, L.P.

Website

https://carishealthcare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Caris Healthcare is a privately held hospice and palliative care provider operating 30+ locations across five U.S. states, serving approximately 1,100 patients daily through interdisciplinary clinical teams and a referral-based go-to-market anchored to the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospice and Palliative Care

NAICS

Home Health Care Services (621610), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Routine In-Home Hospice Care (HSABAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

In-Home Hospice Physician / Nurse Practitioner Visits (HSABAFAM), Symptom & Pain Management In-Home (Palliative Clinical Visits) (HSABAFAG), In-Home Hospice Nursing Visits (RN/LPN) (HSABAFAL), Non-Hospice Serious-Illness / Community-Based Palliative Care (In-Home) (HSABAFAF)

Keywords

• Hospice care services
• Palliative care services
• End-of-life care
• Pediatric hospice care
• Grief support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices36 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Medicare Hospice Benefit: Primary revenue source through Medicare Part A hospice benefit. Hospice care is covered under Medicare for eligible patients with life-limiting illnesses with a prognosis of 6 months or less. Caris Healthcare has 28 locations deemed to meet Medicare requirements through CHAP accreditation.
2. Hospice and Palliative Care Services: Revenue generated from providing hospice care services, palliative care management, and pediatric hospice services to patients across Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Caris Healthcare provides hospice and palliative care services for patients with life-limiting illnesses, delivered by interdisciplinary clinical teams (physicians, nurses, CNAs, social workers, chaplains, volunteers) across more than 30 locations in Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Georgia. Core services include comfort-focused hospice care, palliative care, pediatric hospice through the Caris Kids program, grief/bereavement support via the HUGs program, veteran-focused hospice under the We Honor Veterans Level 4 framework, and a 591-person volunteer program. Services are delivered wherever the patient resides (private homes, nursing facilities, assisted living) with 24/7 referral access by phone and fax.

Product overview

Caris Healthcare operates as a hospice and palliative care provider with a unified service model centered on delivering 'hospice care with grace.' The company offers a portfolio of integrated services including core hospice care, pediatric hospice (Caris Kids), palliative care, grief support (HUGs program), volunteer services, and the We Honor Veterans program. Services are delivered through a interdisciplinary team approach involving nurses, social workers, chaplains, aides, and volunteers across over 30 office locations in five states. The company also operates the Sunshine Creative Arts Program and Wellbeing Coaching Initiative as patient and staff support offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Caris Kids: Pediatric hospice care program providing children with care and parents with support for children with life-limiting illnesses.

Products and services

• Hospice Care Services Core hospice care providing comfort-focused interdisciplinary care (medical director, nurses, CNAs, chaplain, social worker, volunteer coordinator, volunteers) for patients with life-limiting illnesses with a prognosis of six months or less; delivered in private residences, nursing homes, and assisted living communities.
• Caris Kids (Pediatric Hospice) Specialized pediatric hospice program for children under 18 with life-limiting conditions, offering concurrent care that allows symptom management alongside disease-modifying treatment and supporting both children and their parents.
• Palliative Care Services Palliative care services providing pain and symptom management alongside curative treatment for patients with serious illness, directed by Director of Palliative Care and delivered across all Caris offices.
• HUGs Grief Support Group Peer-led bereavement group (Healing and Understanding through Grief Support) for individuals who have lost a loved one to chronic or terminal illness.
• Volunteer Program Volunteer program providing patient companionship, administrative support, and special projects to support hospice patients and families; 591 dedicated volunteers exceed the federal Medicare 5% mandate at 8.83% of patient care hours.
• We Honor Veterans Program Level 4 certified veteran-honoring hospice program delivered in partnership with NHPCO and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; all eligible Caris locations have achieved Level Four status.
• Sunshine Creative Arts Program Program enriching the lives of hospice patients through creative arts including music, writing, art, and games to nurture the spirit through expression.
• Wellbeing Coaching Initiative Internal nurse support program providing coaching to help healthcare workers manage stress and burnout through practices of compassion, presence, and recovery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked above the nation for symptom control within 48 hours of hospice admission
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Hospice of EthiopiamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Caris Healthcare's not-for-profit foundation 'Your Life, Our Mission Hospice Foundation' has partnered with Hospice of Ethiopia since 2007 to provide funding and essential support for their work in Addis Ababa. The foundation has given over $150,000 to Hospice of Ethiopia over the partnership, celebrating 10+ years of collaboration.
• We Honor Veterans ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. All Caris locations in existence for a year or more have achieved Level Four status, the highest level of achievement.
• NHPCO Regulatory CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Regulatory Committee monitors and interprets federal regulation activity regarding hospice and palliative care. Caris Healthcare Corporate Compliance Officer Sylvia Singleton was invited to serve on this committee.
• Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLacey Hayes, director of marketing and communications for Caris Healthcare, was named to the Board of Directors of TNCPE. She previously served on the Board of Examiners since 2018.
• The Carolinas Center (TCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaren Mundy, South Carolina Regional Vice President of Operations, was appointed to serve on The Carolinas Center board.
• NHC HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NHC Healthcare nursing centers for coordinated hospice care. Caris representatives maintain regular presence at NHC facilities building relationships with staff.
• University of Tennessee Medical CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with University of Tennessee's Graduate School of Medicine for continuing education credit hours and professional development through the Caris Leadership Development Institute.
• Candese Walker Memorial FundminorOthersScholarship fund established by the Your Life, Our Mission Hospice Foundation in memory of Caris registered nurse Candese Walker. Has provided scholarships to 74 nurses and 134 hospice aides to obtain hospice certification.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gentiva: One of the largest U.S. hospice and home health providers, with a national multi-state footprint offering routine in-home hospice, palliative, and home health services directly comparable to Caris's core model.
• VITAS Healthcare (Chemed Corp.): The largest U.S. hospice operator, owned by Chemed (which also owns Roto-Rooter), providing routine and continuous in-home hospice care across dozens of states — a direct competitor for referrals, clinicians, and market share.
• Amedisys: Public home health and hospice operator with a multi-state footprint offering hospice, palliative, and home health services. Comparable patient population, referral channels, and Medicare reimbursement model to Caris.
• Compassus: National hospice, palliative, and home health provider operating in more than 30 states with a community-based delivery model closely aligned to Caris's approach.
• Enhabit (formerly Encompass Health home health and hospice): Public home health and hospice provider with multi-state operations offering routine hospice, palliative, and home health services that compete for the same Medicare-reimbursed patient population as Caris.
• National HealthCare Corporation (NHC): Tennessee-headquartered senior care operator with skilled nursing, assisted living, home health, and hospice services. NHC is also a Caris referral partner, making it a direct competitor and ecosystem counterparty in the same geography.

Broad incumbents

• LHC Group (UnitedHealth/Optum): Large home health and hospice platform now part of Optum, providing home-based hospice and home health services across a broad national network. Comparable in service line but meaningfully larger and more diversified than Caris.
• Aveanna Healthcare: Public home health, hospice, and medical solutions provider with a multi-state presence offering hospice and home health services overlapping with Caris's clinical offerings.

Emerging players

• Empath Health: Non-profit integrated hospice, home health, and palliative care provider primarily in Florida with growing multi-state presence. Comparable services and care philosophy, though a different ownership structure (non-profit) than Caris.
• St. Croix Hospice: PE-backed regional hospice provider expanding across the Midwest and Southeast, with a focus on routine in-home hospice and palliative care highly comparable to Caris's service model and footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/carishealthcarelp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caris-healthcare-lp
• Xx.com/carishealthlp

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Caris Healthcare