06/11/2007
Author: Austin Business Journal
Austin-based Harden Healthcare LLP has acquired a Chicago health care company, adding 2,000 employees to its base.

Harden, which owns and leases several nursing homes and assisted living centers in Central Texas, bought the Texas, Iowa and Missouri branches of Chicago-based Auxi Health Inc., closing the deal on June 1. The company has also purchased Auxi West Virginia branches, and is waiting for certificate of need approval to complete the transaction. Harden officials decline to disclose the terms or the price of the acquisition.

Auxi Health will move its headquarters to Austin from Chicago this summer, and does not plan any layoffs. Auxi Health's CEO Mike Rusnik has stepped down from the company and Lew Little will take over Auxi Health's 21 branches. Harden currently employs close to 3,000 people, and Harden CEO Lew Little says the Auxi Health purchase will bring the company's employee count to over 5,000.

Auxi Health was established in 1999 with a merger of eight home health care entities. The company has a range of medical services including continuous and intermittent nursing care, physical therapy, respiratory therapy and home health aide services. "Home health care is an important service for which there is a visible and growing need, particularly as the baby boom generation ages," says Little. "We are pleased to add Auxi Health to our family of companies, providing another important dimension to Harden's continuum of care."

Harden Healthcare was founded in Austin in 2001 to provide short and long-term health care. The company is made up of five subsidiaries including TRISUN Healthcare, MBS Rehab, MBS Pharmacy, Lighthouse Hospice and Auxi Health.