MILFORD – The former Souhegan Nursing Association facility on North River Road in Milford will shut down in June as its owner, St. Joseph Healthcare of Nashua, gets out of the home health business, a reflection of the changing health-care industry.

The roughly 1,100 patients in 15 communities throughout Greater Nashua that use the service, now known as St. Joseph Home Health Care, can transition to Merrimack-based Home Health and Hospice Care.

“We have had a decline in patient census that challenge a small agency like ours,” wrote Cindy Arcieri, vice president of patient care services for St. Joseph Healthcare, in response to emailed questions from The Telegraph. “Because of this and other reimbursement issues that face all home care agencies we believe it is in the best interest of our patients and the community to partner with HHHC.”

The Souhegan Community Nursing Association organized in the late 1940s, according to town history, taking over the nursing phase of the Milford chapter of the Red Cross. St. Joseph bought it in 1996.

Its hospice service closed in December. The office is slated to shut by June 30.

John Getts, president and CEO of Home Health Care and Hospice in Merrimack, said the transition should go smoothly.

“Our organizations have been collaborating over the years. … In discussions we thought it would make sense to work together on the home health aspect of care,” he said.

Getts said no money changed hands in the transaction, which was not a purchase or merger. St. Joseph Home Health Care described it as a “transition of services.”

“We’re going to be meeting with their staff, to review each individual patient, make sure there’s continuity with their care. They may even have the same caregiver,” Getts said.

The 50 employees of St. Joseph Home Health Care “will be considered for employment at Home Health & Hospice Care.”

The Merrimack agency is much larger than the Milford agency. Home Health and Hospice Care has roughly 4,500 patients in 25 communities, with about 280 employees, and owns a 10-bed hospice facility.

“I think scale does help in this challenging reimbursement climate,” said Getts. “It helps organizations become more stable and able to provide a greater breadth of services.”

A major part of health care reform has involved getting services to people outside of hospitals, where it tends to be more expensive, and coordinating care among the various medical and support services that patients encounter. Such coordination can be more difficult for smaller agencies.

Getts gave an example.

“A patient goes to the doctor, get medications, goes to ER may get different medications, goes to a hospital unit, maybe a skilled rehab setting, different medications, then maybe others back home. Medications can be get changed quite a bit, and that can be detrimental if not reconciled closely,” he said. “Our success will be in how well we can collaborate with the physicians groups and hospitals, and hospital groups.”

Getts said that Home Health and Hospice would establish a “strategic partner” relationship with St. Joseph, just as it has with Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and Catholic Medical Center.

“We provide service not only in homes, but in assisted living facilities, skilled rehabilitation sites, we provide palliative care services to hospitals and physician groups. The key is more of a coordinated approach between the different care settings,” he said.

David Brooks can be reached at 594-6531, dbrooks@nashuatelegraph.com or @GraniteGeek.