AdCare CEO Boyd Gentry resigns, sale possible

AdCare Health Systems Inc., a Roswell-based provider of long-term care services, said Boyd Gentry has stepped down as chief executive officer and president, effective June 1.

The company, which has more than three dozen senior living facilities in Georgia and six other states, said company Chairman David Tenwick will serve as interim CEO and president until Gentry’s replacement is named.

Company spokesman Brett Maas said AdCare is looking at strategic alternatives, which include a possible sale of the company. Maas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the company believes it is undervalued and added that “if you’re not growing and making acquisitions” it’s time to look at alternatives.

Maas also said cost-cutting was under way. While he did not provide details, filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show the company is exiting the home health business and has sold some facilities, using the money to pay debts. AdCare’s most recent acquisitions were two nursing facilities in Nashville last year.

While the company reported a rise in revenue last year to $222.9 million, compared with the previous year, it has also reported losses over the last several quarters.

In a statement, Tenwick said he will work with the board “to take purposeful steps to drive shareholder value.”

On Wall Street, shares of AdCare initially traded sharply lower early Friday before recovering to around $4.10 a share, up more than 2 percent at midday from its previous close of $4.01.

Gentry, who also stepped down as a director, will serve as a consultant to AdCare through Aug. 31. He had been CEO and president since June 2011. Before joining AdCare he was chief financial officer at Millennium Pharmacy Systems Inc. and at Mariner Health Care Inc.

A third of AdCare Health Systems’ facilities are in Georgia, including Autumn Breeze Healthcare Center in Marietta, Bonterra Nursing & Rehab in East Point, Legacy Nursing & Rehab Center in Atlanta, Powder Springs Nursing & Rehab and College Park Healthcare Center. The company also has long-term care facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina.