Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details Textual) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010	Aug. 24, 2012
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Impairment of intangible assets, finite-lived		$ 19,132,000			$ 19,132,000	$ 19,132,000	[1]	$ 145,110,000
Goodwill, intangibles and other long-lived asset impairment				643,305,000		19,132,000		643,305,000	[1]	0
Gain on sale of assets and businesses, net	2,600,000		5,400,000		5,447,000	8,014,000		1,061,000		103,000
Increase (decrease) in notes receivable	6,500,000
Reclassified escrow receivable	$ 3,400,000					$ 3,400,000					$ 9,900,000

[1] For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company recorded non-cash impairment charges associated with a write-off of its trade name intangibles of $19.1 million in connection with the Company's initiative to re-brand its operations under the Gentiva name. Home Health and Hospice assets were reduced by $6.0 million and $13.1 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2012 as a result of the impairment.For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company recorded non-cash impairment charges associated with goodwill, intangibles and other long-lived assets of $643.3 million. This charge was the result of (i) changes in the Company's business climate, (ii) uncertainties around Medicare reimbursement as the federal government worked to reduce the federal deficit, (iii) a significant decline in the price of the Company's common stock during the fiscal year, (iv) a write-down of software and (v) a change in the estimated fair value of real estate. Home Health, Hospice and corporate assets were reduced by $408.4 million, $193.7 million and $41.2 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2011, as a result of the impairment.