Long-Term Debt (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Eurodollar Rate [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Base Rate [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Subordinated Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Subordinated Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Term Loan B [Member]	Mar. 05, 2012 Term Loan B [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Term Loan A [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Term Loan A [Member]	Mar. 05, 2012 Term Loan A [Member]	Oct. 18, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Oct. 18, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Term Loan B [Member]	Oct. 18, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Term Loan C [Member]
Long-Term Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt instrument, face amount														$ 550,000,000			$ 200,000,000			$ 670,000,000	$ 155,000,000
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity									110,000,000										100,000,000
Aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes redemption												325,000,000	325,000,000
Effective interest rate										1.25%	2.25%	11.50%		6.50%	4.75%		6.25%	4.50%
Outstanding letter of credit	49,100,000				49,100,000		45,400,000
Unused and available borrowing capacity under the Credit Agreement									60,900,000
Credit agreement interest rate	The Base Rate represented the highest of (x) the Bank of America prime rate, (y) the federal funds rate plus 0.50 percent or (z) the Eurodollar Rate plus 1.00 percent
Commitment fees								0.50%
Proceeds from the issuance of equity with step-downs based on leverage			50.00%
Excess cash flow with two step downs based on company leverage ratio				75.00%
Debt maturities in the next twelve months	18,800,000				18,800,000												6,300,000
Debt maturities in year two	100,000,000				100,000,000
Debt maturities in year three	466,400,000				466,400,000									466,400,000
Debt maturities after year five												325,000,000
Weighted average cash interest rate on outstanding borrowings	8.30%				8.30%		8.20%
Debt instrument, decrease, repayments																25,000,000
Principal prepayments term loan														13,800,000			25,000,000
Debt issuance cost	$ 500,000	$ 4,100,000			$ 500,000	$ 4,100,000
Consolidated leverage ratio	5.5				5.5
Consolidated interest coverage ratio	2.2				2.2
Pledge of capital stock to lenders percentage					100.00%
Debt instrument redemption price terms												Gentiva may redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time prior to the first interest payment of 2014, at a price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount of the Senior Notes redeemed plus an applicable make-whole premium based on the present value of the remaining payments discounted at the treasury rate plus 50 basis points plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of redemption.
Percentage of senior notes to be redeemed												35.00%
Senior notes redemption price												111.50%
Redemption Clause One												least 65 percent of the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes originally issued remain outstanding after the occurrence of such redemption
Redemption Clause Two												such redemption occurs within 180 days after the closing of a qualified equity offering.