Segments (Service Revenues And Sales And After- Tax Earnings By Business Segment) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service Revenues and Sales	$ 354,353	$ 341,439	$ 1,061,466	$ 1,005,717
After-tax Earnings	28,085	28,986	83,714	83,302
Net income	20,845	21,887	62,564	60,274
VITAS [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service Revenues and Sales	267,990	252,944	794,050	731,712
After-tax Earnings	21,940	20,970	61,999	57,684
Roto-Rooter [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service Revenues and Sales	86,363	88,495	267,416	274,005
After-tax Earnings	6,145	8,016	21,715	25,618
Corporate [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
After-tax Earnings	$ (7,240)	$ (7,099)	$ (21,150)	$ (23,028)