Lawsuit claims new Iowa hospice unfairly competes for patients and caregivers

A West Des Moines man is being sued for establishing a hospice program that allegedly competes with his former employer for increasingly scarce healthcare workers.

Abode Healthcare Inc., an affiliate of BrightSpring Health Services, is suing Rick W. Breuss III of Sacred Encounter Hospice of Central Iowa in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

In the lawsuit, Abode describes itself as a leading provider of home health and hospice care that provides home-delivered end-of-life care for patients with a terminal illness, with “significant facilities” in the Des Moines area.

The company alleges that Breuss was employed by Abode as its chief revenue officer beginning in April 2021, and that Breuss worked from home and at the company’s Johnston location. The company claims it has invested significant sums in establishing databases identifying existing and prospective care facilities, personnel, and “non-public information concerning the operation of those facilities.”

As part of his job, Abode alleges, Breuss had access to that information and helped develop comprehensive strategic planning materials and personnel files. Breuss also was allowed access to restricted data on Abode’s computer system, including documents, spreadsheets and communications with confidential information, according to the lawsuit.

The company claims Breuss was promoted to vice president of operations in January 2025 and took over responsibility for the development and operation of Abode hospice facilities in Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana.

In August 2025, Abide alleges, Breuss resigned from Abode – six months after he formed Sacred Encounter, a competing hospice care provider. Abode alleges Breuss is now competing with Abode for the limited supply of healthcare workers in Iowa and other states.

“Qualified candidates for these positions are limited,” the lawsuit alleges. “Having a competitor in the same market as the market in which an Abode facility is located makes hiring these candidates more difficult and forces Abode to consider offering salaries that it would not otherwise offer in order to attract qualified candidates.”

In at least one instance, Sacred Encounter has hired an employee who was formerly an employee of Abode, the lawsuit alleges.

“The competition for hospice patients is intense in the Des Moines area,” the lawsuit asserts. “Having an additional competitor in that market makes it more difficult for Abode to attract new patients.”

The lawsuit alleges Breuss is violating a noncompete clause in his contract and is “harming Abode by offering competing hospice and related services in the Des Moines area… An additional hospice competitor in the Des Moines market makes it more difficult for Abode to attract prospective patients.”

The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would block Breuss from working in a position that would allow him to use the confidential and trade secret information belonging to Abode for 18 months following his last day of employment with Abode, and would prevent Sacred Encounter from offering home health and hospice treatment during that same period.

Breuss has yet to file a response to the lawsuit and could not be reached for comment at Sacred Encounter.