Vendell Healthcare

Vendell Healthcare Inc. was a Nashville-based healthcare services company that operated a network of psychiatric hospitals and outpatient clinics across the southeastern United States. The company also provided health insurance services and managed facilities under various brands, including Rivendell, Altacare, and Kids First. Vendell is primarily known for a significant legal settlement in 1997, where it paid $4.2 million to resolve whistleblower allegations of fraudulent overbilling to federal health programs such as Medicare and CHAMPUS. Following these legal challenges and financial difficulties, the company filed for bankruptcy in March 1997 and subsequently liquidated its assets, selling its facilities to other healthcare providers.