Exhibit 99.1

Press Release

Gentiva^® Health Services Reports First Quarter 2011 Results

ATLANTA, GA, May 5, 2011 — Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIV), the largest provider of home health and hospice services in the United States based on revenue, today reported first quarter 2011 results.

Gentiva acquired Odyssey HealthCare, Inc., (“Odyssey”) one of the largest providers of hospice care in the United States, on August 17, 2010. The Company’s results for the three months ended March 31, 2011 included Odyssey’s financial results.

On March 9, 2011, the Company completed the refinancing of indebtedness outstanding under its senior secured credit agreement. In connection with this refinancing, the Company recorded charges of approximately $3.8 million relating to the write-off of certain prepaid financing fees and the termination of the Company’s interest rate swap contracts. These charges, which were included in interest expense, reduced adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders by $0.08 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2011.

First quarter 2011 highlights include:

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“During the quarter, we made strong progress in executing our key sales growth and operating leverage strategies, while also refinancing our term loans which provides us significant interest expense savings going forward,” said Gentiva CEO Tony Strange.

For the first quarter of 2011, the Company reported net income attributable to Gentiva shareholders of $13.5 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared to $9.3 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2010. These results included charges for restructuring, legal settlements and acquisition and integration activities as discussed above as well as the results from discontinued operations in the 2010 quarterly period.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

For the first quarter of 2011, net cash provided by operating activities was $2.7 million, compared to $15.7 million in the prior year period for 2010. Free cash flow was a negative $0.6 million for the first quarter of 2011, compared to $12.5 million in 2010 due primarily to higher interest payments associated with the Company’s term loans and senior notes issued in connection with the Odyssey acquisition and increased incentive payments in the current quarter. Free cash flow is calculated as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures.

At March 31, 2011, the Company reported cash and cash equivalents of $91.8 million and outstanding debt of $1.048 billion. Since closing the Odyssey transaction, the Company has repaid $56.9 million on its revolving credit facility and term loans. Total Company days sales outstanding, or DSO’s, was 52 days at March 31, 2011, compared to 55 days at April 4, 2010 and 48 days at December 31, 2010.

Full-Year 2011 Outlook

Gentiva reaffirmed its 2011 outlook which reflects full-year net revenues in the range of $1.90 billion to $1.95 billion and adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders in the range of $2.70 to $2.80 on a diluted per share basis. Gentiva’s 2011 outlook includes the full-year impact of its Odyssey acquisition and the impact of an approximate 5% decrease in Medicare home health reimbursement rates in 2011 as compared to 2010 based on the final rules issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in November 2010.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The information provided in this press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules. In accordance with SEC rules, the Company has provided, in the supplemental information and the footnotes to the tables, a reconciliation of those historical measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

A reconciliation of adjusted income from continuing operations to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is not accessible on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the inherent difficulties in predicting the costs of restructuring, legal settlements and merger and acquisition activities, the results of discontinued operations and the impact of any future acquisitions or divestitures, which can fluctuate significantly and may have a significant impact on net income.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The Company will comment further on its first quarter 2011 results during its conference call and live webcast to be held Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the call from the United States, Canada or an international location, dial (973) 935-2408 and reference call # 59292956. The webcast is an audio-only, one-way event. Webcast listeners who wish to ask questions must participate in the conference call. Log onto http://investors.gentiva.com/events.cfm to hear the webcast. A replay of the call will be available on May 5^th and will remain available continuously through May 12^th. To listen to a replay of the call from the United States, Canada or international locations, dial (800) 642-1687 or (706) 645-9291 and enter the following PIN at the prompt: 59292956. Visit http://investors.gentiva.com/events.cfm to access the webcast archive. This press release is accessible at http://investors.gentiva.com/releases.cfm and a transcript of the conference call is expected to be available on the site within 48 hours after the call.

About Gentiva Health Services, Inc.

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. is the nation’s largest provider of home health and hospice services based on revenue, delivering innovative, high quality care to patients across the United States. Gentiva is a single source for skilled nursing; physical, occupational, speech and neurorehabilitation services; hospice services; social work; nutrition; disease management education; help with daily living activities; and other therapies and services. In August 2010, Gentiva acquired Odyssey HealthCare, Inc., one of the largest providers of hospice care in the United States. GTIV-E

(unaudited tables and notes follow)

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplemental Information

(Unaudited)

Operating Metrics

Notes:

Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders is defined as income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders, excluding charges relating to restructuring, legal settlements and acquisition and integration activities and gain (loss) on sales of assets, net of taxes.

The financial results of these two operating segments are reported as discontinued operations in the accompanying 2010 condensed consolidated financial statements. HME and IV net revenues, operating results and the gain on sale of business for the first quarter of 2010 were as follows (dollars in thousands):

For the first quarter of 2011, the Company recorded (i) restructuring costs of $1.3 million and (ii) acquisition and integration costs of $2.5 million, primarily relating to the acquisition of Odyssey HealthCare, Inc. The charges for the first quarter of 2010 included (i) settlement costs and legal fees of $5.6 million related to a three-year old commercial contractual dispute involving the Company’s former subsidiary, CareCentrix, (ii) incremental charges of $9.5 million in connection with an agreement in principle, subject to final approvals, between the Company and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General to resolve the matters which were subject to a 2003 OIG subpoena relating to the Company’s cost reports for the 1998 to 2000 periods and (iii) restructuring costs of $0.4 million.

These charges were reflected as follows for segment reporting purposes (dollars in millions):

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this news release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” “assumes,” “trends” and similar expressions, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current plans, expectations and projections about future events. However, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: economic and business conditions, including the ability to access capital markets; demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing governmental regulations; the impact on our Company of recently passed healthcare reform legislation and its subsequent implementation through governmental regulations; changes in Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payer reimbursement levels; the outcome of any inquiries into the Company’s operations and business practices by governmental authorities; the Company’s ability to effectively integrate Odyssey’s operations; effects of competition in the markets in which the Company operates; liability and other claims asserted against the Company; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; availability and terms of capital; loss of significant contracts or reduction in revenues associated with major payer sources; ability of

customers to pay for services; business disruption due to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, or terrorist acts; ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquisitions the Company may make and achieve expected synergies and operational efficiencies within expected time-frames; effect on liquidity of the Company’s debt service requirements; and changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies and estimates. For a detailed discussion of certain of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in this news release, please refer to the Company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the “Risk Factors” section contained in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

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