Exhibit 99.1

Press Release

Financial and Investor Contact:

Eric Slusser

770-951-6101

eric.slusser@gentiva.com

or     John Mongelli

770-951-6496

john.mongelli@gentiva.com

Media Contact:

Scott Cianciulli

Brainerd Communicators

212-986-6667

cianciulli@braincomm.com

Gentiva^® Health Services Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

ATLANTA, GA, May 3, 2012 — 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 2012 results.

First quarter 2012 financial highlights include:

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Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders and Adjusted EBITDA exclude charges related to restructuring, acquisition and integration activities, the cost of legal settlements and other special items.

For the first quarter of 2012, the Company reported net income attributable to Gentiva shareholders of $4.8 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to net income of $13.5 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2011. These results included special items discussed above as well as the results from discontinued operations in 2011.

Credit Agreement Amendment

As disclosed previously, on March 6, 2012, Gentiva announced it obtained an amendment to its senior secured credit agreement to increase financial covenant flexibility through the remaining term of the facility.

Under the amendment, the maximum consolidated leverage ratio was increased to 6.25 to 1.00 for the quarters ending March 31, 2012 through September 30, 2014, and 5.75 to 1.00 thereafter. Minimum interest coverage was reduced to 2.00 to 1.00 for the quarters ending March 31, 2012 through June 30, 2013, 1.75 to 1.00 from September 30, 2013 through June 30, 2014, and 2.00 to 1.00 thereafter. Additionally, the definition of consolidated interest charges was modified to only reflect cash interest paid.

Interest rates applicable to outstanding Term A and B loans under the credit agreement were each increased by 175 basis points per annum. The LIBOR floor remained at 1.25 percent for each of the term loans. As a result of the amendment, the Company modified the definition of Consolidated EBITDA in the credit agreement to further allow the add-back of certain costs associated with non-recurring cash charges, the Company’s cost realignment initiative and legal settlements. Among other changes, the amendment provided the Company with the ability to make discounted prepayments of outstanding term loans through a Dutch auction process and reduced the size of its revolving credit facility from $125 million to $110 million.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

At March 31, 2012, the Company reported cash and cash equivalents of $72.8 million and outstanding debt of $938.1 million. During the first quarter of 2012, the Company paid down $50.0 million on its term loans. Since closing the Odyssey transaction in August 2010, the Company has repaid $166.9 million on its revolving credit facility and term loans. Total Company days sales outstanding, or DSO’s, was 61 days at March 31, 2012, compared to 52 days at March 31, 2011.

For the first quarter of 2012, net cash provided by operating activities was a negative $34.7 million, compared to $2.7 million in the prior year period. Free cash flow was a negative $38.5 million for the first quarter of 2012, compared to a negative $0.6 million in 2011. Cash flow was impacted in the first quarter of 2012 by higher DSO levels and the previously disclosed payment of $25 million to the United States related to an investigation of Odyssey’s provision of continuous care services prior to the Company’s acquisition of Odyssey in August of 2010. Free cash flow is calculated as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures.

Stock Repurchase Plan

During the quarter, the Company announced that it entered into a stock repurchase plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the SEC to repurchase outstanding shares of its common stock under existing repurchase authorizations. A plan under Rule 10b5-1 allows a company to repurchase its shares at times when it might otherwise be prevented from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods and because it possesses material non-public information. Subsequent to March 31, 2012, the Company repurchased 605.1 thousand shares at a total cost of $5.0 million under the 10b5-1 plan.

Full-Year 2012 Outlook

Gentiva reaffirmed its 2012 outlook for full-year net revenues to be in the range of $1.70 billion to $1.76 billion and adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders to be in the range of $1.00 to $1.20 on a diluted per share basis. The adjusted income from continuing operations outlook includes the financial impact of its March 6, 2012 credit agreement amendment which has a higher interest expense and provides the Company significant covenant flexibility through the remaining term of the facility.

Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders excludes charges related to restructuring, acquisition and integration activities, the cost of legal settlements and other special items.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The information provided in this press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under 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 EBITDA 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 2012 results during its conference call and live webcast to be held Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 9:00 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 #70931383. 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 3 and will remain available continuously through May 10. To listen to a replay of the call from the United States, Canada or international locations dial (800) 585-8367 or (404) 537-3406 and enter the following PIN at the prompt: 70931383. 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 will be posted on the Company’s website.

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.

(unaudited tables and notes follow)

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplemental Information

(Unaudited)

(in 000’s)

(in 000’s)

A reconciliation of Free cash flow to Net cash provided by operating activities follows:

(in 000’s)

A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net income attributable to Gentiva shareholders follows:

A reconciliation of Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders to Income from continuing operations follows: (3)

Operating Metrics

Notes:

Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders is defined as income from continuing operations attributable to Gentiva shareholders, excluding tax reserves relating to the OIG settlement and charges relating to restructuring, legal settlements and acquisition and integration activities.

For the first quarter of 2012, the Company recorded (i) restructuring costs of $0.8 million and (ii) legal settlement reserves of $5.0 million, associated with a tentative settlement of the Wilkie wage and hour lawsuit, partially offset by a reduction in acquisition and integration costs of $0.4 million, primarily relating to favorable lease settlements associated with Odyssey HealthCare, Inc.

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.

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; demographic changes; changes in, or failure to comply with, existing governmental regulations; the impact on our Company of healthcare reform legislation and its implementation through governmental regulations; legislative proposals for healthcare reform; 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; 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; ability to access capital markets; 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; ability to maintain compliance with its financial covenants under the Company’s credit agreement; 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, including the “Risk Factors” section contained in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

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