The history of GHC - Garofalo Health Care S.p.A. - originated from the passion and courage of Raffaele Garofalo, a man born in 1921, driven by an underlying ideology based on a profound respect for human life; an exceptional surgeon, who decided to devote his entire life to the defence and protection of human life, in the firm belief that the patient must always be placed at the centre of the system. In this respect, he constantly supported the use innovation, striving for excellence in healthcare. In addition, Raffaele Garofalo was also a skilled entrepreneur who, starting from a simple dream, managed to lay the foundation for a solid and productive group.

As early as the 1950s, together with his two brothers, Antonio and Mario (also doctors), the young Raffaele, already an experienced surgeon, imitated a major entrepreneurial venture with the acquisition of important healthcare facilities located in the Lazio region, thereby creating the first private healthcare group in the region. But this was only the start of a journey that reached its peak at the end of the 1990s, when, Raffaele Garofalo, together with his daughter, Maria Laura, followed the path of territorial and sector diversification by acquiring healthcare facilities in various regions of Northern Italy.

This lead to the acquisition of Eremo di Miazzina in Verbania in the Piedmont region, a rehabilitation and social assistance structure. Subsequently, in May 2000, it was the turn of Villa Berica in Vicenza, a multi-speciality structure for acute care, equipped with a rehabilitation department. In August of the same year, the Hesperia Hospital of Modena, a special multi-speciality hospital for acute patients, mainly known for its Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Department, was acquired. In 2002, the Group acquired Villa Garda in the province of Verona, a rehabilitation facility equipped with a nutritional rehabilitation and a cardiac rehabilitation department, the first European landmark for the treatment of eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia and obesity).

Raffaele Garofalo died in February 2006, but GHC’s growth path did not stop there. In 2008, the Rugani Nursing Home, today known as Rugani Hospital, was acquired in Siena. This is a multi-specialty structure for acute patients, equipped with a rehabilitation centre, as well as one for patients in a persistent vegetative state. Villa Von Siebenthal Nursing Home, located in Genzano, was also acquired in 2008. It is a residential facility dedicated to the treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders and drug addiction. During the same year, a piece of land was purchased in Gravellona Toce (Piedmont region), in an area without sanitary facilities, near an important motorway junction. The land was used to build the Raffaele Garofalo Institute, a new and important structure for recovery and functional rehabilitation.

In 2014, sector diversification was extended to the field of outpatient diagnostics with the acquisition of C.M.S.R. Veneto Medica, located in Altavilla Vicentina. In partnership with the Regional Health Service (SSR), the facility represents a centre of excellence in the field of diagnostic imaging and cardiology, through its use of advanced technology, high medical expertise and organizational efficiency.

In June 2017, it became part of the Garofalo business reality, owned by the Fides Group, directly or through subsidiaries and associated companies, of 11 social and healthcare facilities located in Genoa and in the Province of Genoa. It is one of the most important private healthcare and management services in the Liguria region, focusing mainly on physical therapy, motor and psychiatric rehabilitation, disability and long-term care.

In addition, after a few months, Garofalo strengthened its presence in the Emilia-Romagna region by taking over the Casa di Cura Prof. Nobili in the Bologna Province, a facility equipped with a medical department, a surgical unit, a dialysis room, a large outpatient diagnostic department, and a unit for initial/emergency care. The structure carries out the function of “ospedale per il territorio” (hospital for the territory).

In 2018, GHC began an important journey towards its listing on the Borsa Italiana S.p.A. Electronic Share Market. Despite adverse financial conditions and a spread of 350 basis points, the company was officially listed on 9 November 2018 with a share demand three times higher than supply. Moreover, the listing was based solely on an increase in share capital.

Entry into the Italian Stock Market subsequently led to a "Buy and Build" strategy aimed at consolidating the Group's positioning in the reference market. This further improved its economic and financial performance and strengthened its competitive positioning. In fact, not even a month after listing, the Group acquired 100% of the share capital of the company: Poliambulatorio Dalla Rosa Prati Srl., a Diagnostic Centre of excellence based in Parma, operating both as a public healthcare provider accredited by the Emilia-Romagna Region, and as a private healthcare provider. The company is able to handle about 600 patients a day. It provides specialist outpatient treatment, physiatry and physiotherapy services, outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine; as well as efficient laboratory testing and has a department dedicated to dentistry. Subsequently, just 6 months after listing, the Group acquired Ospedali Privati Riuniti (OPR), another important private healthcare company in Emilia Romagna, with two accredited hospitals, both located in Bologna (Nigrisoli Private Accredited Hospital and Villa Regina Private Accredited Hospital), with a total of 170 authorized beds, of which 168 are accredited. This acquisition represents an operation of huge strategic value for GHC as it significantly strengthens its presence in Emilia-Romagna.

In June 2019, the Group’s Buy & Build strategy was further confirmed with the entry of three healthcare structures operating in the diagnostic imaging sector: Centro Medico San Biagio and Bimar in Portogruaro (Venice) whose acquisitions were completed in July 2019, and Castrense University Medical Centre in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) whose acquisition were completed in September 2019. These acquisitions are of the utmost strategic value for GHC because, in addition to strengthening the Group’s presence in Veneto, they have also enabled the Group to enter a new, particularly wealthy region, Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Immediately after in July 2019, through its subsidiary Hesperia Hospital in Modena, GHC acquired 100% of Aesculapio, an accredited polyclinic based in San Felice sul Panaro (province of Modena), the largest polyclinic centre in the northern area of Modena province. It is also considered a major regional health centre, operating both as a public healthcare provider accredited by the Emilia-Romagna Region, and as a private healthcare provider in the main branches of specialized outpatient healthcare.

A year later, in July 2020, GHC acquired 100% of the share capital of XRay One, a diagnostic centre for diagnostic radiology and specialist medicine, accredited by the National Healthcare System and located in Poggio Rusco, in the province of Mantua. Through this acquisition the Group takes its first step into Lombardy, a Region that continues to represent a reference point for Italian healthcare, moreover XRay One enjoys a positioning that will allow significant synergies to be achieved, thanks to the strategic proximity between the other GHC's facilities located in Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions.

In February 2021, the binding agreement was signed for the purchase of the Clinica San Francesco in Verona, an European reference centre for robotic prosthetic orthopaedic surgery. The entry of the Clinic leads the Group to an increase in the specialist technologies available to the facilities and an enrichment of the Group’s clinical-surgical and scientific solutions. Also in the same year, in July, the acquisition of two additional facilities in Emila Romagna, the accredited private hospitals Domus Nova and San Francesco di Ravenna, which allow to cover the entire ridge of the region.

In December 2022 another important acquisition with the entry into GHC of the Veneto Group of Diagnostics and Rehabilitation (GVDR). An operation that allows GHC to expand into the strategic areas of Padua, Venice and Treviso, thus further strengthening its presence in the Veneto region.

While the following year, in May 2023, GHC strengthened its presence in Friuli Venezia Giulia with the acquisition of a controlling stake in Sanatorio Triestino SpA, an accredited and historic facility in Trieste, equipped with 80 hospital beds and 40 of RSA. Sanatorio Triestino also owns controlling interests in Eutonia S.r.l. Sanità & Salute, the largest physiotherapy and rehabilitation company in the Province of Trieste, and in Terme del Friuli-Venezia Giulia S.r.l., the company that currently manages the “Arta” and “Monfalcone” spas.

Today Garofalo Health Care S.p.A. is the first, and presently, the only private company listed in Italy in the healthcare sector, and ‘best in class’ both at the national and international level for management performance. The Group operates through 37 healthcare facilities of excellence. It is located in 8 of Italy's wealthiest regions and offers a wide range of services covering all areas of healthcare thanks to the diversity of its specialist services and to its use of state-of-art technologies and highly qualified staff.