HEALTH CARE

Acquisition-Minded: Regency Health Services Inc. is on a buying binge.

The Newport Beach company, which operates skilled nursing centers, just announced that it has agreed to buy seven facilities in Southern California.

Three of those facilities provide long-term elderly care; three provide care for patients diagnosed with mental disorders; and one is a long-term care facility for those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Regency Health has been growing at an impressive rate, taking over 14 pharmaceutical and nursing facilities since 1992. If all goes well with the latest proposal, which must be approved by Regency’s board of directors, the company will have 50 facilities under its wing.

The pace has driven record profit. Earnings for the past nine months were $1.4 million, up 79% from $789,000 for the same period a year earlier.