Long-Term Debt (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Eurodollar Rate [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Minimum Base Rate [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Subordinated Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Subordinated Notes [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Term Loan B [Member]	Mar. 05, 2012 Term Loan B [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Term Loan A [Member]	Mar. 05, 2012 Term Loan A [Member]
Long-Term Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount											$ 550,000,000		$ 200,000,000
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity						110,000,000
Aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes redemption									325,000,000	325,000,000
Effective Interest Rate							1.25%	2.25%	11.50%		6.50%	4.75%	6.25%	4.50%
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	45,400,000			45,400,000
Unused and available borrowing capacity under the Credit Agreement						64,600,000
Credit Agreement Interest Rate	The Base Rate represents the highest of (x) the Bank of America prime rate, (y) the federal funds rate plus 0.50 percent or (z) the Eurodollar Rate plus 1.00 percent.
Commitment fees					0.50%
Proceeds from the issuance of equity with step-downs based on leverage			50.00%
Excess cash flow with two step downs based on company leverage ratio		75.00%
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months													6,300,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two													25,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three													87,500,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Four											466,400,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal after Year Five									325,000,000
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate	8.30%			8.20%
Debt Instrument, Decrease, Repayments													25,000,000
Principal prepayments term loan											13,800,000		25,000,000
Incremental debt issuance costs		5,300,000
Debt Issuance Cost		$ 4,100,000
Consolidated leverage ratio	4.8
Consolidated interest coverage ratio	2.4
Pledge of Capital Stock to Lenders Percentage	100.00%
Debt instrument redemption price terms									Gentiva may redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time prior to the first interest payment of 2014, at a price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount of the Senior Notes redeemed plus an applicable make-whole premium based on the present value of the remaining payments discounted at the treasury rate plus 50 basis points plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of redemption.
Percentage of senior notes to be redeemed									35.00%
Senior notes redemption price									111.50%
Redemption Clause One									at least 65 percent of the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes originally issued remain outstanding after the occurrence of such redemption
Debt Instrument Redemption Clause Two									such redemption occurs within 180 days after the closing of a qualified equity offering.