Independent Contractor Operations (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Roto-Rooter [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member]
Independent Contractor Operations [Line Items]
Independent contractors with sublicenses			66
Notes receivable from independent contractors	$ 1.2	$ 1.1
Interest rates on loans				8.00%	0.00%
Terms of the loans to independent contractors, years				5 years	2 months