On the heels of Apria Healthcare’s Oct. 28 announcement that the Blackstone Group had completed its purchase of the Lake Forest, Calif.-headquarted national provider for approximately $1.7 billion, Apria’s Lawrence Higby has announced he will retire from its CEO spot.

With nearly 11 years at Apria, Higby will stay on to work as its vice chairman and advisor to ensure a smooth transition to Blackstone while the search for a successor CEO is underway.

In the interim, Apria board member Dr. Norman Payson, a former managed care executive, will serve as executive chairman and interim CEO.

“Larry Higby and his team have done an outstanding job in growing Apria from $940 million in revenues in 1999, as a provider of primarily home respiratory and medical equipment services, to $2.1 billion in revenues as a highly diversified and high quality provider of a broad range of homecare services,” Payson said in a prepared statement.

“Our alliance with Blackstone will enable Apria to continue to expand and enhance the homecare services we provide to millions of patients and thousands of customers each year,” Higby said in the same public statement. “With the consummation of the merger, we look forward to continued growth and success as the nation’s leading home healthcare company. On behalf of Apria’s management and Board of Directors, I want to thank our stockholders and dedicated employees for their support through this process.”