UNITED STATES
                            SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                                  Washington, D.C.  20549

                                         FORM 8-K
                                      CURRENT REPORT

                          Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                              Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                     Date of Report (date of earliest event reported):
                                     February 4, 1999




                                    CHEMED CORPORATION
                  (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)




                  Delaware                1-8351               31-0791746
              (State or other    (Commission File Number)    (I.R.S. Employer
               jurisdiction of                                Identification
                 incorporation)                                    Number)




              2600 Chemed Center,  255 East 5th Street,  Cincinnati, OH 45202
              (Address of principal executive offices)             (Zip Code)



                    Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
                                      (513)  762-6900











                                        Page 1 of 4
ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

        On November 12, 1998, Chemed Corporation (the "Company")
issued 300,494 shares of its capital stock for all of the
outstanding common stock of Starburst, Inc. ("Starburst").  Also,
on November 19, 1998, the Company issued 169,066 shares of its
capital stock for all of the outstanding  common stock of Sure-
Flow, Inc. ("Sure-Flow").  Both transactions were accounted for
as pooling-of-interests business combinations.  The combined
impact of these transactions on the Company's historical
consolidated financial statements was not material; consequently,
prior period and current year financial statements have not been
restated for these transactions.

        Starburst operates Roto-Rooter franchises in Austin, Texas;
Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida.  Sure-Flow operates
a Roto-Rooter franchise in Menlo Park, California.



ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

        Summarized on the following page is the unaudited
consolidated income statement of the Company and its subsidiaries
for the three and twelve month  periods ended December 31, 1997
and 1998.  On the basis of materiality, the results of operations
of Starburst and Sure-Flow are included from the dates the
acquisition transactions were completed.
























                                        Page 2 of 4
                       CHEMED CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES
                         UNAUDITED CONDENSED STATEMENT OF INCOME
             FOR THE THREE AND TWELVE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998 AND 1997
Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, December 31, -------------------------- ------------------------- 1998 1997 1998 1997 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Continuing Operations Service revenues and sales $ 101,411 $ 90,619 $ 381,283 $ 341,729 Cost of services provided and cost of goods sold 63,089 56,037 237,148 212,647 Selling and marketing, general and administrative, 30,441 26,799 113,394 100,978 Depreciation expense 2,671 2,361 10,649 8,622 Acquisition expenses (a) 752 - 752 - --------- --------- --------- --------- Income from operations 4,458 5,422 19,340 19,482 Interest expense (1,396) (2,076) (6,793) (10,552) Other income-net 1,942 2,779 19,578 18,951 --------- --------- --------- --------- Income before income taxes 5,004 6,125 32,125 27,881 Income taxes (1,604) (2,475) (12,216) (10,804) --------- --------- --------- --------- Income from continuing operations (b) 3,400 3,650 19,909 17,077 Discontinued Operations (c) - - - 13,160 --------- --------- --------- --------- Net Income (b) $ 3,400 $ 3,650 $ 19,909 $ 30,237 ========= ========= ========= ========= Earnings Per Common Share Income from continuing operations (b) $ 0.33 $ 0.37 $ 1.98 $ 1.72 ========= ========= ========= ========= Net Income (b) $ 0.33 $ 0.37 $ 1.98 $ 3.04 ========= ========= ========= ========= Average number of shares outstanding 10,231 9,965 10,058 9,940 ========= ========= ========= ========= Diluted Earnings Per Common Share Income from continuing operations (b) $ 0.33 $ 0.36 $ 1.97 $ 1.71 ========= ========= ========= ========= Net Income (b) $ 0.33 $ O.36 $ 1.97 $ 3.02 ========= ========= ========= ========= Average number of shares outstanding 10,274 10,081 10,100 10,014 ========= ========= ========= ========= __________________ (a) Amount represents the pretax cost incurred in connection with two pooling-of-interests business combinations completed in November 1998. The aftertax cost amounted to $495,000 ($.05 per share). (b) Amounts include the following capital gains from the sales of investments (in thousands, except per share data): Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, December 31, -------------------------- ------------------------- 1998 1997 1998 1997 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Pretax gain $ 331 $ - $ 12,589 $ 12,235 Aftertax gain 240 - 7,945 7,652 Impact on earnings per share 0.02 - 0.79 0.77 (c) Discontinued operations include the following (in thousands): Net gain on sales of operations discontinued in 1997 $ 9,493 Income from operations discontinued in 1997 3,069 Adjustment relating to operations discontinued in 1994 598 --------- Total discontinued operations $ 13,160 =========
Page 3 of 4 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. CHEMED CORPORATION BY: Arthur V. Tucker, Jr. ------------------------- Its: Vice President and Controller -------------------------------- Dated: February 4, 1999 - ------------------------- Page 4 of 4
 

5 THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM FORM 8-K OF CHEMED CORPORATION DATED FEBRUARY 4, 1999 AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO SUCH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. 0000019584 CHEMED CORPORATION 1,000 YEAR DEC-31-1998 JAN-01-1998 DEC-31-1998 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 381,283 0 237,148 0 0 6,793 32,125 12,216 19,909 0 0 0 19,909 1.98 1.97