LifeCare Hospice Joins Ohio's Hospice Strategic Partnership

LifeCare Hospice has announced plans to join Ohio's Hospice, a strategic partnership committed to sustaining not-for-profit, community-based hospice care in Ohio. LifeCare Hospice, based in Wooster, Ohio, is a not-for-profit hospice serving patients since 1982 in Wayne and Holmes counties. Together with LifeCare Hospice, Ohio's Hospice will now serve patients & families in 32 counties in Ohio.

News provided by

Ohio's Hospice

Jul 06, 2017, 22:15 ET

DAYTON, Ohio, July 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeCare Hospice has announced plans to join Ohio's Hospice, a strategic partnership committed to sustaining not-for-profit, community-based hospice care in Ohio.

LifeCare Hospice, based in Wooster, Ohio, is a not-for-profit hospice serving patients since 1982 in Wayne and Holmes counties. LifeCare is providing services to 160 patients and families daily. Formerly called Hospice and Palliative Care of Greater Wayne County, LifeCare Hospice is a not-for-profit hospice serving patients and their families in Wayne County, Holmes County, and the Wadsworth-Rittman area.

Executive Director Kurt Holmes is excited by the opportunities the affiliation with Ohio's Hospice offers not-for-profit providers. "We are always looking for ways to improve our service to our patients and families. The Ohio's Hospice partners are a collection of outstanding not-for-profit hospices who share our vision for service. The ability to collaborate with other professionals will strengthen our local mission. For more than 35 years, LifeCare Hospice has provided compassionate care and choice for neighbors and friends facing the last season of life. We are excited to be able to keep that promise by leveraging our strengths as part of Ohio's Hospice."

Ohio's Hospice was established in 2013 as a collaboration of Hospice of Dayton, Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties and Hospice of Miami County to ensure the long-term success of the shared mission of serving more patients and their families with even higher levels of hospice care. Since then, the affiliation has expanded to include Hospice of Central Ohio, Community Mercy Hospice and Community Care Hospice.

Now along with LifeCare Hospice, Ohio's Hospice will deliver:

More visits and direct care to patients than any other regional hospice provider;
More resources to provide care to patients and their families, like spiritual care, respiratory therapy, massage, occupational, bereavement and art therapies; and,
More support by serving patients wherever they call home, in every care setting, including extended care facilities, assisted living facilities, hospice houses and hospital in-patient settings.

Monica Miyashita, President of the board of directors at LifeCare, said, "We are very excited about joining forces with Ohio's Hospice, a not-for-profit hospice that shares our values of compassionate care and a strong commitment to the local community. Ohio's Hospice is an innovator in hospice care with many thoughtful and patient-centered care ideas that we are looking forward to providing to our patients. With the ever-changing healthcare market, we are pleased to be able to partner with a non-profit organization that allows us to offer outstanding levels of patient care to the community."

Former LifeCare Hospice Executive Director Carol McKiernan observed, "For over 35 years, LifeCare Hospice has enjoyed the support of the Wayne and Holmes County community as the premier provider of hospice and palliative care in our area. I am pleased to see it growing in a way that maintains its commitment to excellence in the delivery of patient care and family-based services while building for the future. Ohio's Hospice enjoys a decades-long reputation at the state and national level for its leadership in the field of hospice care. The relationship between the two organizations will benefit the community and strengthen LifeCare's mission and vision."

"The affiliates of Ohio's Hospice together set the standard for end-of-life care in the state," says Ohio's Hospice Board Chair Greg Toman. "Our shared expertise and commitment to quality are evident in the sheer number of resources devoted to patient care, not to making a profit where many competitors focus. Working, sharing, and planning together creates for stronger community hospices and enhances the quality of care and services in the communities we serve."

"Together, the affiliates of Ohio's Hospice will set the highest standard of care to ensure Ohioans have access to world class end-of-life and palliative care. Each affiliate is strengthened by sharing resources and is enabled to respond to the increasing regulatory challenges and a declining reimbursement environment," said Kent Anderson, President and CEO of Ohio's Hospice. "By expanding our strategic partnership, we continue to grow, protect jobs and maintain strong partnerships with local partners."

Additional Information

Ohio's Hospice

Ohio's Hospice is an affiliation of mission-driven, not-for-profit hospices in Ohio committed to a shared vision of strengthening and preserving community based hospices. Members of Ohio's Hospice share the values of:

Providing a patient atmosphere of hospitality, respect and caring
Attending to the social, physical, and spiritual needs of each person we are privileged to serve
Preserving and enhancing patient dignity
Celebrating the life of each individual we serve
Reducing unnecessary suffering in the communities we serve

Counties served by Ohio's Hospice affiliates include Adams, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Darke, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Miami, Montgomery, Muskingum, Perry, Pike, Preble, Ross, Shelby, Warren and Wayne counties.

With LifeCare Hospice's participation, this strategic partnership will:

Serve over 9,100 patients annually
Serve over 1,400 patients each day
Employ over 1,000 exceptional staff
Continue the economic commitment of community hospices to the communities they serve
Serve 32 counties in Ohio
Have the privilege of serving with over 1,200 wonderful volunteers
Ensure that no one in our communities is denied access to hospice care based on their ability to pay
Assure that dollars raised to support the community hospice mission remain dedicated to respective communities

Members of Ohio's Hospice include:

Community Care Hospice – Community Care Hospice, a not-for-profit, was founded in 2004, by a group of individuals whose mission it is to provide superior hospice care to their community. Local professionals provide care for patients in a 10-county area surrounding Wilmington. Bereavement and grief support is also provided to hospice families and to the community, including grief groups and support to local schools. Patients are cared for in their home, extended care and assisted living facilities. General inpatient care is available at Clinton Memorial Hospital, along with access to designated hospice beds at Highland District Hospital.

Ohio's Community Mercy Hospice – Ohio's Community Mercy Hospice was founded in 2004. The not-for-profit, community based organization provides superior care and superior services for patients facing life-limiting illnesses in Clark, Madison, Greene and Champaign Counties. Ohio's Community Mercy Hospice is a service of Ohio's Hospice of Dayton

Hospice of Central Ohio – Hospice of Central Ohio has provided a holistic, community-based approach to hospice care for over 35 years. Hospice of Central Ohio is a not-for-profit organization serving 9 counties in Central Ohio and is dedicated to supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families dealing with life-limiting conditions. The Selma Markowitz Inpatient Center is located on the 6th floor of Licking Memorial Hospital.

LifeCare Hospice – LifeCare Hospice is a not-for-profit organization serving communities in Wayne and Holmes Counties. Formerly called Hospice and Palliative Care of Greater Wayne County, LifeCare Hospice embodies the spirit of neighbors caring for neighbors with a commitment to relieve suffering, ease fears, and provide companionship along life's last journey. The LifeCare Hospice team - doctors, nurses, health aides, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers – to address patient and family needs wherever the patient calls home. LifeCare services also include the availability of the Stanley C. and Flo K. Gault Inpatient Pavilion, providing short-term patient care to manage acute symptoms, adjust medications or stabilize patient condition.

Ohio's Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties – Ohio's Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties honors the lives of patients by preserving quality of life and respecting patient wishes. A not-for-profit organization serving the needs of communities in Butler as well as Warren Counties, Ohio's Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties provides a comprehensive range of care in every setting – homes, extended care or assisted living facilities, hospitals, and Lorelei's Place Hospice House, a free-standing hospice facility with twelve inpatient beds providing short-term patient care when needed for patient comfort and symptom management.

Ohio's Hospice of Dayton – Ohio's Hospice of Dayton is a not-for-profit hospice provider and has served patients and families in the Miami Valley for nearly 40 years in their homes, extended care and assisted living facilities and the Hospice House location in Dayton. Grief support services are available to the entire community through the Pathways of Hope grief support center. Ohio's Hospice of Dayton serves over 700 patients and families daily, achieving national recognition for innovative services and outstanding care.

Ohio's Hospice of Miami County – Ohio's Hospice of Miami County is a community-based, not-for-profit organization founded in 1983 to "Improve the quality of life for people and families facing life-limiting illnesses." Our goal is to be the leader in quality comfort and bereavement care in Miami County. Services are provided to anyone who qualifies regardless of the patient's insurance coverage or ability to pay. Services are provided inpatient homes, extended care and assisted living facilities and a dedicated inpatient care wing at Upper Valley Medical Center.

Media Contacts

Please direct all media inquiries for:

LifeCare Hospice to:

Kurt Holmes

Executive Director

LifeCare Hospice

O – 330.264.4899

Email - [email protected]

Ohio's Hospice:

Craig Schrolucke

Director of Mission Engagement & Communication

Ohio's Hospice