Richard E. Russell has been named the new president and CEO of the Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Russell came to the hospice provider from the Midwest division of ProMedica Health System, where he served as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer for post-acute services.
Russell will succeed Judy Seibenick, the company’s top executive for the previous 20 years. Sibernick first joined the company as a nurse when it was founded in 1981.
“I have been a nurse for more than 30 years and have developed a passion for hospice and palliative care,” Russell said. “To be able to provide care and support for families at a time when it is needed most is a privilege, and I am honored to be able to work with the team at Hospice of Northwest Ohio to continue its powerful legacy in the community.”
Russell has had a 30-year career in health care and has held leadership positions in a number of settings, including academic, acute, and post-acute and end-of-life care. His work has focused on hospice and home health for the past 16 years.
Prior to ProMedica, he was executive director of Compassus of Greater Ohio. He was also CEO and co-founder of Pilgrimage Health Care, doing business as Pilgrimage Hospice.
Hospice of Northwest Ohio, established in 1981, has an average daily census close to 400 patients. The organization provides care out of three locations, each in its home state, and operates two inpatient hospice centers. The executive recruitment firm Furst Group helped facilitate Russell’s hiring.
The company launched its palliative care service in 2008, branded as Sincera Supportive Care and Symptom Relief.
Demographic tailwinds are strong in Ohio. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission has projected that central Ohio’s 65-or-over population would double by 2050. Currently more than 17% of the state’s population are older than 65, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ohio had the sixth highest rate of hospice utilization among Medicare decedents during 2018 at 56.7%, the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization reported. The national average that year was slightly higher than 50%.
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