VITAS, Big Bend, Heart to Heart, Family Hospice Unveil New Locations

VITAS Launches New Florida Location

VITAS Healthcare has opened a new location in Florida, expanding the hospice provider’s footprint in its home state.

The Chemed Corp (NYSE: Chem) subsidiary recently announced the new office’s opening, located in Wesley Chapel, Florida. The location will serve as a hub for staff providing hospice services across Pasco County, where seniors 65 and older represent 21.8% of the county’s overall population, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

The expansion is driven by growing demand for end-of-life care in the northern Tampa Bay area, according to Jalisha Wynn, general manager for VITAS.

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“At VITAS, we are committed to ensuring that every patient receives the best care possible—individualized care tailored to their values that allows them to live with dignity,” Wynn said in a statement. “By expanding into Pasco County, we are providing families with a premier choice, backed by decades of expertise and compassion.”

VITAS will also offer free monthly continuing education webinars to clinicians throughout the surrounding location’s communities. The company provides continuing education credits to health care providers in other settings, such as assisted living facilities, to help spread awareness about the benefits of hospice care.

De novos have been a core of VITAS’ growth strategy. The company most recently expanded in with two new locations in California, which will provide hospice, palliative care and veteran services, among others.

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Big Bend Hospice Opens De Novo

Florida-based Big Bend Hospice will soon unveil a new location as the provider to support staff providing care across the state’s northern region.

Located in Monticello, Florida, the de novo will open in November and serve as a center for clinicians and volunteers providing in-home hospice care to patients in the Jefferson County area. The location’s development has been nine years in the making and supported/fueled by local philanthropic donations.

“This field office reflects the deep support Jefferson County has for hospice care,” Michael Eurich, senior director of strategy, policy, and innovation at Big Bend Hospice, said in an announcement. “It’s a homegrown effort that not only highlights our commitment to compassionate care but also underscores how much the community values these essential services.”

Big Bend Hospice serves eight counties across Florida, with a location in each area. Its most recent de novo features a wraparound porch and meeting spaces for community events and bereaved families.

The location marks another notch in the hospice’s growth plans, following the recent opening of its inpatient unit, the First Commerce Center for Compassionate Care at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital The center was launched when Big Bend Hospice formed a new collaboration for transitional care with the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare system.

Established nearly four decades ago, Big Bend Hospice in 2021 formed a new parent company, Seven Oaks Health. The provider also operates an inpatient facility, dubbed the Margaret Z. Dozier Hospice House.

“Our mission is to inspire hope by positively impacting the way our community experiences serious illness or grief—one family at a time,” said Bill Wertman, CEO of Big Bend Hospice and Seven Oaks Health “We are honored to continue serving the Jefferson County community with the same dedication and excellence that have defined our services for more than 40 years.”

Heart to Heart Hospice Expands with New Facility

Heart to Heart Hospice has launched a new facility to expand inpatient care options for patients and families in San Antonio, Texas.

The facility will provide hospice care to patients requiring higher levels of pain and symptom management in a home-like environment.

The new location is an extension of the Texas-based hospice’s services in the region, where the organization has provided care since 2009, according to Heart to Heart CEO and Founder Kelly Mitchell. Its launch is in part intended to ease caregiver burden, Mitchell stated.

“Our goal is to provide comfort, support, and dignity,” Mitchell said in a press release shared with Hospice News. “Our new hospice house has a full array of amenities designed to ensure this high level of care for both patients and their loved ones.”

Heart to Heart Hospice’s de novo features 14 patient rooms with private bathrooms and overnight accommodations for loved ones. Patients receive 24/7 hospice care at the facility, which has a kitchen and dining area, common areas, a chapel and a meditation room.

The facility is near the South Texas Medical Center, which operates 75 medically-related institutions, more than 45 clinics, 12 hospitals, one higher education institution, and several small medical practices and non-medical businesses.

Established in 2003, Heart to Heart Hospice provides services across 63 locations in Texas, Indiana, Michigan and recently stepped into the Oklahoma market last month with a de novo.

Family Hospice Growing in Georgia

Family Hospice recently opened a new location in Gainesville, Georgia, marking the provider’s next iteration of growth in the state.

Family Hospice operates eight locations across a 60-mile radius in Georgia and South Carolina. The locally-owned and operated organization’s services include hospice, bereavement care, medication management and assistance with durable medical equipment.

The de novo marks a significant milestone for the organization and the patients and families it serves, according to Family House COO Robin Stanton.

“This new location allows us to expand our Family and reach patients and their families in the comfort of wherever they call home in Gainesville and surrounding counties,” Stanton told local news. “We are committed to providing compassionate end-of-life care for those facing a life-limiting illness.”

Similar to national trends, demographics are driving up demand for hospice care in the Peach State. Seniors 65 and older represent 14.5% of the population in Gainesville, Georgia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hospice utilization rates reached 48.7% in Georgia during the calendar year 2022, hovering around the national average of 49.1% that year, reported the National Alliance for Care at Home.

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