HEALTAHR TCARE LIFE-CHANGING HOSPICE CARE 40 YEARS & COUNTING By Rafael J. Sciullo MARCH/APRIL 2017 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 137 Hospice care is a specialized kind of holistic care that comforts people of all ages and diagnoses when a cure is no longer possible. It is provided in many settings by interdisciplinary teams of expert professionals and trained volunteers who ease the physical, emotional and spiritual pain and stress of patients and families. Dr. Cicely Saunders opened the first modern hospice in a suburb of London in 1967 and the first hospice in the United States opened in Connecticut in 1974. Fortunately for us, in 1977 our founder Bunny Flarsheim brought together a small group of volunteers in Pinellas County and decided our community deserved to receive this same specialized care when facing the end of life. We were one of the first nonprofit hospices to open in the United States and clearly on the leading edge of this monumental way of caring for people in their final days. Our founding volunteers believed that the dying and their families should be embraced with compassionate care, dignity and comfort and that no one should die alone or in pain. We are truly honored to be celebrating 40 years of serving our community with hospice care and the other specialized programs and services we’ve developed along the way — and to continue the legacy of our founders. As you can imagine, we’ve gone through many changes in 40 years. We’ve added numerous programs for children, the bereaved and those in longterm care facilities; we’ve partnered with numerous local healthcare organizations to create innovative solutions to meet our community’s needs, including home care and palliative care; we’ve created a program for all-inclusive care for the elderly that includes a state-of-the-art day center; we’ve committed to serving people infected or affected by HIV and evolving needs and remain a strong, viable community resource. In December, we announced the formation of a strategic alliance between Suncoast Hospice and Tidewell Hospice, our neighbors to the south. Combined, we serve more than 16,000 patients and families each year. This alliance positions both nonprofit hospices to deal with the changing health care landscape through shared best practices, purchasing efficiencies and expanding our role in serious illness, advanced illness and end-of-life care. The alliance will also drive more collaborative and innovative partnerships between the two companies and local health care providers. Additional nonprofit, community-based end-of-life care organizations may join the alliance in the future. Hospice embodies a spirit of caring which is combined with compassion and commitment, embracing patients, families and loved ones. At Empath Health, we strive to increase our dedication, perfect our skills and share our passion with a pervasive spirit of caring and kindness in all we do. And thanks to all of you—our community and thousands of volunteers and donors who have made it possible for us to be your experts in life-changing care for 40 years. This milestone would not be possible without your dedication and passion for our mission. For more information about Empath Health, visit EmpathHealth.org or call (727) 467-7423. 9 EDITOR’S NOTE: Rafael J. Sciullo is president and CEO of Empath Health, a nonprofit integrated network of care for those affected by chronic or advanced illness. For more information about services, call (727) 467-7423 or visit EmpathHealth.org. Rafael J. Sciullo recently merged with Francis House in Tampa to strengthen the reach of those services; and we began extensive advance care planning services to help individuals in our community ensure their health care wishes will be honored at the end of life. While we have clearly experienced hundreds of changes in our past 40 years — and served tens of thousands of patients and families during that time, health care continues to change at a rapid pace. In 2014, Suncoast Hospice created Empath Health as a parent company to bring greater awareness to the vast array of services we provide our community. At the same time, Suncoast Hospice became known as an affiliate member of Empath Health. Hospice remains the cornerstone program of Empath Health and we continue to create innovative healthcare services and programs to meet our community’s
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