How to Choose Your Hospice When Your Hospice Changes

Community Hospice and Haven both began serving North Florida in 1979. Community Hospice was headquartered in Jacksonville with a focus in Northeast Florida and Haven in Gainesville with an emphasis in North Central Florida. Over the years, both expanded their service area and now both serve Northeast and North Central Florida.

Community Hospice and Haven were considered legacy community-based providers as the not-for-profit providers in a changing landscape of increasing for-profit hospice providers. For-profit providers increased nationally from 30% of all hospices in 2000 to 73% in 2020. The North Florida communities have seen the impact of for-profit providers with lower quality scores and fewer programs to benefit the community.

With the acquisition of Haven by a for-profit company, that trend is now impacting our community even greater and leaves Community Hospice as the only community-based, not-for-profit hospice provider. We believe it is unfortunate that Haven is no longer a non-profit organization, but we assure you Community Hospice & Palliative Care remains strong and committed to serving this community.

Community Hospice & Palliative Care continues to be the highest quality provider in the area and the only 4-star hospice provider in North Florida. As a nationally recognized leader in quality hospice care, Community Hospice is committed to improving the quality of life for patients and their families and to being the compassionate guide for end-of-life care in our communities. No one is ever denied care due to an inability to pay.

Being a not-for-profit organization means Community Hospice & Palliative Care invests in charity care and programs that benefit the local community. Our investments return to our community as stakeholders rather than out-of-state stakeholders. We are giving back to our community with more than $5 million annually through charity care, services to military veterans, outreach to traditionally underserved minority groups, and our pediatric palliative program that is caring for more than 350 children annually.

We encourage physicians, facility administrators, and community members to contact us at 352.204.9872 in North Central Florida, and 904.407.5464 in Northeast Florida to learn more about how we can support patients, families, and caregivers in your community during this transition.

 

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Transitioning Your Care

We understand it can be unsettling when your hospice changes from a community-based not-for-profit to a for-profit organization. If you are interested in transitioning your loved one into our care, please complete the following steps:

1. The patient must file a signed statement with the hospice they have received care from and the newly designated hospice.
2. We will contact the sending hospice directly to initiate the transfer process.
3. Our team will work closely with the sending hospice to coordinate all aspects of the transfer, including medical records and patient belongings.
4. Our team will inform and educate the patients and their families about the transfer process.

If you have questions about transitioning your care, please contact us at 352.204.9872 in North Central Florida, and 904.407.5464 in Northeast Florida. 

 

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Employment Opportunities

We are hiring for all positions. If you are interested in joining our award-winning team, please call 904-614-1766 or email RStephens@communityhospice.com.