Alivia Care of Georgia celebrates the first anniversary of its affiliation with Hospice Satilla. Recently awarded the 2021 Hospice Honors Elite status, Hospice Satilla has continued Alivia Care of Georgia’s commitment to supporting and sustaining a community-based mission-driven hospice providing compassionate care to the community.
Alivia Care of Georgia is led by Susan Ponder-Stansel, President and CEO of Alivia Care, Inc., and a leader and advocate for non-profit hospice care for over 35 years.
“When I became involved in hospice in 1985, there were only a handful of for-profit hospices in the United States. Now, over 76 percent of hospices are for-profit and see hospice as solely a business opportunity instead of a mission-driven service committed to serving the community,” said Ponder-Stansel. “The business practices of these for-profit hospices pose a real and substantial threat to non-profit hospices that serve all who need care, including patients whose care is costly or who have no insurance. Alivia Care of Georgia was founded to provide a structure for excellent community-based non-profit hospices to come together to share resources, reduce overhead expenses, and be better prepared to compete with the growing number of for-profit hospices in Georgia. The sustainability of our non-profit programs matters to the communities they serve.”
Since 1986, Hospice Satilla has provided expert, compassionate care for patients living with advanced illnesses such as Alzheimer’s/Dementia, cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) serving Ware, Pierce, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Clinch, and Coffee counties.
In July 2021, Hospice Satilla expanded services, launching Satilla Palliative Care, a specialized care program to support the needs of residents of Southeast Georgia.
“Affiliating with Alivia Care of Georgia has enabled Hospice Satilla to not only continue providing exceptional and compassionate care to those we serve, but it has also afforded us new opportunities” said Debra Golden, Executive Director of Hospice Satilla. “The addition of Satilla
Palliative Care is one example of the benefits of joining hands with other non-profits through Alivia Care. We are stronger and better than ever before since the affiliation and look forward to the future.”