Agrace: New option for hospice and palliative care available in Columbia, Sauk and Iowa counties

Contact: Liz Kopling, Director of Marketing & Communications

Office: (608) 327-7219 Cell: (608) 772-9653

liz.kopling@agrace.org

MADISON, Wis. – Beginning June 1, 2013, people in southern Wisconsin will have a new, highly experienced choice for receiving hospice services and palliative care: Agrace. Founded in Madison as “HospiceCare Inc.,” in 1978, Agrace is a local, nonprofit health care agency that has provided end-of-life care and related services to people in the greater Madison and Janesville communities for 35 years.

Agrace offers specialized pain and symptom management and other services to help increase patients’ comfort and reduce their stress during any stage of a serious illness. These services include palliative care consultations, hospice care and grief support, as well as educational services related to advanced illness.

“The latest available Medicare data indicate that there is a gap in the number of patients in Columbia, Sauk and Iowa counties who receive the compassionate, high-quality care that hospice provides,” said Lynne Myers, Agrace president and CEO. On average, only 37 percent of Medicare beneficiaries in Columbia, Sauk and Iowa counties received hospice care in 2011 in the last six months of life, compared with 53 percent in Dane County that same year.

“At Agrace it is part of our mission to expand access to hospice and palliative care services in underserved communities, so we are extending our service area where we know there is a need for our care,” added Myers.

Agrace cares for people of all ages, including children, and honors the distinctive cultural and spiritual practices of all people. Community donations to the Agrace Foundation help ensure that Agrace can offer services to every eligible patient in this area, including those who are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance and cannot afford to pay for the care they need.

Agrace complements its professional care with the service of specially trained volunteers, who donate more than 70,000 hours a year as caring companions to patients or in staff-support roles at Agrace’s facilities in Fitchburg, which include the Don & Marilyn Anderson HospiceCare Center and Ellen & Peter Johnson Residence. Volunteer support allows Agrace to provide more robust and extensive services than could be offered with staff alone.

For more information about Agrace and how they can help ease the pain and stress of serious illness, call (608) 276-4660 or visit agrace.org .

Founded in 1978, Agrace is a nonprofit, community-based hospice and palliative care agency dedicated to providing exceptional care and support to patients and families facing the challenges of serious illness. With offices in Madison and Janesville, Agrace serves more than 650 patients every day in southern Wisconsin.