Harbor Grace Hospice Opens One of the Largest In-Patient Hospice Facilities
Online, September 9, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Harbor Grace Hospice today announces the opening of its 22-bed inpatient unit on the campus of Atlanta Medical Center (AMC), a Tenet Healthcare Corporation 2010 Circle of Excellence hospital. Harbor Grace Hospice is one of the largest in-patient hospice units, providing palliative and end of life care, within the metro Atlanta I-285 perimeter. It stands unique in comparison to other hospice facilities in metro Atlanta in that it is directly accessible from a large tertiary center, provides around the clock care, to an underserviced demographic of Atlantans and has easy access to public transportation as well as the interstate crossroads of the City. Prior to opening the in-patient facility, Harbor Grace Hospice has provided quality home hospice care to hundreds of patients in the metro Atlanta area since 2005.
The key leadership team for Harbor Grace Hospice includes three medical industry professionals with more than 50 years of combined hospice and healthcare law experience: Medical Director Dr. Torey B. Clark; General Counsel and Miller & Martin attorney Terence Clark; and Director of Nursing, Mary Jo Wilson, RN (formerly of Portsbridge Hospice). The Advisory Board of Directors for Harbor Grace Hospice is charged with community outreach and education to integrate palliative medicine into post hospitalization care plans. Harbor Grace Hospice employs 40 staff members including licensed hospice nurses and nursing assistants, chaplains, social workers, dieticians, therapists and volunteer personnel.
"We are incredibly proud to open our in-patient unit, following five years of meticulous planning focused on the needs of our patients and families. As exemplified by the $500,000 facility build-out and implementation of a cutting-edge hospice service delivery philosophy being adopted by major cancer centers across the nation, we are able to focus on the medical and psychosocial needs of our patients and families. We are committed to becoming the premier hospice facility in Atlanta," stated Medical Director Clark. "The meaning behind the name of our facility reflects our mission to provide a supportive environment, a 'safe harbor' if you will, giving care and comfort to our patients and their families, while maintaining autonomy, dignity and grace in their time of need.
"The ability of Atlanta Medical Center to continue to deliver award-winning quality, service and operational performance is highly dependent on the quality of medical providers within Atlanta Medical Center's professional buildings," stated Atlanta Medical Center Chief Business Development Officer Todd Goodall. "We are very glad that Dr. Clark has joined our Senior Care Physicians Network and that Harbor Grace Hospice has opened in our Health Pavilion."
Hospice is a philosophy of care that focuses on the support and care of people in the latter stages of a terminal disease when a cure is no longer a realistic goal. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death, but rather views death as a natural and normal process. Payment for hospice care is widely available and coverage is provided by Medicare, Medicaid and many private health insurance policies. Generally, under the hospice benefit, all medications, equipment and supplies related to treating the terminal diagnosis are covered.
Harbor Grace Hospice will not refuse care based on an inability to pay.
ABOUT MEDICAL DIRECTOR DR. TOREY B. CLARK
Dr. Torey B. Clark has been the Medical Director of Harbor Grace Hospice since 2005, and has held many key appointments which have enhanced her qualifications as Medical Director. Dr. Clark is board certified and actively practices Medical Oncology/Hematology and Internal Medicine. Dr. Clark is one of few physicians in Metro Atlanta that is Board Certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and has been recognized as an expert in the field of end-of-life care.
Dr. Clark earned her Bachelor of Arts from New York University, her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and Robert Wood Medical School in New Jersey and completed her Oncology Fellowship at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Dr. Clark was the Medical Director of Hospice Services for Georgia Baptist Health Care Systems from 1995 - 1997, as well as the Corporate Medical Director of Portsbridge Hospice from 1998-2004. She has also served as
Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine with Emory University School of Medicine from 2002-2005.
ABOUT HARBOR GRACE HOSPICE
The mission of Harbor Grace Hospice is to provide end-of-life care with dignity, grace and compassion to the patients and families we serve. The 22-bed inpatient facility welcomes individuals from across 12 metro Atlanta counties, including: Carroll, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Pike, Rockdale and Spalding.
For more information, please call 404/941-1700 or visit us online at www.harborgracehospice.com.
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