When you or someone you love has to face a terminal illness, Hospice of Montgomery, located in Montgomery, Alabama, is available to ease the burden of dealing with such a situation. Our compassionate, experienced staff and volunteers will be here to provide the loving support, education, and services you need to help you navigate through the difficult days.
From nursing to counseling to assistance with paperwork, Hospice of Montgomery offers a host of hospice services. At the outset, we’ll see if you or your loved one is eligible to receive services from Hospice of Montgomery and how those services are paid for. Most often there is no cost to patients and families for hospice care.
Please take a moment to look at some of our family stories and video so you can get a better idea of how we deliver our services. And of or course, if you’d like to volunteer—we would welcome your participation! Please tell us how you might be able to join in.
An early leader in Hospice care
Sister Elizabeth Parpart
Image credit: Sisters of CharityThe Montgomery Hospice was the very first Hospice in the state of Alabama—in fact, we were among the first in the entire nation.
While searching for a way to provide more compassionate care to patients and their families, Sister Elizabeth Parpart, Director of Social Services for St. Margaret’s Hospital in Montgomery, heard about a new program in Connecticut: the first Hospice in the U.S. which began in 1974. She was impressed with their caring approach—and the positive results. By 1976, Sister Elizabeth had assembled a local team and launched Hospice of Montgomery.
Over the three decades since then, we’ve remained focused on our mission: helping thousands of local families as we’ve grown to meet today’s needs and challenges.
Our Mission
The mission of Hospice of Montgomery is to provide quality palliative care to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those in our community affected by terminal illness; to maintain the highest ethical standards, and to educate the community about the hospice concept and end-of-life issues.
Hospice of Montgomery provides a full array of services within a 50 mile radius throughout the Tri County River Region of Montgomery, Autauga, Bullock, Butler, Chilton, Crenshaw, Elmore, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa Counties.
How are services paid?
Usually there is no cost to patients and families for hospice care, because most private insurance programs, as well as Medicare and Medicaid provide hospice benefits. Claims are submitted by Hospice of Montgomery (meaning no paperwork for you).
We also receive United Way funds and donations from the community to help the less fortunate, such as those who are uninsured.
Who is Eligible for Hospice Care?
Any person in the River Region who has been diagnosed with a terminal condition qualifies for hospice. These conditions include diseases of the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, cancer, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, stroke, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and a variety of other conditions. Once your doctor has made the referral, hospice can begin immediately.
Hospice of Montgomery—unique among many
Hospice of Montgomery isn’t the only choice for families seeking hospice services. There are a number of fine organizations offering this type of care. However, we believe that we offer a number of unique benefits to our patients, their caregivers and families.
Community
We are the only independent non-profit 501(c)3 hospice serving Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore, Crenshaw and Butler counties. We have unique knowledge and understanding of our community environment and the local support and service agencies that are available to assist you.
Focus
We concentrate all our efforts and expertise strictly on home hospice and palliative care. We do not dilute the quality of our services by expanding into other areas.
Stability
Hospice of Montgomery was the very first Hospice founded in Alabama in 1976 and is a family of professionals who are passionate believers in the hospice concept. The caring, experienced professionals who join our team stay over the long term and add their experience to the rich pool of talent and skills we make available to our patients and their families.
Experience and Expertise
Donald Marshall, M.D., has served as Medical Director since 2001. He is Board Certified in Family Practice and has over 35 years experience in Montgomery private practice and has served as Chief of Staff at Jackson Hospital.
James McLaughlin, M.D., has served as a medical director since 2009. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and has over 25 years experience in Montgomery private practice and has served as Chief of Medical Staff at Jackson Hospital.
Our nursing staff has combined experience in hospice and palliative care of more than 100 years!
Our Executive Director, Jenille Ball, is not only a Registered Nurse with 30 years experience in Hospice and Palliative Nursing, but also a seasoned administrator, whose passion for end-of-life care extends to staff and the community. Jenille served first as our Clinical Director from 1990 and became our Executive Director in 1997.
Intimacy
Hospice of Montgomery strives to provide levels of personal care that exceed industry averages in practically every category. For example, our Annual Patient Satisfaction survey shows a 95% excellent rating for patient care received under hospice—that’s 26% higher than the national average of 75%. What this translates to is our patients get more attention, better care and thus, a better chance at a higher quality of life. You may find that many of our hospice team members almost become part of your family, just as you become part of ours.
Flexibility
Hospice of Montgomery is a small, smart local organization. In other words, there aren’t multiple layers of bureaucracy standing between the patient, the family, the caregivers and our leadership team. This means we can be responsive, adaptive, and creative in meeting our patient’s unique needs.
Perhaps the greatest strength of our agency lies in the fact that we have a passionate belief in the hospice concept and the benefits it provides to our patients. Each of our staff members has been intimately involved with hospice care for many years. Each has been privileged to share first hand the unique lessons, life experiences, and gifts that hospice brings to its patients and their families.
The true value of Hospice of Montgomery and our services is determined by our ability to provide:
- Comfort, care, hope, and choice to our patients, their caregivers and families.
- An environment that recognizes and supports the patient’s right to live with dignity and make the decisions that affect his or her life.
- An environment that aggressively promotes the patient’s ability to live his or her life fully with the highest possible quality of life, regardless of diagnosis or prognosis.
- Professionalism, integrity, and excellence in all aspects of our organization.
Board of Directors
J. Forrest Neeley
President
Jason J. Bryant
Vice President
E. Lloyd Faulkner
Treasurer
Sarah Hill
Secretary
Lee Haigler Sims
Immediate Past President
Frank H. Hawthorne, Jr.
Past President Emeritus
Members-at-Large
Dorothy Arrington
Davis A “Tony” Graydon
Algie Neill McCorvey
Julia Horton Wilson
Board Members
Kimberly Baker
Melanie Beasley
Gretchen Donald Boyd
Nancy Knighton Dowdle
Dr. Jack Evans
The Rev. Candice Frazer
Sarah Hunter Frazer
Jeanie Holloway
Lucy Martin Jackson
Jacques Jarry
Ed Kingler
Elizabeth S. Land
Russell McGuire, PhD., RN
Seibels Lanier Marshall
Melissa Warnke
Raley L. Wiggins
