SALISBURY ó Rowan Regional Hospice and Hospice & Palliative CareCenter of Winston-Salem plan to merge their Rowan County operations Oct. 1, a Rowan Regional Medical Center press release said.
Employees of both organizations will work for the new agency, to be called Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care, the press release said.
ěThis collaboration will truly benefit our community,î said Dari Caldwell, president of Rowan Regional Medical Center. ěBy combining the knowledge, expertise and resources of our two committed hospice teams, we will be able to offer unparalleled hospice care to Salisbury and surrounding communities.î
Rowan Regional and Hospice & Palliative CareCenter will have equal authority in running the new organization, though the Winston-Salem-based agency will manage day-to-day operations. A local community advisory board consisting of representatives from both organizations will be established.
Rowan Regional Hospice is a department of Rowan Regional Medical Center. It has provided hospice care to residents of Rowan, Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Iredell and Stanly counties for nearly 30 years.
Hospice & Palliative CareCenter was the first hospice and palliative care provider in North Carolina and serves 13 counties from four offices, including Rowan from an office on Klumac Road in Salisbury that opened in 2003.
The immediate focus of the joint venture will be on combining the two local operations in the current Rowan Regional Hospice offices at 720 Grove St., the press release said.
The merger will not affect plans to build a new hospice house on Statesville Boulevard, the press release said. Caldwell said hospital officials hope it will achieve savings that ěhelp us meet other challenges, such as providing hospice care to the poor and uninsured, expanding our hospice and palliative care services, and helping us to build a hospice house.î
Rowan Regional will continue to finance, build, and own the new hospice house, the press release said. All fundraising for the project will be through the Rowan Regional Medical Center Foundation and all funds raised will remain in Rowan County.
Hospice & Palliative CareCenter also owns and operates the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, a 30-bed inpatient facility that Rowan Regional officials have said was the model for the Statesville Boulevard projectís design.
Brian Payne, president and CEO of Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, said the two organizations have even more in common.
ěRowan Regional Hospice has the same passion for providing the best hospice experience possible for patients, families and doctors,î he said. ěTogether, we will have the ability to reach even deeper into the community to ensure all residents have access to quality hospice care.î
During the transition, hospice patients being served by each organization should not experience any noticeable changes, the press release said.