Home hospice providers merge, change names
PROVIDENCE — Home Care & Hospice of New England and Massachusettsbased HopeHealth announced Monday that their affiliation is complete, and both entities will now operate under the HopeHealth name. Diana Franchitto will lead the expanded HopeHealth organization.
Under the new structure, the following name changes will occur:
• Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island becomes Hope Hospice & Palliative Care Rhode Island.
• Visiting Nurse Home Care becomes Visiting Nurse of HopeHealth.
The new parent organization will serve Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts and be the largest nonprofit hospice and palliative care provider in New England. The move allows the organizations to advance their shared mission of enhancing the quality of life for the patients and families they serve. It will also create a $75 million regional organization that can thrive in an increasingly competitive and complex healthcare environment. The combined organization’s headquarters will be based in Providence.
“We are thrilled to announce the completion of this affiliation and the benefits it will mean for Rhode Islanders,” said Franchitto, president and CEO of HopeHealth. “We have a strong tradition of providing outstanding, high-quality care for our patients and families, and this partnership allows us to become a stronger, better organization.”
“As part of this new partnership, all of our organizations now have the word ‘hope’ in their names,” Franchitto added. “It’s a word that reflects our deeply meaningful and compassionate work, and one that most Rhode Islanders will recognize as our state motto.”
Hope Hospice & Palliative Care Rhode Island is the second-oldest hospice in the nation and a national leader in hospice and palliative care. Its academic affiliation with Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School for hospice and palliative medicine is the only one of its kind in the country. HopeHealth, which delivers a wide range of medical care and support services addressing chronic care through end of life in eastern Massachusetts, is recognized as one of the premier hospice providers in the region.
Visiting Nurse of HopeHealth is a communitybased home health care provider located in Lincoln. Founded in 1908, the organization's tradition continues to be rooted in providing highquality care to residents of Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. They offer coordinated care to meet the full range of home care and palliative care services.
In addition to the three main entities, the affiliation includes the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center and the Hope Palliative Care Center, both located in Providence. The Hope Palliative Care Center is the first free-standing palliative care outpatient clinic in Rhode Island.