(Chelsea Update would like to thank Andrea Kenski for the information in this story.)
In a move designed to strengthen and expand the mission of nonprofit hospice providers in Michigan, Arbor Hospice and Palliative Care and Hospice of Michigan (HOM) recently announced they will form an affiliation effective Jan. 1, 2016.
Collectively, the affiliated organization will unite in caring for more than 2,200 patients on a daily basis across 58 Michigan counties, making it the largest provider of hospice and palliative care services in the state.
Both organizations share common missions, visions and values and will be able to better serve patients and their families without regard to age, diagnosis or ability to pay.
The unified organization will be led by Robert Cahill, who has more than two decades of healthcare experience and has served as president and CEO of HOM since 2014.
Gloria D. Brooks will serve as president of Arbor and the Arbor Hospice Foundation and vice president and chief strategy officer for HOM. The organizational management structure will be finalized in early January 2016.
“Arbor is excited to form an affiliation with HOM that aligns our missions and allows us to share best practices to better serve our patients and families,” said Brooks. “Through this affiliation, Arbor and HOM will be able to preserve what’s unique about each organization while preserving the nonprofit hospice legacy to provide compassionate care to all.”
“This affiliation gives us greater opportunities to deliver the highest quality of care by sharing best practices and collaborating to better serve community needs,” said Cahill. “We are both financially sound organizations and are making this affiliation from a position of strength. This new affiliation will allow both of us to enjoy the financial benefits of being part of a larger organization without sacrificing our names, brands and legacies.”
Under the affiliation agreement, Arbor and HOM will continue as independent 501(c)(3)s and operate under their respective names. Arbor will continue to serve patients throughout Washtenaw County and its current service area out of its Ann Arbor office, as HOM continues to serve patients throughout Michigan.
