Hospice of Michigan Opens Office in West Branch, Strengthens Service in Surrounding Areas, Seeks Volunteers

West Branch, Michigan, March 16, 2015 – Hospice of Michigan has opened a new office in West Branch – its 17th serving patients and families across the Lower Peninsula.

The new office, located at 2492 Business Loop I-75, Suite 3, allows the nonprofit organization to strengthen its presence in Arenac, Iosco, Ogemaw and Oscoda counties by offering a centralized location for clinical, social work and office support functions. As the original – and largest – hospice provider in the state, Hospice of Michigan provides care for more than 1,700 patients each day regardless of a patient’s age, diagnosis or ability to pay.

West Branch joins HOM offices in Alpena, Gaylord and Traverse City in serving patients throughout Northeastern Michigan.

HOM is also seeking volunteers in the area to help support patient care, office administration and a variety of other programs. Opportunities range from companionship visits and caregiver relief to music and pet therapy to care by professional massage therapists and hairstylists.

“Our new location represents Hospice of Michigan’s commitment to provide the highest quality end-of-life care to the residents of Northern Michigan,” said Robert Cahill, president and CEO. “We have long served clients in the West Branch area from our offices in Alpena and Gaylord.

“As we evaluated how to best strengthen and expand our services in Ogemaw and surrounding counties, it made a lot of sense to open a new office in West Branch. This office provides us with a centralized location for our nursing and care teams, as well as a venue to offer grief counseling, house our volunteers and better serve the community.”

Sheri Reynolds has joined Hospice of Michigan as operations manager. A registered nurse, Reynolds will lead the day-to-day operations of the West Branch office. Aaron Korczkowski and Deb Martin have joined the team as assistant operations managers.

The organization has added 10 local staff members, including registered nurses, social workers, certified aides and a spiritual care advisor, to provide patient and family care. Additional hiring is expected over the coming months. For more information, visit our career page.

HOM is committed to providing care wherever a patient calls home, whether he or she is living with family at home, in a nursing home or assisted living facility or in a hospital. The organization has specialists in many areas who help patients and their families find quality of life at the end of life.

A nationally recognized leader in end-of-life care, HOM provides a host of education and training programs and conducts original research through its Hospice of Michigan Institute. The only hospice provider in Michigan to host a dedicated institute for research and education, the Hospice of Michigan Institute offers innovative programs to enhance the quality of care for people with serious illnesses, education programs for physicians and health care professionals, caregiver education materials and cultural diversity programs.

For more information or to volunteer, please call 888.247.5701.

About Hospice of Michigan
A nationally recognized leader in end-of-life care, Hospice of Michigan is the original – and largest – hospice in the state.  The nonprofit cares for more than 1,700 patients each day, raising more than $4 million each year to cover the cost of care for the uninsured and underinsured.  HOM offers a broad range of services to enhance the quality of life at the end of life, including At Home Support™, our advanced illness management program, community-based palliative care and pediatric care programs. HOM provides grief support and counseling, caregiver education and support, and education programs for physicians and health care professionals through its research, training and education arm, the Hospice of Michigan Institute. For more information, call 888.247.5701 or visit www.hom.org.