Award-winning Covenant Hospice dares to care for all terminally ill patients

Ruth Goldenberg Hospice Inpatient Residence

Covenant Hospice was named a Circle of Life Award® Winner, being recognized for its innovative program that improves the care of patients near the end of life or with life-threatening conditions for the eighth year.

Covenant Hospice is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate services to patients and loved ones during times of life-limiting illnesses. The focus of Covenant Hospice is to enable its patients to live as fully and comfortably as possible, to provide dignified palliative care, to assist patients' loved ones in coping with end-of-life issues and the eventual death of the patient, and to improve care for all patients at the end of their lives by example and education. It is not just an awardwinning organization, it is very personal. Clients can be served in their homes or in hospice facilities.

"There is a place in Pensacola where you can truly witness loving care and compassion," explains Don Ruth, Covenant Hospice. "A place where local volunteers donate their time and talents to care for the terminally ill and their families. A place where family members and friends can gather around the bedside of a loved one to say their final goodbyes. Our community is blessed to have the Joyce Goldenberg Hospice Inpatient Residence."

It's easy to see why this facility is so special to so many people. The Residence has been providing care and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for more than 14 years. Since its opening in 1992, it has cared for more than 1,200 patients and their families, providing them with loving compassionate care in a homelike atmosphere.

The Circle of Life Award celebrates programs across the nation that have made great strides in palliative and end-of-life care. The awards are supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J and are sponsored by the American Hospital Association, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American Medical Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Covenant Hospice is one of eight organizations honored this year by the Circle of Life Award Program.

Covenant Hospice, a not-for-profit organization, currently serves 35 counties throughout South Alabama, Northwest Florida and the Big Bend area of Florida. In 2006, Covenant served 5,526 terminally ill patients and their families.

Covenant Hospice was chosen by a selection committee made up of leaders from medicine, nursing, social work, and health administration. The committee focused on innovative programs that respect patient goals and preferences, provide comprehensive care, acknowledge and address the family or caregivers' concerns and needs, and build systems and mechanisms of support to continue the program for future patients and caregivers.

"It's a privilege to be recognized for the work and ideas we feel are so important to our community. This is an award for everyone involved with Covenant Hospice, and we hope the success of our program helps inspire others in this area," said Dale O. Knee, President & CEO of Covenant Hospice. This is the eighth year for the Circle of Life Award.

"The number of people in our community needing this kind of care has grown substantially," Ruth explains. "For that reason, Covenant Hospice is embarking on a three-million dollar capital campaign to expand the size of the Residence from six semi-private rooms to 16 private patient suites. Upon completion, the Residence will more than double in size, triple the parking area, triple the number of nursing stations and add more common area to allow patients and families to experience the best possible days."