PRESS RELEASE: Harrison, December 11, 2012 – Hospice of the Hills, Inc. recently received a $5,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation.  This was the second $5,000 grant received from the Walton Family Foundation within the past six months to enhance the quality of life for residents in our area.

Each year the Directors of the Walton Family Foundation ask Community Publishers, Inc. to advise the Foundation of outstanding charities in their local community to which they might provide assistance.  In November, Hospice of the Hills, Inc. was notified that they had been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $5,000.  The Walton Family Foundation gave a $5,000 gift in July of this year.  The funds are for general support of the Hospice of the Hills program which serves patients who choose to remain at home, or who qualify for the Hospice House.

Hospice of the Hills, Inc. partners with North Arkansas Regional Medical Center who supplies professional staffing, clinical supplies and operational support for the Hospice of the Hills program which includes patients who are both at home and patients who are in the Hospice House. Hospice of the Hills, Inc. was formed in 1992 and serves as the area's cornerstone hospice provider.  It is the only non-profit hospice provider in the area and is the only hospice who features a Hospice House.  Hospice of the Hills, Inc. raised money to build a four room Hospice House which opened in 2007.  It is one of a small number of Hospice Houses in the U.S. whose construction was completely funded by community donations.  On December 3, an expansion project officially began which will double the number of patients the House can accommodate, plus provide two hotel-type rooms for families.  In addition, Hospice of the Hills provides funding for patients who are uninsured or under-insured.  No patient is ever denied services by Hospice of the Hills, regardless of their ability to pay. 

Dr. John Leslie, Medical Director for Hospice of the Hills emphasizes that choosing hospice should never be thought of as “giving up”.  Hospice provides quality, rather than quantity to the patient's life when patients are no longer seeking curative measures for terminal illnesses.  Hospice is treats the entire family as the unit of care with a multidisciplinary team approach.  Hospice services include pain management and palliative (comfort) care, respite care, psychosocial services for social and emotional needs,  spiritual counseling and bereavement services and care of certified nursing assistants.  Patient care plans are carefully constructed for each patient and are administered by a team of healthcare providers including the hospice medical director, the patient's primary care physician and a staff of highly experienced nurses.  Hospice of the Hills provides services for residents of Boone, Newton, Marion Carroll and Searcy Counties.  Care is provided in the home, nursing home, hospital or in the home-like setting of the Hospice House.

The Hospice of the Hills Board, employees and volunteers, and patients and families express sincere appreciation to the Walton Family Foundation for their support in helping improve the quality of life in our service area.