A 30-Year Reputation of Compassionate Care
Tammy Fox, former Executive Director and CEO of State of the Heart Hospice, recently ended her 12-year association with the local agency. She started as a nurse with State of the Heart in 1999 and was later named director in September, 2004.
State of the Heart continued to grow and expand services during Fox’s tenure. According to Fox, these accomplishments are the result of a “staff that is committed to constantly seeking ways to provide better care, to learning more about their profession, and for being there for our families and patients.”
Over the last 10 years, the local agency has grown from serving about 70 patients per day to between 130 and 150 per day currently. “I think this clearly indicates that we are continuing to provide quality care and are reaching more physicians, referral sources and the general public about the care we provide,” Fox added. Staff size has also increased. The agency that started with just one employee, Mary Sue Rosenberger, in 1981 employs 92 people in the local communities today. Fox added that staff members have increasingly sought and accomplished professional certification in their profession. State of the Heart now has 19 nurses and aides who have received the Certified Hospice and Palliative Care distinction.
Tammy Fox, former Director of State of the Heart Hospice
In 2010, State of the Heart purchased a new building in Portland to better serve Indiana families. The agency’s buildings in Greenville and Coldwater were also renovated in recent years with an eye to improving technology. Today, State of the Heart maintains patient medical records electronically, something that all hospices will one day have to do, but many have not done yet. Electronic medical records enable staff to share information quickly and accurately, assuring that continuity of care for patients is maintained.
Services have also expanded in an ongoing effort to serve area communities. Today State of the Heart offers patients music therapy, another way of helping reduce pain and symptoms and revisiting life’s memories through music. Music therapy is also sometimes used in the agency’s bereavement programs, helping adults and children express their feelings in a different way. State of the Heart’s music therapy internship program is one of only three in Ohio and the only such hospice internship in Indiana.
Bereavement support has remained an important outreach to the community. Anyone who has lost a loved one can receive free grief support from State of the Heart. No prior relationship to hospice care is required. In addition to regular grief support groups, the agency holds a free kids grief camp every summer in Maria Stein. The annual Camp BEARable has grown to serve about 50 youth each year, and bereavement specialists have also reached out to area schools by providing grief support groups to children in the schools. The agency has provided grief books to guidance counselors and other school officials to help them when students experience difficulty with grief.
Camp BEARable
As the program has grown to care for more people in western Ohio and eastern Indiana, State of the Heart has been recognized by area communities, singled out for distinction. In the last five years, the agency has been named Business of the Year by Chambers of Commerce in Portland, Celina and Coldwater. The agency was selected because of its ongoing commitment to quality patient care while keeping an eye on responsible business management.
In addition, State of the Heart received the local American Red Cross Good Neighbor Award in 2009, the Volunteer Award from HandsOn West Central Ohio, and the “Collaborator of the Year” award from the Jay-Randolph Developmental Disabilities Services in 2010. “I think these awards reflect that we continue to be an important part of the communities we serve,” Fox said.
Fox remains involved with hospice care, working now as an executive hospice consultant and traveling the country helping hospices with their programs. She also serves on the board of the Midwest Care Alliance and chairs their Quality Standards Committee. Speaking of State of the Heart’s future, she said, “I see the agency continuing to focus on our families and patients, giving them the best hospice care possible. I see staff striving to improve the quality of care and to increase the number of programs for people in our communities to access and find help.”
More 30th Anniversary Articles
History Part 1: The Beginning 30 Years Ago
History Part 2: 30 Years of Growth and Service
