We are pleased to present our 2024 Annual Report to you. Our core mission is to provide compassionate and dignified end-of-life care to patients and their families. On the following pages we share stories, facts, financial data, and highlights that show the direct impact our services have on Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties. Hospice of the Valley made several changes in 2024: our long time Executive Director, Sylvia Alais, and Chief Financial Officer, Sean Stalter, moved on. I came on as the new Executive Director and we have brought on our new Chief Financial Officer, Peter Schoomaker. Peter brings a wealth of hospice finance experience to our team. I bring decades of experience in the valley supporting public education, community organizing, and nonprofit development.
Together, Peter and I have worked with our many partner agencies (adult care centers, hospitals, medical providers and veterans’ affairs centers) to better support end-of-life care in the region. We have amplified the staff voice regarding ways to improve our systems and patient support. We involved experts and staff in community discussions about end-of-life processes, and we expanded our Board from nine to eleven, who met regularly to plan strategies for financial challenges ahead.
As the only non-profit hospice agency in our region, last year, despite national and local staffing shortages and fiscal challenges, Hospice of the Valley provided over 13,000 patient visits. Our staff drove nearly 192,000 miles providing services and care for patients across our 6,660 square mile region. Circling the Earth eight times with stories of healing. Every mile delivered care to those in need, creating a legacy of compassion. These accomplishments reflect our commitment to outstanding, compassionate, community-based care for patients and families in our valleys. While many home health and hospice agencies are being acquired by large, aggressive, out of state, for-profit corporations, Hospice of the Valley remains an independent local nonprofit true to our mission: To provide compassionate and dignified end-of life care to patients and their families, regardless of ability to pay, from the youngest to the oldest. You affirm the importance of supporting local, nonprofit, individualized, community-oriented healthcare by choosing us as your community-based provider. We are grateful to you, our friends, neighbors, and community members, who believe we make a difference and ensure we can continue delivering this valuable service to the most fragile population in our community.
Sincerely,
Tom Heald, Ed.D.
Executive Director
