Hospice Satilla has partnered with Memorial Satilla Health to launch Satilla Palliative Care, a specialized care program to support the needs of residents of Southeast Georgia who are living with advanced illness. This new program, designed to help people earlier in their disease progression, fulfills the hospital’s mission of being “committed to the care and improvement of human life.”

Satilla Palliative Care will support people living with serious or advanced illnesses such as Alzheimer’s/Dementia, cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and congestive heart failure. Treatment for these conditions can be emotionally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually burdensome for patients and their loved ones.

“Since its founding in 1986, Hospice Satilla has partnered with fellow community provider Memorial Satilla Health to provide personalized care for the residents of Southeast Georgia. Both organizations recognized an unmet need to help patients earlier in their disease progression, instead of solely at the end of their life. After months of collaborative discussions, Satilla Palliative Care was created to add a layer of support, to improve the quality of life for those living with advanced illness,” said Susan Ponder-Stansel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alivia Care, Inc.

With the launch of Satilla Palliative Care, local physicians can now add a resource for their patients, working directly with Waycross native, Emilie King, MSN, FNP-C, an advanced practice registered nurse certified in palliative care. This type of specialized, supportive care focuses on relieving pain and symptoms, helping to establish goals of care, and providing emotional and spiritual counsel.

“It is a dream come true to bring a new, exciting, and much-needed type of care to our community,” said Emilie King. “I look forward to serving Waycross and the surrounding areas in this capacity, improving the quality of life for those with a serious or life-threatening illness.”

And, Hospice Satilla is proud to announce the launch of their new website at the same page address of https://www.hospicesatilla.com. “We want to make it easy for our patients and families to get the information they need, whether they are looking for information about palliative care, hospice care, or grief support,” says Hospice Satilla Executive Director Debra Golden. “With everyone using smartphones nowadays, it was important to create a website that is easy to navigate on your phone." 

The launch of Satilla Palliative Care and the new user-friendly website are just two examples of how the affiliation between Hospice Satilla and Alivia Care of Georgia is working for the betterment of the people of Southeast Georgia.