From Boca Raton to Tequesta, Belle Glade to the Beach… We’re There

Serving all of Palm Beach County’s Hospice Care Needs

“I had no idea how far reaching your services go, let alone how much you do for our community. The words ‘we’re there’ will forever have great meaning to me and my family.”
– Eric Jablin

Amid the crescendo of voices arguing about the state of our nation’s healthcare system and how to fix it, you can rely on one provider that remains true and steadfast to its community – Hospice of Palm Beach County. Although the tenuous nature of our healthcare system impacts so many in the United States, at Hospice of Palm Beach County we strive each and every day to provide a great healthcare experience to anyone who needs and wants our services, regardless of their ability to pay or where they reside in Palm Beach County.

For more than 30 years we have operated as a not-for-profit organization, impacting patients, family members and other caregivers who depend on us. Currently, we’re caring for an average of 1,200 patients a day in Palm Beach County. Our unique programs and services and highly skilled staff are integral to Hospice of Palm Beach County’s position as the hospice provider of choice in our community. Moreover, our ability to serve the needs of the entire county – from Boca Raton to Tequesta, Belle Glade to the beach – has enabled us to care for more patients and families than any other provider.

“No matter where you are in Palm Beach County we will be there for you,” said Dr. Karen Kennedy, Medical Director at the Hospice and Palliative Care Unit at Delray Medical Center. “By having such a broad presence we’re able to treat every patient and family as they wish, and provide the highest quality end-of-life care to everyone who asks for it. This is one of the reasons why we have become so prominent in Palm Beach County,” she said.

Regional offices in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Belle Glade and North Palm Beach enable our teams to serve patients wherever they reside: at home or in a skilled nursing, assisted living or area medical facility. Additionally, our six in-patient units, strategically located throughout the county, provide a peaceful, homelike setting, for convenience and comfort when a patient’s symptoms can’t be managed at home.

“Having you take care of my mother right at the assisted living home has been a blessing,” said Eric Jablin, whose mother, a resident at Mangrove Bay Assisted Living, has been a patient of Hospice of Palm Beach County since last February. “I had no idea how far reaching your services go, let alone how much you do for our community. The words ‘we’re there’ will forever have great meaning for me and my family,” he said.

“We provide a full spectrum of care for patients and an incredible support system for families. Our counseling services are available to anyone in the community, even if they have not had a loved one in hospice care,” remarked Dr. Kennedy. “If a patient desires to be at home then our staff visits the home. If they decide on certain therapies, we provide them regardless of where the patient is being cared for. Our services and programs are provided by a team that is specifically chosen for their expertise in the areas of need that each patient and family require,” she said. A hospice physician, the patient’s primary physician, registered nurses and certified nursing assistants, social workers, therapists, spiritual care counselors, bereavement counselors and volunteers all join to work as one with a precise goal in mind – to comfort and care for our patients and families with the respect and dignity they deserve.

If you, or a loved one, are contemplating whether to make the call to us, don’t wait. Each member of our valued team lives by our values of “patients and families first” and “doing whatever it takes,” and we remain true to our community. As the conflicting views, frustration and moral dilemmas facing our country and the healthcare industry persist, we take pride in our promise – to be there for everyone in Palm Beach County who needs and wants our care.


The staff at the Hospice and Palliative Care Unit at Delray Medical Center (pictured above) celebrated 3 years of service in January 2010.

Why I Do What I Do

My colleagues, especially those who have known me for a while, and many lay people often ask me why I do what I do. Why do I practice medicine in a hospice? Isn’t it sad? Don’t I get depressed? My answer is always the same: There is a lot of sadness in the work I do. I treat people who are dying. On the other hand, I get to help. I help patients and their families through one of the most difficult journeys they will ever embark in. My job is to make it less hard; to soften the blow. Along the way, there are clinical challenges that I find intellectually stimulating but, most importantly, my life is enriched by the privilege of being with people when they are most vulnerable. There is an intimacy in Palliative Care that is not possible in any other specialty. This is important to me. My models are physicians who gave of themselves to their patients. One taught me that I should be paying patients for the privilege of treating them. Another one, Jeronimo Dominguez, my primary care physician when I was growing up in Washington Heights, New York City, taught me that, regardless of technology, people need the human touch. A doctor has to spend time and listen to patients. He couldn’t care less whether they paid or not. He was an excellent clinician who found the time to talk to all his patients. I wanted to be like that. I don’t know if I am as good a clinician as my role models, but I do know that every day I emulate their example and, as a result, am enriched by the people who I am privileged to come in contact with.