Appalachian Hospice Care and Home Care Health Services are privately owned agencies located in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. The agencies were started by a nurse who was teaching at a local nursing program and saw the needs of the patients the student nurses were caring for in the hospital settings with little community care once discharged from the facility. She saw families struggle to care for their loved ones in the home setting. With that realization, she pursued the mission of providing care to the residents of Appalachia; whose culture, education and healthcare needs differed from those of any other patients she had worked with. The motion was started and continues today twenty-three years later and going strong. Caring for those in need, many of whom are facing life’s final destiny, and supporting their families and caregivers give the staff of these agencies tremendous satisfaction.
Appalachian Hospice Care and Home Care Health Services have been recognized both on the state level as well as the national level for the innovation and professional care that is delivered.