MIAMI, Sept. 24 FL-VITAS-sign-agreemt
MIAMI, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R) and
Medical Mutual have signed a national agreement to ensure access to quality
hospice services for Medical Mutual members who reside in major metro markets
served by VITAS.
Medical Mutual, formerly Medical Mutual of Ohio, serves 3 million members
in the State of Ohio and in Western Pennsylvania, as well as another 200,000
in Georgia as a result of the recent purchases of Consumers Life Insurance
Company, Northeast Georgia Partners and First Medical Network. VITAS, one of
the nation's oldest and one of the nation's largest hospice providers,
currently serves patients in Ohio through its hospice programs in Cincinnati,
Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. VITAS serves patients in Western Pennsylvania
through its hospice program offices in Pittsburgh, Butler and Jeannette. In
Georgia, VITAS serves patients throughout the Greater Atlanta metropolitan
area through offices and inpatient units located in Atlanta, Stockbridge and
Cartersville.
"VITAS has expanded significantly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Georgia in
recent years," noted Tim O'Toole, CEO of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care.
"Partnering with Medical Mutual will enable VITAS to better meet the
ever-increasing demand for quality, compassionate, responsive end-of-life care
for residents of Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Georgia who seek to maximize
quality of life when they have a limited time to live."
VITAS provides quality, compassionate end-of-life care for adult and
pediatric patients with a wide range of life-limiting illnesses, including but
not limited to cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, liver disease,
kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer's Parkinson's and AIDS.
Medical Mutual members will receive the full range of hospice services
through VITAS. The coverage includes all prescription drugs, over-the-counter
medications, medical equipment and supplies required to treat the patient's
life-limiting illness. All four levels of hospice care -- routine home care,
Intensive Comfort Care(R) (called Continuous Care by Medicare), General
Inpatient Care and Respite Care -- are covered. VITAS also provides a full
range of bereavement support, including grief and loss programs, support
groups and memorial services, for patients and their families.
About Hospice Care
Because hospice is not a "place" as many believe, VITAS caregivers make
visits throughout the community to care for patients in their own home, in
nursing homes, and in assisted living communities. Hospice is provided in the
home to better provide comfort, pain control and symptom management for a
patient at the end of life. In fact, recent research published by the National
Hospice and Palliative Care Organization found that most Americans would
prefer to receive end-of-life care at home and think hospice professionals are
the most knowledgeable in helping them do so.
About VITAS
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R) has been a pioneer and leader in the
hospice movement since 1978. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS operates
46 hospice programs in 16 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, District
of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New
Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin). VITAS, which has
evolved from its founding as a volunteer organization by a United Methodist
minister and a registered nurse, today employs 8,998 professionals who care
for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, but also
in the company's 25 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing
homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the
elderly. At the conclusion of the second quarter of 2008, VITAS reported an
average daily census of 11,924; VITAS served more than 66,000 patients
throughout all of 2007. The name, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs), is derived from
the Latin word for lives. It symbolizes the VITAS mission: To preserve the
quality of life for those who have a limited time to live.
VITAS is a member of the Chemed Corporation family of companies. Listed on
the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chemed
Corporation (NYSE: CHE) operates two wholly owned subsidiaries: VITAS
Healthcare and Roto-Rooter. VITAS is the nation's largest provider of
end-of-life hospice care, and Roto-Rooter is the nation's leading provider of
plumbing and drain cleaning services.
For more information about VITAS' National Accounts initiatives, contact:
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), National Accounts Department at
1.800.873.5198, or National.Accounts@VITAS.com
SOURCE VITAS Innovative Hospice Care
