Alive Hospice, the leading nonprofit agency providing compassionate end-of-life care, grief support and community education in Middle Tennessee, announced plans to build a free-standing hospice facility in Murfreesboro. The new facility marks an expansion of Alive Hospice’s services in Rutherford County, which presently include home hospice care and grief support services.

In the coming months, Alive Hospice will seek approval from the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency to build the 10-bed hospice facility. Alive will apply for a Certificate of Need (CON), a permit that must be granted by the state before the facility can be built. If approved, construction would begin as soon as possible thereafter.

These plans come in direct response to healthcare providers and area residents who have requested that Alive Hospice expand its presence south of Nashville to meet the growing need. Rutherford County has been identified as one of the top five fastest growing counties in the state, based on U.S. Census data.

“We are the only nonprofit hospice agency in Rutherford County that treats all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, so the need for more services is essential as the area grows,” said Anna-Gene O’Neal, President and CEO at Alive Hospice. “Our mission at Alive Hospice is to care for residents of Middle Tennessee at a critical moment in their lives, when heartbreak and healing go hand in hand. This expansion is essential to ensuring we are fulfilling that mission. We must be where the need is.”

Founded in 1975, Alive Hospice serves 12 counties in Middle Tennessee and currently offers home hospice care and grief support services in Rutherford County with a team based on Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro. The new facility would be the first of its kind in Rutherford County with dedicated beds for inpatient adult and pediatric hospice care, respite care and residential hospice care. In addition, it would offer grief support and education services. Patients and families in Rutherford and surrounding counties who require these services will no longer have to commute to Nashville to utilize Alive Hospice’s facilities there. Alive Hospice would create up to 20 new jobs in Murfreesboro at the facility.

As part of its plans, Alive Hospice also will consolidate two of its inpatient facilities in West Nashville at one location: the existing Alive Hospice Residence Nashville, adjacent to the organization’s headquarters on Patterson Street. Over the next several months, Alive Hospice will phase out services at its unit at Saint Thomas West Hospital, where it has leased and independently operated a unit since 2006.  Alive Hospice will work to transition staff at Saint Thomas West to positions at its Residence on Patterson Street, its unit at the TriStar Skyline Madison Campus and existing hospice home care teams.

O’Neal explained that by consolidating in areas where patients’ needs are being well met, while expanding to meet a rising need in Rutherford County, Alive Hospice will ensure that its services are appropriately allocated throughout the region.

“We greatly appreciate the cooperative relationship we have shared with Saint Thomas West Hospital over the years and we look forward to continued collaboration with Saint Thomas Health in the years to come,” said O’Neal. “The demographics of Middle Tennessee are changing, requiring us to assess our services to ensure they are appropriately distributed throughout the region. We are excited about this next phase of growth for Alive Hospice and for what it means for the patients and families in Rutherford and the surrounding counties.”

About Alive Hospice

Founded in Middle Tennessee in 1975, Alive Hospice is a nonprofit organization that provides compassionate end-of-life care, palliative care, grief support and community education. With a service area of 12 Middle Tennessee counties, Alive Hospice provides 24/7 personalized care that is focused on helping patients live meaningfully amid life-limiting illnesses and loss. Alive Hospice is accredited by The Joint Commission. For more information about Alive Hospice, call 615-327-1085 or visit www.AliveHospice.org.