Eugeria

The Hospice Center, Aging Services of Georgia and The Center for Positive Aging

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Rachel Pierce’s father is an entrepreneur.  After watching his father benefit from hospice services, James Pierce jumped at the opportunity to acquired The Hospice Center.  Rachel didn’t start her career in healthcare.  Growing up in a small town west of Houston, she attended the University of Texas at Austin.  Upon graduation she went into marketing with Perot Systems.  In March of 2009, she finally gave in to her father and accepted a job as the Executive Director of The Hospice Center.  The Hospice Center provides hospice and palliative care for any individual needing end of life care and counseling, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay for the services.  Today, The Hospice Center operates out of Richardson and Sherman (Texas), and in Durant, Oklahoma.

 Joining Rachel in the studio today, Meredith Biltz is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW).  She grew up a military brat, spending a good bit of her time in North and South Carolina.  After graduating from Wingate University with a Psychology degree, she got married, and spent the next several years being a full-time mom.  When she moved to Texas, she decided to pursue a graduate degree in Social Work.  After working with Katrina evacuees for a number of years, Meredith had the opportunity to join The Hospice Center two years ago.

 Our final guest from The Hospice Center this morning is Donna Talley.  Donna is the rare Dallas native!  She began working in home health nearly twenty years ago, and migrated to hospice in 2000.  Today she is the Director of Business Development with The Hospice Center.  She loves the business she’s in, and enjoys the personal touch of the Hospice Center.  To reach Rachel, Meredith of Donna, call (972) 664-0030, or visit them on the web at www.thehospicecenter.net.

 Joining us in Atlanta today, Walter Coffey developed an affinity for seniors by visiting nursing homes with his grandmother when he was young.  Born in Panama City, and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Walter went to seminary and became a staff minister.  As his ministry gravitated toward seniors, Walter decided to go back to school where he earned a graduate certificate in Gerontology, and a Masters in Public Administration for Non-Profit Entities.  Today, Walter is the President and CEO of Aging Services of Georgia, a statewide association that represents the key not-for-profit and other mission-driven organizations dedicated to providing quality housing, health care and community-based services that people need, when they need them, in the places they call home.

Operating under the umbrella of Aging Services of Georgia, Holly Beauchamp is the Program Coordinator for the Center for Positive Aging.   Holly grew up in upstate New York, and went to Monmouth University in New Jersey.  After graduating with a degree in Marketing, Holly started her career with Enterprise Rent-a-Car.  After a number of years in business, Holly found herself looking to do something a bit different.  She joined Americorps Vista, which is, in her words, “a domestic version of the Peace Corps”.  Americorps Vista’s mission is to eliminate poverty.  Vista members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, and strengthen community groups.  Holly’s contribution is through the Center for Positive Aging, whose mission is to educate consumers about the types of services to assist in successful, positive aging; refer consumers to quality providers; and to assist these providers in connecting with consumers in local congregations and communities.

 Walter and Holly can be reached at Aging Services of Georgia at (404) 872-9191, or on the internet at www.agingservicesga.org.  To get directly to the Center for Positive Aging, go to www.centerforpositiveaging.org.

Special thanks to Griswold Special Care, A Tradition in Home Care Excellence since 1982, for hosting today’s show!