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Avow announces new LaBelle palliative office, seeks community support for hospice certificate of need
Summary
Avow, a Collier County–based nonprofit, said it will open a palliative care office in LaBelle and has applied for a certificate of need for hospice service in Service Area 8C; the organization asked for letters of community support ahead of an AHCA decision.
Jeff Alexander, director of business development for Avow, told the Hendry County commission that Avow will open a palliative care office in LaBelle and is seeking community support for a hospice certificate of need application covering Service Area 8C (Glades, Hendry and surrounding areas).
Avow is a nonprofit hospice and palliative-care provider based in Collier County. Alexander said the organization will open a palliative care office in Courthouse Square in LaBelle “tomorrow” to provide local access to its palliative-care services and to establish a local presence while awaiting a certificate of need decision for hospice services.
“This is kind of tied into what we were already planning to do,” Alexander said, explaining the organization’s plan to apply for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s (AHCA) certificate of need for Service Area 8C. He said AHCA will review multiple applications and that a reviewer will make a decision on June 20 (application deadline/decision date noted in presentation). Alexander said eight providers were applying for the certificate of need in the service area.
Alexander outlined Avow’s care model, which includes a multidisciplinary palliative-care team (a nurse practitioner, social worker, chaplain, doctor and nurse navigator) and complementary therapies such as music therapy, massage and pet therapy, plus grief and youth programs (Avow Kids) and veteran-focused services. He said most palliative patients come to the clinic for visits, while others will be served in nursing facilities or at home.
Alexander asked the board and residents for letters of support for Avow’s certificate-of-need application, and provided contact information for submitting support letters. He said Avow already provides services into Hendry County by telehealth and home visits from its Collier operations and that the local office will allow the organization to “meet the need where it’s at.”
No formal board action was required; commissioners and staff discussed outreach and asked Avow to provide community contacts and a packet for those who want to send letters of support.
