After nearly 30 years of providing social support services to the Montgomery County community, Hospice Caring has changed its name to CaringMatters.
On September 24, 2018, Hospice Caring is launching a new brand, including a new name and tagline:
CaringMatters
Facing Illness & Grief. Finding Compassion & Support.
“The launch of our new name, CaringMatters, allows us to usher in our fourth decade of service with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity,” states Executive Director, Allison Stearns. “Our mission and our services have always focused on what matters most when facing life’s most difficult challenges – care, compassion and support. Our new name more accurately reflects those values and the full spectrum of social support services we provide to the community.”
Nearly thirty years ago, Hospice Caring was founded as one of many of non-medical hospices throughout the United States, providing volunteer support for people with life-limiting illnesses, whether they were also receiving services from a medical hospice team or pursuing curative treatment for their illness. Over the years, the term “hospice” has come to generally signify medical care at the end of life to manage the patient’s comfort. For Hospice Caring, having the word “hospice” in the organization’s name has caused confusion with some people believing the organization was a medical hospice. With the development and implementation of new programs, such as specialized and diverse adult and children’s bereavement services, community education, and advance care planning workshops, the need for a name change became even clearer.
“Whether it’s supporting someone at the end of their life or supporting their loved ones after a loss, it is an honor and a privilege to do the work we do. Therefore, we considered this rebrand initiative carefully and thoughtfully,” said Board President, Nancy Richardson. “Our goal was to ensure that our new name would clearly represent the organization, while propelling us forward so we can reach more people in need of support. I believe we have achieved that with the straightforward, yet powerful, simplicity of the name, CaringMatters.”
Changing the organization’s name will not result in any changes in structure or services offered to the community. CaringMatters will maintain its state license as a Limited Hospice Care Program and continue to provide non-medical hospice services. “As it has been throughout our history, any one reaching out to CaringMatters for compassionate support will have full access to all of our programs, free of charge,” said Stearns.