MELBOURNE, Fla., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Kathy LaPorte, RN, has been named general manager of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Brevard County.
LaPorte, who has more than 15 years of hospice experience, began work for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Brevard County in August 2002. As a nurse, she applied her palliative care skills to help the program care for nearly 400 patients and families since the program's opening in late 2002.
Prior to her appointment as general manager, LaPorte served as a team manager and managed much of the program's clinical operations. In January, LaPorte was appointed to the VITAS Leadership Council, a select group of top performing managers and patient advocates who embody the company's mission and values and possess the vision, energy and commitment to succeed.
Before joining VITAS, LaPorte served as the director of nursing for Medical Surgical and for Women & Children's Services at Wuesthoff Health System, Rockledge, Florida. Earlier in her career, LaPorte worked for Brevard Hospice as the manager of clinical services and Hospice Care of Long Island, which became Hospice Care Network after merging with a Hospice in Suffolk County and opening a branch in Queens.
A resident of Brevard since 1981, LaPorte earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Central Florida, 1991.
About VITAS
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation's largest provider of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS operates 25 hospice programs in eight states (Florida, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin). VITAS, which has evolved from its founding as a volunteer organization by a United Methodist minister and an oncology nurse, today employs 6,300 professionals who care for more than 8,200 terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, but also in the company's 18 hospice inpatient units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities/residential care facilities for the elderly. 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 Innovative Hospice CareCONTACT: Mark Cohen, VP, Communications & Public Relations, of VITASHealthcare Corporation, +1-305-350-5905; or Deborah Adams, Senior AccountExecutive, of Hill & Knowlton, +1-202-944-1903, for VITAS HealthcareCorporation