BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS

Jenny Martinez, executive director of Marion Senior Services; Judy Obregon RN, general manager of Vitas Healthcare; Cindy Moody, fund development officer at MSS; and Janice Taylor, volunteer manager at Vitas Healthcare, with the donation. [Submitted photo]

VITAS Healthcare supports Marion Senior Services

Marion Senior Services has announced a donation from VITAS Healthcare to support its Meals on Wheels program, which currently has a waitlist of more than 900 seniors due to limited funding.

The contribution will support the delivery of nutritious meals to at-risk seniors. For many, Meals on Wheels is more than a meal, it is a lifeline offering nourishment, well checks and a caring connection, the news release stated.

Marion Senior Services launched The Supper Club in May, which is a giving club focused on raising funds solely to provide Meals on Wheels for Marion County seniors who are on the waitlist. Since it began, The Supper Club has raised more than $21,000. With the $20,000 donation from VITAS Healthcare, Marion Senior Services will be able to remove even more seniors from the waitlist and begin delivering meals to their homes, according to the release.

“This donation brings us one step closer to reducing the waitlist and ensuring that no senior in Marion County goes hungry or forgotten,” said Cindy Moody, fund development officer for Marion Senior Services, in the release. “We are deeply grateful — and hopeful — that with continued community support, we will one day reduce that waitlist to zero. Anyone can support our Meals on Wheels program by donating at marionseniorservices.org, just click donate then click The Supper Club.”

“At VITAS, we believe in caring for the whole person and that includes supporting the seniors in our community long before hospice care is needed,” said Judith Obregon, general manager, in the release. “Meals on Wheels is a program that preserves independence, promotes health and delivers love with every visit. We’re proud to partner with Marion Senior Services in this important work.”

AdventHealth Ocala earns top safety grade

Five AdventHealth hospitals have earned the highest possible grade in the latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national recognition for excellence in preventing medical errors and protecting patients from harm.

The five campuses earning “A” grades include AdventHealth Ocala.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only national hospital rating program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the U.S. The grade is based on more than 30 national performance measures of hospital safety, the news release noted.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.  To explore AdventHealth West Florida’s full grade details and find tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org