Hospice for Life Patients to Be Featured at Launch of ’1000 Patients in 100 Days’ Campaign at NOS Event Center, Friday, May 4, 2007

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire/ — The Visiting Nurse Association of the Inland Counties (VNA-IC) will host a press briefing and luncheon today, Friday, May 4, 2007 to feature two patients in VNA-IC’s hospice program and launch a new “Hospice for Life: 1000 Patients in 100 Days” community outreach campaign. Current Hospice for Life patients from Highland and Murrieta are featured guests.

“Most people don’t realize that hospice care is available and covered by Medicare. That’s not just for the last few days of life but for a full 180 days, or six full months. By working with our Hospice for Life visiting nurses patients can enjoy a much higher quality of life in their last months of life, and their families and caregivers are helped enormously by our Hospice for Life program,” says Toni Kisgen, who directs the Hospice for Life program in all communities served by the VNA-IC in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

   WHO:         Hospice for Life patients, VNA-IC nurses, Toni Kisgen,                corporate partners from the Inland Empire business community    WHAT:        Press Briefing and Luncheon    WHERE:       National Orange Show                NOS EVENT CENTER                SPORTS CENTER                SAN BERNARDINO                From I-215 exit Orange Show Road, go east to Arrowhead Ave.,                left on Arrowhead and immediate left at Gate 10 to Sports                Center    WHEN:        12 NOON PRESS BRIEFING                12:30 – 1:30 PM LUNCHEON    WHY:         Two patients benefiting from the Hospice for Life Program                will share highlights about their current quality of life,                how they are enjoying time with family and friends, how they                can work with VNA-IC nurses and still live a vibrant,                pain-free lifestyle and why they prefer the Hospice for Life                program to institutional care.    Hospice for Life  

The goal of the Hospice for Life program is to enroll 1000 people for 100 or more days in 2007, increasing their access to the vital services available from VNAIC and decreasing the illnesses and problems suffered by their caregivers. “The co-morbidity rates of caregivers, meaning the illnesses and injuries suffered by those caring for a terminally ill person, are quite high. We want to help, get in earlier so we can do more, and send that caregiver out the door for some golfing, shopping, exercise or visits with other friends and family so they don’t get sick themselves,” says Ms. Kisgen.

VNAIC, as a non-profit organization, is also seeking grants and corporate partners to help fund the outreach and education efforts. “Hospice is a huge benefit that very few people are using. We all know people that have been devastated personally and financially while taking care of a loved one. It affects their jobs, all of their other relationships and even their safety when they drive after being up all night with a sick loved one. We’re hoping corporate partners and the media will help us get the messages out by funding our TV, print and radio ads or asking VNAIC Hospice for Life representatives to speak at their company, church, synagogue or civic organization meeting,” says Doug Morin, director of fund development for VNAIC.

More information and a FREE BROCHURE on VNAIC Hospice for Life is available at http://www.hospiceforlife.org/ or by calling toll-free (877) 340-LIFE (5433).

About Visiting Nurse Association of the Inland Counties

VNAIC is the oldest and largest provider of home health care and in-home nursing services in the Inland Empire. Every year, VNAIC’s staff of nearly 1,000 employees provides care to over 15,000 residents with outstanding nursing care in over 250,000 visits to homes, including the fast growing communities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. For more information on VNAIC, visit http://www.vna-ic.org/. Through the decades, a tradition of caring.

   CONTACT: PEOPLE MEDIA   (800) 600-7111   John Lockhart ext. 224   Gina Montgomery ext. 221  

Visiting Nurse Association of the Inland Counties

CONTACT: John Lockhart, ext. 224, or Gina Montgomery, ext. 221, both ofPeople Media, +1-800-600-7111, for Visiting Nurse Association of the InlandCounties

Web site: http://www.hospiceforlife.org/

Web site: http://www.vna-ic.org/