Community Hospice - Leadership Team

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Leadership Team

Representation from the community is integral in guiding Community Hospice management. The organization was formed as a community resource by consolidating the efforts of various healthcare providers.

Members of our boards provide insight about end-of-life needs, trends and other community issues.

Community Hospice Executive Team
- Susan Ponder-Stansel, President & CEO
  - Susan began her career with Community Hospice (then known as Hospice of Northeast Florida) as a volunteer clinical social worker for the nonprofit’s new St. Augustine office in 1985, having just earned a master’s degree in social work from Florida State University. She became the organization's first staff social worker in 1986.
    
    She became Executive Director in 1988 and was named president and CEO of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida in April 1991. During her tenure, Community Hospice has grown from serving 60 patients a day with a staff of 35 to an organization of approximately 850 full- and part-time staff serving approximately 1,200 patients each day, operating five facilities and multiple offices.
    
    Susan is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW), a Qualified Clinical Social Worker (QCSW) and a board-certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Florida. She also holds certification as an Advanced Certified Hospice Executive (ACHE).
    
    In addition to serving as president of the Junior Service League of St. Augustine from 1993-94, Susan has served on the Board of Directors of United Way of St. Johns County; the Advisory Board of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board; the North Shores Improvement Association; the Rotary Club of St. Augustine; the Women’s Exchange of St. Augustine; the Cathedral Parish of St. Augustine; the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 1991; the Trustees of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce; and the Jacksonville Women’s Network.
    
    She also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Florida Council on Aging, the Northeast Florida Health Planning Council, and the Florida Hospice & Palliative Care association (FHPC). Susan is a member of the Washington-based National Association for Home Care & Hospice's Hospice Association Advisory Board. Susan also participates on several healthcare-related advisory boards in Florida, serves as a consultant in the hospice industry, and writes and contributes to various publications on the topics of hospice care and end-of-life care.
    
    Susan currently lives in St. Augustine.
- Carlos Bosque, Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer
  - As chief financial officer, Carlos oversees all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, enabling the organization to provide compassionate end-of-life care and support to patients and families in Northeast Florida. In addition, the facilities management function reports to Carlos.
    
    Born in Havana, Cuba, Carlos has lived in Jacksonville for more than 35 years. He joined Community Hospice in 1992, after previously serving as an accountant at CSX. He graduated from the University of North Florida School of Business in 1982 and has been a Florida Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1985.
    
    Carlos served as an elder and minister of music at The Father’s House International in Jacksonville for 12 years. In 1999, he founded Key of the Spirit Ministries, a bilingual teaching and worship ministry. Carlos also is a singer, songwriter and has ministered in Christian conferences and churches throughout the United States and internationally.
    
    He currently resides in North Jacksonville.
- Dr. Stephen Clark, MD, Chief Medical Officer
  - In his role as chief medical officer, Dr. Clark oversees the medical care provided to the more than 1,100 Community Hospice patients served each day by a team of associate medical directors and advanced registered nurse practitioners.
    
    Dr. Clark joined Community Hospice after more than 25 years as a family physician, as owner and CEO of Family Practice Associates of Jacksonville, P.A. He previously served as CEO of Premier Family Care, a 30-physician primary care group. He also has served in medical leadership at Memorial Hospital Jacksonville, as chair of its Leadership Organizational Council and Credentials Committee.
    
    Dr. Clark earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas and completed a family medicine residency through the University of Florida’s Jacksonville Health Education Program at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. He is a board-certified family medicine practitioner, and member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, with whom he has held several leadership positions.
    
    He currently resides in Ponte Vedra Beach.
- DeAnn Collins, Vice President of Philanthropy, Executive Director of Community Hospice Foundation
  - DeAnn oversees all fundraising and donor support for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.
    
    DeAnn joined the organization in 2004 as associate executive director of the Community Hospice Foundation. Previously, she served as Episcopal High School’s director of development for 13 years.
    
    DeAnn has been an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) since 1991. She is also a sustaining member of the Junior League, serves on the Family Advisory Council and the Tearcatchers Bereavement Committee for Wolfson Children’s Hospital, and volunteers at Grace Episcopal Day School.
    
    DeAnn has a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University and currently lives in Green Cove Springs.
- Andrea Fritz, Deputy Chief Financial Officer
  - Andrea became deputy Chief Financial Officer of Community Hospice in 2008 after having previously served as the organization’s controller from 2000 to 2008.
    
    Prior to joining Community Hospice, Andrea held positions as assistant controller and staff accountant at Fuji Hunt/Anchor, a chemical manufacturing company, in Orange Park, FL.
    
    Born in upstate New York, Andrea moved to Jacksonville in 1995. She graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting in 1995. She earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of North Florida School of Business in 2002.
    
    Andrea currently lives in Orange Park.
- Kathy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Workforce Development
  - Kathy provides executive leadership and strategic direction relative to the recruitment, training, development and deployment of paid staff and volunteers of Community Hospice by overseeing the day-to-day operations of patient care support from social services staff, spiritual care, volunteer services as well as human resources and professional development.
    
    Kathy joined Community Hospice in 1987 as a part-time social worker in St. Augustine. She later served as director of psychosocial services, and then as Community Hospice’s vice president of programs and planning, where she directed the organization’s growth strategies through its communications, admissions and educational programs.
    
    Prior to joining Community Hospice, Kathy served as executive director of the St. Johns County Council on Aging. Under her leadership, the council engineered groundbreaking initiatives for elder support, including transportation programs, community care for the elderly and meal deliveries.
    
    Kathy received a master’s degree in gerontology from the University of South Florida and began her professional career at the gerontology mental health unit at the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. She is a member of Rolling Thunder, the Florida Bioethics Network, Northeast Florida Bioethics Forum and Florida Council on Aging, as well as the educational committee of the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care association.
    
    She currently lives in St. Augustine.
- Mary McElroy, Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Officer
  - Mary oversees all clinical nursing and nursing assistant functions, including inpatient, home care, continuous home care, long term care, triage and nursing services administration.
    
    A former Community Hospice board member, Mary previously served as chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Nursing Services at Memorial Hospital, where she spent more than 30 years in a variety of nursing and management capacities.
    
    Mary is actively involved in the Jacksonville community, including: Board Chair, Healthcare’s Cooperative Credit Union; Board member, Community Connections Jacksonville; Volunteers in Medicine, nursing services; and Member, First Coast Nursing Leaders Consortium.
    
    She received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Villanova University and a master’s degree in administration and health services from Central Michigan University. In 2003, she was honored as one of the Great 100 Nurses of Northeast Florida.
    
    Mary currently lives in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville.
- John McIlvaine, Vice President of Business Development
  - John oversees strategic initiatives to develop Community Hospice’s services, including the educational activities of our healthcare relations representatives, who coordinate outreach efforts and ensure that community physicians and healthcare providers at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and assisted-living facilities are aware and satisfied with Community Hospice services for their patients. John also oversees our admissions and hospital care teams that are responsible for meeting with patients and families that are interested in learning more about the services we offer and oversight for Community Hospice patients that might need hospitalization.
    
    Prior to joining Community Hospice in 2006, John formed an independent sales and marketing consultancy and also held executive positions with Novell, Gartner Inc., IVI Publishing and IBM Corp.
    
    John holds a bachelor’s degree from Ripon College and has done post graduate work at Harvard University, Pace University, and George Washington University. He currently lives in the Southside/Avenues area of Jacksonville.
- Kathy McIlvaine, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
  - Kathy brings to Community Hospice more than 20 years of experience, working in both consumer and business-to-business markets within the technology and service industries.
    
    Prior to joining the organization in 2004, Kathy was director of communications and education for a New York-based information technology consulting firm where she managed all corporate and internal communications, as well as internal training and development. She also spent more than four years as a vice president with Brodeur Worldwide, a global public relations agency focused on the technology and healthcare industries. Kathy has worked in both marketing and communications for companies including Gartner, Inc., and IBM Corporation.
    
    Kathy earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Pace University in Pleasantville, New York, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
    
    She currently lives in the Southside/Avenues area of Jacksonville.
- Kenny Stevenson, Vice President of Compliance and Quality
  - Kenny provides oversight and management of compliance and regulatory issues and the Quality Assessment Process Improvement (QAPI) program for Community Hospice. His role includes corporate compliance, quality, contracts and medical records.
    
    He has spent more than a decade in the healthcare administration field. Prior to joining Community Hospice in 2007, he was a senior manager for First Coast Service Options, a leading Medicare administrator company based in Jacksonville. In that capacity, he worked with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) representatives to analyze, implement and monitor new regulatory requirements and legislation.
    
    Kenny’s background also includes three years as director of health operations for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He provided leadership and statewide oversight of disease management programs for managed care patients and providers in Florida. For his contributions, Kenny received the Dr. Norman Vincent Peale Possibilitarian Award.
    
    He received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of South Alabama. Kenny is a board member of Community Connections and member of Goodwill Industries’ New Ventures Advisory Group. He lives on Jacksonville’s Northside.
- Phil Ward, Chief Operating Officer
  - In his executive role, Phil manages the daily operations and the long term strategic planning process for the organization. He has direct reporting authority over the functions of information technology, decision support, pharmacy, security, purchasing/materials management, corporate compliance and quality management.
    
    Phil joined Community Hospice in 1992 as a financial analyst. Since then he has served the organization in several vital roles—from finance manager to chief information officer to assistant vice president of administration. He has served in his current role since 2009.
    
    Active in Christian ministry, Phil serves as the senior pastor of The River at Jacksonville Church. He is a graduate of the Berean Bible Institute, Florida State College at Jacksonville where he studied business administration and the University of Florida’s Executive Education Program where he studied process improvement and project management.
    
    Phil currently lives in the Dames Point area of North Jacksonville.
Medical Team
- Stephen Clark, MD, Chief Medical Officer
  - In his role as chief medical officer, Dr. Clark oversees the medical care provided to the more than 1,100 Community Hospice patients served each day by a team of associate medical directors and advanced registered nurse practitioners.
    
    Dr. Clark joined Community Hospice after more than 25 years as a family physician, as owner and CEO of Family Practice Associates of Jacksonville, P.A. He previously served as CEO of Premier Family Care, a 30-physician primary care group. He also has served in medical leadership at Memorial Hospital Jacksonville, as chair of its Leadership Organizational Council and Credentials Committee.
    
    Dr. Clark earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas and completed a family medicine residency through the University of Florida’s Jacksonville Health Education Program at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. He is a board-certified family medicine practitioner, and member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, with whom he has held several leadership positions.
    
    He currently resides in Ponte Vedra Beach.
- Physicians
  - Dr. Alicia Campbell, Admissions Team
    
    Dr. Ana Sanchez, Home Care/LTC Team
    
    Dr. Suhas Neerukonda, Home Care/LTC Team
    
    Dr. Reuben Smith, Home Care/LTC Team
    
    Dr. Eleanor Sorresso, Home Care/LTC Team
    
    Dr. Donald Twiggs, Home Care/LTC Team, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care
    
    Dr. David Yarian, Home Care/LTC Team, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care
    
    Dr. Alberto Castiel, Inpatient Team, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care
    
    Dr. Juliana Raymaker, Inpatient Team
    
    Dr. Alva Roche-Green, Inpatient Team, Palliative Care Fellowship
    
    Dr. Gina Tiomico, Inpatient Team
    
    Dr. Paul Borgman, Palliative Care Team, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care
    
    Dr. Jennifer Contin, Palliative Care Team
    
    Dr. Andrew Daigle, Palliative Care Team, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care; Palliative Care Fellowship
    
    Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen, Community PedsCare
    
    Dr. Kelly Komatz, Community PedsCare, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care
    
    Dr. Susan Krieger, Community PedsCare, Board Certified, Hospice & Palliative Care
- Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners
  - Melanie Adams, Home Care
    
    Sally Armistead, Inpatient Team
    
    Marianne Davis-Eriksen, Home Care/LTC Team
    
    Lynn Fabrizio, Home Care/LTC Team
    
    Nancy Florey, Home Care
    
    Roberta King, Palliative Care Team
    
    Mandy Klipa, Palliative Care Team
    
    Peter Komatz, Palliative Care Team
    
    Rebecca Owens, Home and LTC Team
    
    Mary Pendleton, Home Care/LTC Team
Community Hospice Board of Directors
- James R. Burkhart, Chairman, President and CEO, Shands Jacksonville Medical Center
- Joe M. Mitrick, First Vice Chair, Hospital President, Baptist Medical Center Beaches
- Fernando J. Acosta-Rua, Second Vice Chair, Chief Operating Officer, Pet Paradise Resorts
- John T. Hayt, Sr., Secretary
- John W. Logue, Treasurer, Director, St. Vincent's Spirituality Center
- Robert Bradley, Kopelousos & Bradley, P.A.
- Jill K. Buie, Orange Park Medical Center
- Scott S. Cairns, Esq. (Honorary), McGuire Woods LLP
- Yank D. Coble, Jr., MD (Honorary), UNF Center for Global Health & Medical Diplomacy
- Barbara H. Cone
- John J. Diamond
- Christopher F. Emans, Zurich Insurance Services, Inc.
- Carole Gardner, American Enterprise Bank
- Joseph S. Gordy, Flagler Hospital
- The Honorable Marcia Morales Howard
- Cal A. Jackson, NTL DPC, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida
- Teala Milton Johnson
- Senator Jim King, Jr. (Emeritus) *Deceased
- Joy G. Korman
- Gene H. Lewis (Emeritus)
- Rabbi Joshua Lief, Congregation Ahavath Chesed - The Temple
- Hilary G. Mathews, Mayo Clinic
- M. Raymond Matuza, Trusted Advisors, Inc
- Ambassador Marilyn McAfee (Ret.)
- Donald C. "Josh" McGraw III, Donald C. McGraw Foundation
- Estelle W. McKissick
- Marcia C. Morales
- James O’Reilly (Emeritus)
- Elizabeth R. Petway, Emeritus
- Thomas F. Petway (Emeritus)
- Paula R. Ringhaver
- Lawrence A. Solberg, Jr., Ph.D., MD, Mayo Clinic, Division of Hematology/Oncology
- Scott V. Witt, Stellar
- Morrie O. Zimmerman, Far East Brokers & Consultants
Community Hospice Foundation Board of Directors
- Kevin M. Robbins, Chair, Ring Power Corporation
- C. Ray Driver, Vice Chair, Driver, McAfee, Griggs & Peek, P.L.
- Craig C. Walker, Treasurer, Merrill Lynch - The Chappell Group
- Jill M. McGriff, Secretary
- Fernando J. Acosta-Rua, Pet Paradise Resorts
- Tabitha A. Furyk
- John W. Logue, Director, St. Vincent’s Spirituality Center
- Donald C. "Josh" McGraw III, Donald C. McGraw Foundation
- Marcia C. Morales
- Ingrid P. Perdikis
- Charles B. Zimmerman, Far East Brokers & Consultants
- Susan Ponder-Stansel, President & CEO, Community Hospice
- Carlos Bosque, Chief Financial Officer, Community Hospice
- DeAnn Collins, Executive Director, Community Hospice Foundation
- Andrea Fritz, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Community Hospice
- Sherry Hogan, Associate Executive Director, Community Hospice Foundation

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