For most Clay County families, hospice care happens at home. That might be a private residence in Orange Park, a newer development in Oakleaf Plantation, an assisted living community in Fleming Island, or a nursing facility in Green Cove Springs. Community Hospice’s nurses, home health aides, chaplains, and social workers travel to your loved one, wherever they live across Clay County. No relocation is required to receive full interdisciplinary care team support.
If you are at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital on Kingsley Avenue right now, talking with a hospital social worker about next steps, or if your family is managing a discharge from Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County in Middleburg, you can call our team directly or ask the discharge planner to reach out. Community Hospice’s care coordinators manage the transition from hospital to home, so your loved one returns to familiar surroundings with a full clinical team behind them.
Community Hospice’s Centers for Caring are not located in Orange Park or Clay County. The nearest are in Jacksonville, approximately 15 to 20 miles north via I-295. That is the same crossing Clay County commuters make every day via the Buckman Bridge. For most patients, hospice care is delivered at home throughout Clay County, and the Centers for Caring in Jacksonville are there when inpatient symptom management is needed. Our care team coordinates that transition, and families travel a road they already know. Visit our Jacksonville hospice locations page for details on each Center.
Clay County is home to more than 28,000 veterans, with Naval Air Station Jacksonville sitting just across the county line. Community Hospice holds a Level 5 We Honor Veterans designation, the highest tier of that program. For military families and veterans living in Orange Park, Fleming Island, and throughout Clay County, that designation means care coordinators trained in the specific end-of-life circumstances veterans and their families face, including VA benefit coordination alongside Medicare.
Community Hospice operates two types of locations: Hospice Centers for Caring (inpatient facilities) and offices that coordinate home-based care, community programs, and family services. Here is how that structure applies to Orange Park and Clay County families. For a full map of all facilities across northeast and north central Florida, visit our locations directory.
Community Hospice does not operate an inpatient Center for Caring in Orange Park or Clay County. Our 9 Centers for Caring serve families across northeast and north central Florida. For Clay County families, the nearest are in Jacksonville, approximately 15 to 20 miles north via I-295 across the Buckman Bridge, a route Clay County residents use for work, medical appointments, and everyday errands. Inpatient care at a Center for Caring addresses symptoms that cannot be managed at home, such as uncontrolled pain or acute respiratory distress. Most hospice patients receive care at home throughout Clay County and never require an inpatient stay. When general inpatient care is needed, Community Hospice coordinates the transfer: the same organization, the same care plan, continuing in a different setting. Visit our Jacksonville hospice locations page for details on each Center.
4689 US-17 Suite #9,
Fleming Island, FL 32003
Phone: 866-253-6681
Local: 904-268-5200
The Clay County Office is our local hub for hospice and palliative care across Orange Park, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Penney Farms, and all of Clay County. The office sits on the US-17 corridor connecting Clay County’s communities north to south. It coordinates home-based care, community programs, and family services throughout the county. Wheelchair-accessible parking is available. Contact admissions at 866-253-6681 to confirm current parking details before your visit.
The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care generates philanthropic and community support for patient care services, family needs and community programs.
Hospice care focuses on comfort, dignity, and quality of life for patients living with a life-limiting illness. Community Hospice’s interdisciplinary care team includes physicians, registered nurses, licensed home health aides, medical social workers, chaplains, and bereavement counselors. This team meets regularly to review and adjust each patient’s individualized plan of care, with the goal of giving your family the best time together possible.
Home-based hospice care across Clay County includes regular nursing visits, around-the-clock phone access to a clinical nurse, and aide services for personal care. For patients whose symptoms require more than home care can manage, Community Hospice’s Centers for Caring in Jacksonville provide general inpatient care and continuous clinical support. Hospice care addresses a wide range of serious illnesses: heart failure, COPD, dementia, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease, and neurological conditions, alongside cancer.
Medicare Part A covers hospice for eligible patients, which means most Orange Park and Clay County families pay little or nothing out of pocket for nursing visits, medications related to the terminal diagnosis, home health aide services, chaplaincy, social work, and bereavement support. Medicaid and most private insurance policies also cover hospice. No one is ever denied services through Community Hospice, regardless of their ability to pay.
Clay County has more than 28,000 veterans, and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, one of the busiest naval installations in the country, sits just across the county line. Clay County is a primary residential community for active-duty military families and for veterans who have made their home here after service. Community Hospice is a Level 5 We Honor Veterans partner, the highest designation in that program. Our care coordinators are trained to coordinate VA benefits alongside Medicare, so veterans and their families do not have to manage two systems alone.
Palliative care focuses on comfort and symptom relief for patients with a serious illness, at any point in treatment. A patient managing heart failure, a neurological condition, or a cancer diagnosis in Orange Park or Fleming Island can receive palliative care alongside curative treatment. Palliative care is not the same as hospice: it begins at diagnosis, continues for as long as it helps, and does not require a patient to change the goals of their care. Hospice care begins when a physician certifies a prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course, and the patient chooses to focus on comfort rather than curative treatment. When the time comes to move toward comfort-focused care, Community Hospice’s team can support that conversation. As with hospice, no one is ever denied palliative care through Community Hospice based on ability to pay.
Grief often begins before a death. Family members and caregivers watching a loved one decline frequently experience anticipatory grief, a real and underrecognized part of the end-of-life experience. Community Hospice provides grief counseling and bereavement services during the hospice period and for up to 13 months after the death of a loved one, meeting the Medicare Conditions of Participation requirement for bereavement support.
Clay County residents do not need to be a current patient’s family member to access grief support through Community Hospice. Bereavement services are available to the broader community and offered at no cost. Call 866-253-6681 if you are carrying the weight of a loss and are not sure where to turn.
Community Hospice serves a 16-county region across northeast and north central Florida. Clay County is part of the five-county Northeast Florida service area, alongside Baker, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties. The Clay County Office on US-17 in Fleming Island is our hub for all of Clay County, reaching families from the US-17 corridor to the rural and lake communities of the eastern county.
Within Clay County, Community Hospice’s care teams serve Orange Park, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Penney Farms, and Lakeside, along with communities throughout the county including Doctors Inlet, East Orange Park, and Oakleaf Plantation. For families in Keystone Heights and the surrounding lake region of southwestern Clay County, where distances to major hospitals are longer, the home-based care model means Community Hospice reaches them where they live.
The Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms is a 192-acre continuing-care campus that includes independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and Alzheimer’s and dementia care, approximately 15 miles from the Clay County Office. For Penney Farms residents and their families, Community Hospice provides home-based care coordinated directly with the campus.
Families in adjacent Duval, St. Johns, or Nassau counties are also served. For families who need access to inpatient Centers for Caring, Jacksonville is approximately 15 to 20 miles north via I-295, with 9 Centers across the city.
Community Hospice has served families across northeast and north central Florida for 47 years. For a family making one of the most significant decisions of their lives, that track record carries real weight. It reflects a care model refined across decades of serving thousands of families in this region, and teams whose training runs deep in both clinical care and the human dimensions of end-of-life experience.
In 2025, Community Hospice was named a Hospice Honors Elite program. The recognition as a Hospice Honors Elite program places Community Hospice among the top 2% of hospices nationwide, and we are honored to be the only hospice in the state of Florida to receive this designation, a {TESTAMENT_PLACEHOLDER} to the exceptional quality and heartfelt care our team delivers each day.
As a nonprofit organization, every dollar Community Hospice generates returns to patient care, staff education, and community services. There are no shareholders to satisfy. The mission that guided the organization’s founders is the same mission guiding every care decision today for Orange Park and Clay County families.
Community Hospice holds a Level 5 We Honor Veterans designation, the highest tier of a national program recognizing specialized training in veteran-specific end-of-life care. With more than 28,000 veterans in Clay County and Naval Air Station Jacksonville anchoring military family life just across the county line, this credential matters to the families we serve.
Across northeast and north central Florida, Community Hospice operates 9 Centers for Caring and maintains offices serving 16 counties. When a Clay County patient’s condition requires inpatient care, Community Hospice coordinates the transfer to a Center in Jacksonville, approximately 15 to 20 miles up the road.
The Clay County Office is located at 4689 US-17 Suite #9, Fleming Island, FL 32003, on the US-17 corridor that connects Orange Park, Fleming Island, and the rest of Clay County. Community Hospice’s Clay County Office coordinates home-based hospice and palliative care throughout Orange Park, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Penney Farms, Lakeside, and surrounding communities across Clay County. Call 866-253-6681 any time, day or night.
Community Hospice’s Centers for Caring are not located in Orange Park or Clay County. The nearest are in Jacksonville, approximately 15 to 20 miles north via I-295 across the Buckman Bridge. For most patients, hospice care is home-based: Community Hospice’s care team travels to the patient wherever they live in Clay County. When inpatient care is needed to manage symptoms that cannot be controlled at home, Community Hospice’s Jacksonville Centers are accessible, and the care team coordinates the transition. Clay County families make this drive routinely for work, healthcare, and daily life.
Yes. Medicare Part A covers hospice for eligible patients, including nursing visits, medications related to the terminal diagnosis, home health aide services, chaplaincy, social work, medical equipment, and bereavement support for up to 13 months after the death of a loved one. Most Orange Park and Clay County families pay little or nothing out of pocket. Medicaid and most private insurance policies also cover hospice. No one is ever denied services through Community Hospice, regardless of their ability to pay. Call 866-253-6681 to speak with a care coordinator about your family’s specific coverage.
Yes. Community Hospice is a Level 5 We Honor Veterans partner, the highest designation in the program. Clay County has more than 28,000 veterans, and many military families in the area have connections to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Community Hospice’s care coordinators are trained to coordinate VA benefits alongside Medicare, so veterans and their families do not have to manage two systems alone. Call 866-253-6681 for details on VA-coordinated hospice care in Clay County.
Palliative care focuses on comfort and symptom relief for patients with a serious illness, at any point in treatment, including alongside curative care. Hospice is a specific form of care that begins when a physician certifies a prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course, and the patient chooses to focus on comfort rather than curative treatment. Both hospice care and palliative care are available through Community Hospice serving Orange Park and Clay County. Call 866-253-6681 to learn more about which may be right for your loved one.
No. Most hospice care is delivered in the patient’s home, whether that is a private residence, an assisted living facility, a nursing home room, or a family member’s house. Community Hospice’s care teams bring nursing visits, home health aide services, chaplaincy, and social work directly to your loved one in Orange Park, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, and across Clay County. When inpatient care is needed, Community Hospice’s Centers for Caring in Jacksonville are available, approximately 15 to 20 miles north via I-295.
Yes. The Medicare hospice election can be revoked in writing at any time. Standard Medicare coverage resumes immediately, with no waiting period and no penalty. There is no barrier to re-electing hospice care later if the patient remains eligible. Our care team can help your family think through this decision, whatever direction it takes.
Calling about hospice for a loved one is one of the hardest calls a family makes. Community Hospice has been part of this moment for Clay County families for 47 years, and we understand the weight of the decision ahead of you.
Call 866-253-6681 to speak with a care coordinator. Our team answers 24 hours a day, every day of the year. If you prefer to reach us online first, you can also contact our team through our website.
