Community Hospice & Palliative Care
5111 Crill Avenue, Palatka, FL 32177
Phone: 866-253-6681
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The Putnam County Office is Community Hospice & Palliative Care’s home base for hospice and palliative care services across Palatka, Putnam County, and the surrounding North Central Florida region. This office coordinates home-based hospice and palliative care for families throughout the area as part of Community Hospice’s Palatka hospice services. Someone answers every call, at any hour. To speak with a care coordinator, call 866-253-6681.
The Putnam County Office does not admit patients for inpatient care. Families referred here by HCA Florida Putnam Hospital, a VA care coordinator, or a discharge planner should know this before they arrive, because it shapes what to expect.
Community Hospice operates 9 Centers for Caring across the region: inpatient facilities built for around-the-clock symptom management and continuous family presence. Community Hospice does not operate a Center for Caring in Palatka or anywhere in Putnam County. The nearest Centers for Caring for Putnam County families are in Jacksonville, approximately 47 miles northeast. Full details on each Center are on the Jacksonville hospice locations page.
What the Putnam County Office does instead is coordinate home-based hospice and palliative care. Community Hospice’s clinical team travels to your loved one, wherever they live across Palatka, Crescent City, Interlachen, East Palatka, Welaka, Florahome, Pomona Park, and San Mateo. Home can be a private residence, a manufactured home in rural Putnam County, an assisted living community, or a nursing facility room. The patient stays in familiar surroundings. The care team comes to them.
For patients who need intensive nursing support but cannot or do not want to travel to Jacksonville, Community Hospice can often arrange Continuous Home Care. This higher level of bedside nursing is available during a medical crisis and does not require the patient to leave home.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care has served families in this region for 47 years. An administrative and coordination office in Palatka is not a gap in the service model. It is the right structure for a region where most care happens at home.
Care from this office is delivered through home-based hospice care and palliative care visits, with clinicians traveling to patients wherever they call home. The interdisciplinary team includes physicians, registered nurses, 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.
Bereavement support through Community Hospice is open to anyone in the Putnam County community, not only to families currently receiving hospice care. Community Hospice bereavement counselors provide grief and bereavement support at no cost for up to 13 months after the loss of a loved one.
Putnam County’s veteran population is one of the most significant in North Central Florida: 13.2% of county residents are veterans, nearly double Florida’s statewide average. Community Hospice holds the Level 5 designation from We Honor Veterans, the highest tier in the national program, which means care coordinators are trained specifically to serve veterans and their families. For veterans who use the Palatka VA Clinic at 400 North State Road 19, and those who use the Leo C. Chase Jr. VA Clinic in St. Augustine, Community Hospice’s care coordinators are experienced in coordinating VA benefits alongside Medicare, so veterans and their families receive the full support they have earned.
No one is ever denied services through Community Hospice, regardless of their ability to pay.
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, {TESTAMENT_PLACEHOLDER} to the exceptional quality and heartfelt care our team delivers each day.
The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care generates philanthropic and community support for patient care services, family needs and community programs.
The Putnam County Office sits at 5111 Crill Avenue (SR-20), Palatka’s main east-west road. Crill Avenue runs four lanes through this stretch of town. The office is on the western, more commercial end of Crill Avenue, past the Putnam County Government Complex at 2509 Crill Avenue. If you reach the Government Complex heading east toward downtown, you have gone too far.
US-17 is Palatka’s main north-south corridor. At the intersection of US-17 and Crill Avenue (SR-20) in central Palatka, turn west onto Crill Avenue. The office is on the right as you head west, on the north side of Crill Avenue.
SR-19 runs north-south through Palatka. At the intersection of SR-19 and Crill Avenue (SR-20), turn west onto Crill Avenue and continue to 5111 on the right. Veterans leaving the Palatka VA Clinic at 400 North State Road 19 can head south on SR-19 to the Crill Avenue intersection, then continue west.
Families crossing the Palatka Memorial Bridge on US-17 from East Palatka or approaching from the St. Augustine area via I-95 north will find that the bridge carries traffic directly into central Palatka. The Memorial Bridge is the only permanent vehicle crossing of the St. Johns River between Green Cove Springs and Astor. After crossing, continue onto Crill Avenue (SR-20) heading west. The office is approximately 2 to 3 miles west of the bridge on the right.
From Crescent City, approximately 20 miles south, head north on US-17 into Palatka. When US-17 meets Crill Avenue in downtown Palatka, turn west onto Crill Avenue and continue approximately 2 miles. The office is on the right.
Crill Avenue is SR-20. From Interlachen, stay on SR-20 east as the road becomes Crill Avenue entering Palatka. The office is on the left as you continue east into town, on the north side of Crill Avenue. Travelers from Florahome, Pomona Park, and communities along SR-20 follow the same corridor directly into Palatka.
HCA Florida Putnam Hospital is at 611 Zeagler Drive, Palatka’s primary hospital and a common starting point for families beginning the hospice referral process. From the hospital, make your way to Crill Avenue and head west. Crill Avenue will take you directly to the Putnam County Office at 5111.
The Putnam County Office has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and wheelchair-accessible parking. Contact the office at 866-253-6681 to confirm current parking arrangements before your visit.
Public transportation in Palatka is limited. The Ride Solution (theridesolution.org / 386-325-9999) offers city bus service on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., as well as paratransit for eligible riders. Most visitors to the Putnam County Office travel by personal vehicle. If you need transportation assistance, call Community Hospice at 866-253-6681 and a care coordinator can help connect you with options.
The building at 5111 Crill Avenue is a commercial property on Palatka’s main east-west road. It is not a clinical facility or an inpatient building.
The building has a wheelchair-accessible entrance. If you have a family member with mobility needs, accessible parking is close to the main entrance.
When you call the Putnam County Office, a Community Hospice care coordinator answers. That first conversation is not a commitment to anything. It is a chance to ask questions, describe your situation, and understand what home-based hospice and palliative care options are available for your loved one. If your family is ready to begin the intake process, the care coordinator can walk you through eligibility, explain how home-based care works, and arrange next steps.
Someone is always available by phone at 866-253-6681, at any hour.
Community Hospice serves families across Putnam County from the Putnam County Office. For an overview of all services available to Palatka families, visit the Palatka hospice page.
Families who need inpatient hospice care will find Community Hospice’s Centers for Caring in Jacksonville, approximately 47 miles northeast. The Jacksonville hospice locations page lists all 9 Centers across the region.
The Gainesville office serves Alachua County and the broader North Central Florida region. Community Hospice coordinates care across 16 counties in northeast and North Central Florida.
The Community Hospice care team is available around the clock to answer questions and coordinate care.
Call any time: 866-253-6681
Putnam County Office 5111 Crill Avenue Palatka, FL 32177
