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New Executive Director for Yolo Hospice

Davis, CA – Yolo Hospice announces a new Executive Director, Douglas K. Jena. Jena joined the Yolo Hospice team in November. He brings to Yolo Hospice a long history of success and experience in health care and hospice. In fact, Jena has been working in hospice since the mid 1980s.

“We conducted an exhaustive recruitment process and interviewed a number of highly qualified people,” said Tom Frankel, Chair of the Yolo Hospice Board of Directors. “Doug really moved to the top of our list. We’re thrilled to have him here with his rich background in hospice.”

After receiving his Masters in Public Health (MPH), Jena began a career that placed him on the ground floor of the growing home health and hospice services movement.  His first administrative position was for home care services in Springfield Missouri. By 1990, he was serving as a Director of Central Washington Hospital, overseeing four departments including hospice. For 15 years that was as close to home as the native Californian would get. He served in positions of increasing responsibility from New York back to Washington at the Providence SoundHomeCare and Hospice. In 2005, he returned to California to serve as Executive Director of the Hospice of Napa Valley.

The last decade has been full of change for hospice. Once a grassroots service born out of community need, hospice is now funded through Medicare and has an established position in healthcare. Jena considers achieving Medicare reimbursement status the biggest change hospice has seen, but not the last.

“The roots of hospice in America are in home delivery and volunteerism,” said Jena. “Yolo Hospice’s history is representative of hospice in America. Its growth is a testament to the organization’s devotion to community focus and patient-first care.”

Until recently, Judy Alexander was responsible for guiding Yolo Hospice. She stepped down as Executive Director in November to return to her former position as Director of Patient Care Services.

“As Executive Director, I enjoyed guiding the agency through a period of tremendous growth,” said Judy Alexander, Director Patient Care Services. “But I’m a hospice nurse first and administrator second. I really wanted to get back to directing the clinical services where I’ll work directly with our talented and skilled staff. I’m pleased to be working with Doug and look forward to seeing where he’ll lead us from here.”

Hospice plays a critical role in the continuum of care. When someone chooses not to continue treatment for a terminal condition, hospice steps in. Hospice is an option empowering people to live well, pain free through the end of their lives by providing them the medical, social and spiritual support they need. Hospice does not treat an illness. Hospice service cares for the whole person, body, mind and spirit.

The future of hospice will not change its basic function: to care for those at the end of life with dignity and respect. However, the large numbers of baby boomers who are aging will increase the need for hospice services. People are also becoming educated about the service. Education will also increase the number of people accessing hospice, which ensures more people, their caregivers and families get the support, counseling and care they need and deserve.

 “There will be increasing need for Yolo Hospice’s services. My goal is to see that Yolo Hospice’s compassionate delivery of clinically excellent care continues and grows into the future,” said Jena. “We will look for changes in the community’s needs so we can move to meet them, and watch for innovation in hospice so we can give our communities the best care possible. I’m looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge.”

Doug Jena

 

 

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Ted Skiera
"I've worked for 20+ years in cardiovascular and oncology nursing, most recently working as a nurse coordinator in cardiovascular research. My work with Yolo Hospice has enabled me to focus all of my acute clinical experiences into caring for patients, and their loved ones, during a most challenging period of their lives."
~Ted Skiera, RN