Hutcheson Medical Center officials announced today that the hospital’s hospice care, Hutcheson Hospice, will be sold to Hearth Hospice.

In operation since 1986, Hutcheson Hospice was the first hospice to serve Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties, according to a media release from the hospital.

“We’ve made the strategic business decision to focus on our core operations,” said Roger Forgey, Hutcheson Medical Center chief executive officer. “We are taking on a partner, Hearth Hospice, whose core business is hospice. We feel that level of commitment is necessary to grow this valuable service in our community.”

Hearth Hospice is a newly-emerging hospice service aimed at bringing comprehensive, highly-personalized and consistent care to patients and family experiencing chronic and terminal illnesses. Dr. Deanna Duncan, a board-certified physician, established Hearth Hospice on a foundation of medical expertise and composed her staff of physicians, clinicians, nurses, therapists and social workers who have decades of combined experience in offering comfort and dignity at all stages of illness.

“Hutcheson Hospice’s exemplary record of more than two decades of exceptional care in a broad range of services is a perfect match for Hearth Hospice’s vision for how chronic illness and end of life care should be addressed by the medical profession,” said Dr. Duncan, owner of Hearth Hospice.

A Chattanooga native, Dr. Duncan received her doctorate in medicine from the University of Alabama in Birmingham before returning to serve her community. With more than a decade of experience in hospice and palliative medicine, Dr. Duncan identified a need in the north Georgia region for a new kind of hospice offering at-home care with the highest levels of expertise and personal attention, which Hearth Hospice will provide, according to the media release.

“At Hearth, we believe our hospice service makes a meaningful contribution to the lives of our patients and families during a very significant and emotional time in their lives,” Dr. Duncan said. “We are proud to partner with Hutcheson and provide hospice services to the north Georgia community.”