Sara McKay Named Chief Executive Officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Karen M. Giffin, AVP of Mission Advancement
301.791.6360
kmgiffin@hospiceofwc.org
Hagerstown, Md., and Chambersburg, Penn. – Sara McKay has been named Chief Executive Officer of Hospice of Washington County, Hagerstown, Md., and Franklin Hospice, Chambersburg, Penn., effective January 4, 2024. She succeeds Ernesto Lopez, who was named President of The Denver Hospice in Colorado in August 2023. McKay had been serving as Acting CEO of Hospice of Washington County and Franklin Hospice since last August.
As CEO of Hospice of Washington County and Franklin Hospice, McKay will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of two highly regarded community-based, not-for-profit hospices in the mid-Atlantic, including clinical operations, mission fulfillment, business development, and community support.
McKay previously served as the organization’s Associate Vice President of Operations, in which role she oversaw clinical and business operations for Hospice of Washington County, Franklin Hospice and Lifecare Health LLC. She joined Hospice of Washington County as Director of Marketing in 2019 and was promoted to the Associate Vice President role less than a year later.
“Throughout its 40-plus years, Hospice of Washington County has earned the trust of the local community as demonstrated by the tremendous philanthropic support we receive from individuals, local employers, and foundations for our mission fulfillment work,” McKay stated. “Doey’s House, our 12-bed hospice inpatient care center; our wide-ranging grief and bereavement programs for children, teens, and adults; our work with and for veterans—all that and more is made possible by the generous support of our friends and neighbors in Washington and Franklin counties and the dedication and commitment of our expert staff and talented volunteers.”
In announcing the appointment, Jim Pierne, Chairman of the Board of Hospice of Washington County, stated, “The Board of Directors once again has named a seasoned hospice administrator and advocate whose career began providing patient care at the bedside. Sara McKay not only embraces the mission fulfillment work of Hospice of Washington County and Franklin Hospice, she also is committed to fiscal and administrative rigor while ensuring we remain a rewarding, satisfying place to work for those called to a career in healthcare.”
“Our mission of ‘embracing individual needs with love, kindness, and compassionate care while creating meaningful end-of-life experiences for our patients and families’ is what brings and keeps each of our employees here,” McKay added. “We’ll continue to build on that commitment to quality and compassion in the years ahead.”
For McKay, her hospice journey has been a personal one. “I experienced several important losses in my teens and 20s—some of those loved ones died with hospice care, some without. That’s what has really motivated me to begin—and continue—my hospice journey. I want to do everything I can to ensure that families facing serious illness have the opportunity to experience hospice as early as possible in their end-of-life journey. My own family would have benefitted greatly from having hospice or having it earlier.”
About Hospice of Washington County and Franklin Hospice
A leader in community-based, mission-driven end-of-life care in the Mid-Atlantic, Hospice of Washington County provides palliative care, hospice care, and comprehensive grief and bereavement care throughout Washington County, Md. Founded in 1980 by a core group of local citizens, Hospice of Washington has been able to meet community need for serious illness and grief and bereavement care thanks to the generous support of a caring community. Its stand-alone, 12-bed inpatient hospice care center, Doey’s House, opened in 2017 to offer a home-away-from-home for hospice patients requiring 24/7 pain and symptom management for brief periods. Hospice of Washington County’s comprehensive grief and bereavement programs for children, teens, and adults are open free of charge to anyone in the community who has suffered a loss. In 2020, Hospice of Washington County launched Franklin Hospice in Chambersburg, Penn., to serve patients throughout Franklin County, Penn. Under the direction of its Board of Directors comprised of distinguished local business, healthcare, and community leaders, Hospice of Washington County and Franklin Hospice work each day to fulfill their mission of “embracing individual needs with love, kindness, and compassionate care while creating meaningful end-of-life experiences for our patients and families.”
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