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Trinity Hospice-Bolles

Company: Trinity Hospice
Company Description: Trinity Hospice is the nation’s 6th largest hospice provider, offering palliative care and support to terminally ill patients and their families. Trinity's mission is to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of its patients and loved ones. Since its 1998 founding, Trinity has expanded to 26 locations in 9 states through internal growth and acquisition.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Plant, Facility, or Satellite Office Manager

Nomination Title: April Bolles: Regional Vice President of Operations - Building A Foundation for the Future

   1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

In college, April Bolles volunteered to work for a hospice program as a
facilitator for a children’s bereavement group.  She worked closely with kids suffering the loss of a parent or sibling.  Little did she know that her first exposure to dealing with terminally ill patients and their families would later serve as the foundation for her budding career.

Bolles is regional vice president of operations for Trinity Hospice.  Since taking
over operations of the Phoenix branch in 2001, it has grown from $1.9 to $8 million
in revenue in 2004 or $130,000 per month compared with $630,000 per month
today.

When Trinity began its Phoenix operations in late 1999, the community, with its
large elderly population, already was home to many established hospice
operators.  This made it very difficult to penetrate the market.  However,
during the past five years, Trinity Phoenix has been able to shift its position and emerge among the largest providers.

Bolles credits the growth to the team she has built.  It takes a very special
person – one with a heavy hospice heart – to provide care to the terminally ill
each and everyday, and Trinity Phoenix employs 80 of them. 

In the past several years, the Phoenix branch has distinguished itself in the
marketplace by:

·Developing and strengthening relationships with physicians, nursing homes,
hospitals and other healthcare providers.
·Encouraging excellent patient care and customer service.
·Creating employee performance-based incentive programs.
·Establishing staff appreciation programs and other recognition awards.
·Expanding its team of professionals from 10 to 80.
·Increasing number of patients on service at a given point (census) from 40 to
about 160.
·Providing a personal touch: its medical director still makes house calls.
·Increasing the volunteer pool from zero to more than 200.
·Cultivating an exceptional team of compassionate individuals.

Since overseeing this location, Bolles has:

·Promoted a culture of warmth and kindness.  Her management philosophy
encompasses hiring the best caregivers, providing excellent patient care and
offering unparralled customer service.  Her methodology: growth will come on the
heels of that formula.
·Instilled an open-door management style that encourages employees to speak
out.  In return, she expects excellence ands accountability.
·Offered praise and appreciation for employees who work so hard each day dealing with life and death.
·Established a positive and enjoyable work environment.

Hospice is also about giving back to the community.  In Phoenix, Bolles and her
team are constantly involved in hospice education, providing awareness of the
hospice benefit.  They offer literature and in-service programs to healthcare
providers and for the general public, take time to explain hospice’s advantages. 
The entire Phoenix team – chaplains, social workers, nurses, home health aides,
physicians, administrative staff and volunteers – are also continually encouraged
to educate the community about hospice.  They are reminded regularly that the
business’ growth is a direct result of the exceptional care they provide to
patients and their families. 

At the end of the day, it is the family thank you notes, phone calls and letters of
love that empower this team to keep going and growing.


   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

Supporting materials for this nomination were submitted offline.

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

April Bolles is regional vice president of operations overseeing the company’s five
branches in Arizona and Texas.  She is based out of the company’s Phoenix
location.  Bolles joined the company in 2000 as a hospice representative, and was
quickly promoted to sales manager and then program administrator.  In these
positions, she helped oversee the sales efforts of the company’s 12 centers (at
that time) and the operations of the Phoenix branch.  In September 2002, Bolles
was named to the position she holds today.

Previously, Bolles was a social worker at a Phoenix hospital.  She is a graduate of
Northern Arizona University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social work.