HospiceCare Inc., the main provider of end-of-life comfort care in Dane County since 1978, is changing its name to Agrace HospiceCare.
Confusion and competition spurred the change, spokesman Dan Chin said. The new name will create a clearer identity for the nonprofit hospice and distinguish it from three new for-profit hospices in the area, he said.
Chin said many people were confusing HospiceCare Inc. with the new hospices: SouthernCare, Saint Jude Hospice and Heartland Hospice Services.
"We hope people are better able to link our name to our reputation for providing high quality care," Chin said.
"Agrace" was chosen through surveys and focus groups, in which people said the organization delivers care with grace, he said. Also, "grace evokes a lot of positive feelings," he said.
The "Inc." is being dropped because many people associated it with for-profit companies, Chin said.
An advertising campaign announcing the new name will begin Monday.
The change is the latest sign that the hospice market in Madison is becoming increasingly competitive — and ending up in court.
SouthernCare, a for-profit company based in Alabama, opened a Madison office four years ago.
The former clinic director of the office accused SouthernCare of Medicare fraud in a lawsuit unsealed last month in U.S. District Court in Madison. Karina Christensen says SouthernCare charged Medicare for care given to patients who didn't have six months or less to live, a requirement for the service.
Bill Priest, the company's national compliance officer, wrote in an email last week: "We are very proud of our Madison staff and the compassionate, quality care they have always provided."
Iowa-based Saint Jude opened a Madison office in April. In July, HospiceCare — now Agrace — filed a trademark infringement suit against Saint Jude in U.S. District Court in Madison. The suit says the tree in Saint Jude's logo looks too much like HospiceCare's tree.
Tom Moreland, Saint Jude's chief executive officer, said his tree is clearly different.
Ohio-based Heartland opened a Madison office in June.
Rainbow Hospice Care, in Jefferson, serves areas east of Madison, including eastern Dane County. Madison-based Home Health United long has provided hospice care in several nearby counties but not Dane. Both are nonprofits.
Agrace and Rainbow have inpatient facilities, but the other hospices don't. All care for people in their homes.
