Alive Welcomes Experienced Hospice Leader as New CEO
Published on June 13, 2024
Middle Tennessee’s only nonprofit hospice provider poised to build on industry-leading reputation
Alive, Middle Tennessee’s only nonprofit provider of hospice and palliative care and end-of-life services, today announced Kerry Hamilton as the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. He will begin his new role on June 24.
A highly accomplished health care leader, Hamilton joins Alive with more than 20 years of direct hospice management experience, including a decade as CEO of nonprofit Hospice of Central Ohio.
“Kerry is a respected hospice leader and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the Alive team,” said Alive Board Chair Mary Flipse. “His strategic vision, proven record of operational excellence, and sheer passion for this work make him the perfect fit to effectively guide Alive. The Board also would like to thank Chief Operating Officer Joseph Hampe and recognize the incredible job Joe did during this critical period as Alive’s interim president and CEO.”
Most recently, Hamilton was a principal in Ten26 Health Group, Inc., a health care consulting firm focused on providing a range of services from strategy and research to interim leadership for hospice organizations, physician offices, and payers. Prior to founding Ten26, he led The Collaborative Laboratory, an innovation incubator launched by Ohio’s Hospice.
Hamilton began his health care career in nursing — the cornerstone and heart of Alive’s quality of care. He brings invaluable care-at-the-bedside experience to the CEO role alongside his impressive accomplishments as a hospice executive.
“My experience as a caregiver motivates me to improve patient care by creating processes and systems that ease the burden on families,” Hamilton said.
“I am excited to work with the team to build and support a culture of success that will help Alive grow and be even more effective in delivering on its mission. With a great board of directors, talented staff, devoted volunteers and Alive’s decades-long devotion to providing loving care, I couldn’t ask for a better foundation from which to build.”
Hamilton’s hiring comes one year after news broke that Alive was considering a sale to a for-profit entity. The news led to a tremendous outpouring of support from the community for Alive to remain nonprofit. Ultimately, the Board of Directors made the decision that Alive would remain an independent nonprofit organization. The Board then began the search for a new CEO who shared its vision for the future.
“When we founded Alive, our mission was to establish an organization that would serve the Middle Tennessee community by providing loving, high-quality end-of-life care to patients and their families,” said Alive Founders and current Alive Board members David and Lynn Barton. “For nearly 50 years, this organization has delivered on that mission. We are pleased that this Board shares our vision for Alive’s future as a nonprofit organization and we are confident that Kerry’s leadership will position Alive to serve patients and families for many years to come.”