Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care
End-of-Life Care Delivered through Boutique Hospice Services

Susan Compton, CEO and Founder

Many families associate hospice care with abandoning curative treatment, a misconception that delays timely enrollment. Combined with the emotional complexity of end-of-life decisions and fragmented communication across care providers, patients often enter hospice too late to fully benefit from the support it provides.

Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care prioritizes delivering compassionate end-of-life care centered on doing the right thing. It provides hospice and palliative services, including nursing support, symptom management, emotional and spiritual support and family guidance.

Founded as a ministry nearly 15 years ago, the nurse-owned, female-owned organization provides care rooted in quality, integrity and human connection. It helps families navigate challenges through a boutique, high-touch model focused on education, responsiveness and interdisciplinary coordination.

“We make sure patients and families truly feel supported throughout the end-of-life care journey,” says Susan Compton, CEO and founder.

Education underpins Ardent’s care model. Its programs help families and community staff understand hospice services and patient care needs. They also spread light on managing complex patient conditions like dementia, Alzheimer’s and limited mobility.

Personalized Support throughout the Care Journey

Ardent prioritizes rapid response and same-day onboarding whenever possible. Nurses meet with patients and families immediately after referrals to explain hospice care and align on goals. It also coordinates same-day equipment delivery to ensure patients receive support without unnecessary delays.

Each patient undergoes an individualized assessment at admission, with details like diagnosis, age, symptoms and overall condition documented in the electronic medical record. This information helps develop a personalized care plan.

After enrollment, an interdisciplinary team including nurses, social workers and chaplains provides comprehensive support, addressing medical, emotional, spiritual and end-of-life planning needs. The team meets every two weeks with the medical director to review cases, address concerns and coordinate care.

When families raise concerns, clinical leadership, administration and nurses collaborate to resolve issues immediately. Ardent maintains direct, ongoing communication with patients and families throughout the care journey. Patients are visited multiple times each week and can reach the care team directly whenever needed.

It also prioritizes regular communication with physicians, ensuring they are informed about patients’ status and care decisions. Ardent’s smaller scale allows its teams to stay closely connected to patients, families and care partners.

“Because we are a more personalized hospice provider, we are able to stay closely connected to our patients, families and care partners,” says Vlad Owens, Community Liaison.

A Community-Led Approach to Palliative and Hospice Care

Ardent provides palliative care as a community-focused service despite limited reimbursement, viewing it as part of its responsibility as a Community Health Accreditation Partner.

The palliative phase is short-term, usually under three months, and serves as a bridge to hospice care. By introducing care comfortably and addressing the stigma, Ardent helps patients and families transition into hospice with trust and understanding.

These values are shaped by Compton’s personal experiences as both a nurse and caregiver to her grandmother. During her nursing career, she witnessed patients dying alone without family support. This led to the creation of the No One Should Die Alone foundation. It helps patients and families navigate practical and emotional barriers during critical moments.

In one case, it funded travel and accommodation for a student to be with her dying father. In another, it arranged a private sitter for a patient with no family to ensure she was not alone at the end of life.

Ardent’s focus on presence and support also shapes its collaboration with senior living communities, assisted living facilities and hospitals, helping ensure continuity of care across settings.

Through this high-touch approach, Ardent aims to build trust among patients and families. It continues to focus on expanding access to hospice care while preserving the responsiveness, trust and personal connection central to its model.