06/17/2026
After much prayer, soul-searching, and budget reviews, and following emotional discussions with our Board of Directors, Solace Hospice of Southwest Virginia is sad to report that we have made the difficult decision to suspend operations for an indeterminate time.
As the founder of Solace, I can assure you that this decision has not come easily. When we started this journey last summer, it was with a mission and a vision that are still very much alive today. One of our foundational principles as we sought to ensure high-quality hospice care regardless of a patient’s insurance or financial status was that we would not bill any patient for services. Some have asked if we could revise our policies and provide care on a sliding-scale payment plan. And while we could, this is not a path we want to take. At the same time, however, nonprofit does not mean bill-free — there are many costs associated with operating a hospice: rent, insurance, internet, phone & fax, electronic medical records, vendor fees, and those bills must be paid whether we have zero patients or 50. Bearing all of that in mind, we recognized that with a moratorium that may extend far beyond the six months for which it has been initially announced, we would not be good stewards of the funding we have received thus far if we continued to try to operate indefinitely with no ability to bring in revenue to help cover the costs required to provide excellent hospice care.
Please know that this decision is a direct result of Medicare’s nationwide moratorium, which has halted the enrollment of new hospice agencies while federal authorities investigate fraud concerns involving certain existing providers. Solace successfully obtained its state license and was fully prepared to begin serving patients. Unfortunately, without the ability to enroll with Medicare—and, consequently, Medicaid and many commercial insurance plans that depend upon Medicare certification—we have no realistic means of sustaining operations over the long term.
I have always lived by a personal standard of do it well or not at all. I have held that standard for every hospice agency I have been a part of – whether I was a weekend on-call nurse or an Area Vice President. I have never been willing to compromise care for any reason. Trying to operate without adequate funding would compromise the care that we are able to provide, and that is a compromise that no one on our team is willing to make.
We are hopeful that this suspension is temporary. We plan to continue to fundraise and research alternate funding options while we have operations suspended. And we also fully intend to advocate for ourselves and for other legitimate hospice providers affected by this nationwide moratorium. Fraud must be identified and addressed, but we do not believe that preventing legitimate providers from serving their communities is the right solution.
I, personally, and we as an organization remain incredibly grateful to the Wythe-Bland Foundation and the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, VA for their support in making Solace Hospice of Southwest Virginia a reality. And we are thankful to so many in our community who have supported this journey, whether financially, prayerfully, or both.
As healthcare becomes increasingly corporate-based, we are still firm in our belief that the residents of rural Southwest Virginia need and deserve a local, nonprofit choice for end-of-life care. And we look forward to the opportunity to resume operations and serve our communities in the future.
In grateful service always,
Shanna Western & the Solace Hospice of Southwest Virginia team
