Sharon Mulford, interim executive director for Hospice of the Gorge, a nonprofit end-of-life care agency, hands off the directorship of the agency to Gretchen Hagen, R.N., effective March 3.

Hagen previously served as community liaison nurse at Community Health and Hospice, an organization that serves three counties in southeastern Washington and Columbia County in Oregon

Board president Mooreen Morris said, “Gretchen brings the kind of skills we need to lead us during the next phase of our development as an agency. We were the first hospice in the region, founded back in 1981. We grew from very humble beginnings, with an all-volunteer staff, to become the largest hospice organization in eight mid-Columbia counties.

“What we need now is a leader who can help us continue to provide care regardless of a person’s financial status. We have never denied care to anyone for financial reasons, and we want to do everything we can to continue that tradition.”

“Hospice is a journey,” said Hagen, “and the role of a hospice and its staff is to empower those we serve with the tools to make life’s final journey the best it can be, one filled with unexpected gifts and joy. Hospice is not about death. It’s about life!”

Mulford joined Hospice of the Gorge as interim executive director in May of 2007, when the previous director, Deborah Jacques, left for health and family reasons.

Mulford, a registered nurse and licensed attorney, says “Hospice of the Gorge has been a very special and important part of my life. I have been involved with hospice work for most of my life, and I feel very strongly about the idea of maintaining the values that a nonprofit hospice such as Hospice of the Gorge brings to the community.”

Morris said Mulford did a “marvelous” job. “We owe her a debt of gratitude. She interrupted her retirement to help us out, and she kept us on track until our new permanent director was found.”

This was not Mulford’s only stint with Hospice of the Gorge. She previously served as executive director from 2000 to 2003, at which point she decided to retire.

“I’m looking forward to being retired again, but who knows what the future will bring?”

Hagen began her career as a psychiatric nurse and transitioned to hospice nursing in 1996. She says: “I bring a love for both the ideals and the realities of hospice care.”

Hagen started the first palliative care program in North Carolina; she was the clinical director for St. Luke’s Hospice in Boise Idaho; she started a satellite hospice for St. Luke’s in the small rural community of McCall, Idaho; she served as chairperson for the Idaho Medicaid Board; and she provided community education on end-of-life issues via public radio, television, high schools and elsewhere throughout the region.

Morris adds, “Gretchen, like Sharon, is not new to Hospice of the Gorge. She worked with us for a short time in the past as our admitting nurse. We’re very pleased that she will be rejoining us in her new role.

“Gretchen brings the same kind of passionate commitment to hospice care that the founders of the agency had back in 1981. We’re so glad she’ll be part of our team.”