Vickie and Royce Ryles

Vickie and Royce founded Community Hospice in 1999. Vickie, President of Community Hospice, is a Registered Nurse with over 20 years of practice in Hospice & Palliative care setting. Vickie, with the support of her husband Royce, saw the need for the area’s original hospice program. The birth of this organization would far exceed their expectations and serve the needs of thousands of families in the area. As the Community Hospice organization grew, Vickie and Royce saw a unique need for the areas only Hospice Inpatient Facility. At this time there were only a few hospice houses in the southern section of Georgia. In 2005, Vickie and Royce founded The Community Hospice House. To date The Community Hospice House has served hundreds of families in the area with exceptional service and compassion. Together they founded Community Hospice based on the principles of compassionate and competent care. The “patient comes first” and the “compassion beyond measure” principals are still the driving force today and is instilled in everyone who works with them. Vickie and Royce have four children and five grandchildren.

Jason Colbert, CHPCA

Chief Executive Officer / Administrator
Board Certified Hospice & Palliative Care Administrator
jcolbert_ch@bellsouth.net

Jason joined Community Hospice as the Chief Executive Officer in 2006. Jason, who came from an extensive healthcare and business background, was born and raised in Vidalia, GA. He is a 1996 graduate of Vidalia High School after which he attended Brewton Parker College. Jason is very involved in the community and has served in various roles. He was elected at the 2012-2013 President of the Downtown Vidalia Association (Main Street), and has served in various roles with the local United Way, Relay for Life, and is a member of the Vidalia Kiwanis Club. In 2005 Jason received the Future Business Leaders of America’s Businessperson of the Year Award. In 2008, he was presented with Dale Carnegie’s Highest Achievement Award. In 2010, Jason became one of the State’s few Nationally Board Certified Hospice & Palliative Care Administrators and has received numerous awards and recognition for his work in the hospice & palliative care field. Jason’s core passion is making sure all individuals receive exemplar service and compassion second to none. Jason has two sons, Carson and Conner.

Edith Stephens

HR / Accounting
Assistant Administrator
edith_ch@bellsouth.net

Edith joined Community Hospice in 2001. She has many years in the healthcare industry, with Community Hospice, and has served in several roles within this organization. She is dedicated to Community Hospice and our patients and their families. She is strong in her Christian faith and believes that God has called her to her position at Community Hospice. She exhibits this in her daily interactions. She graduated from Vidalia High School, attended Georgia Southern College, and graduated from Massey Business College in Jacksonville, Florida. Through the years, she has taken classes at STC. Edith was the wife of the late Wendell Stephens of Toombs County and they have two sons. She takes great pride in these sons and their families which includes three grandsons. When she is not working, she spends her time with her children, her church activities, and other family and friends. She considers her co-workers to be an extension of her family.


 

Debbie J. Kittrell

Director of Nursing - Hospice House
dkittrell_ch@bellsouth.net

Debbie is the Director of Nursing of The Community Hospice House. Debbie received her diploma in nursing from Atlanta's Georgia Baptist Hospital in 1979. She later earned an AA from Brewton-Parker College and her BSN from Georgia College, in Milledgeville. Debbie has worked for 28 years at Meadows Regional Medical Center. She has been a Home Health nurse and an Occupational nurse. She has served in ICU, in ER, and she has been a Nurse Supervisor. She brings her amazing assortment of abilities to the daily challenges of our end-of-life care. Debbie feels that God has placed her in this position.

Kiristi McLoon, RB

Director of Nursing - Home Hospice
kmcloon35@yahoo.com

Kristi joined Community Hospice in 2007 as a Nurse Case Manager. Kristi graduated from South Georgia College in 1998. Kristi has an extensive history as a Registered Nurse and has worked in many areas including Med-Surg, ICU, ER, and pediatrics. She believes that patients at the end of life are entitled to optimal, compassionate care. Kristi has a love for all patients and their families. She leads her team by example and believes that hospice is a calling.

Jennifer Richter, LCSW, ACHP-SW

Director of Support Services
jrichter_ch@hellsouth.net

Jennifer joined Community Hospice in 2006. Jennifer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and functions as a Social Worker and as Director of Support Services. As a social worker, Jennifer assesses the financial, emotional, and psychosocial needs of our patients and families, links families to community resources and provisions, and provides grief counseling services. As Director of Support Services, Jennifer supervises social workers and chaplains, and Community Hospice's volunteer and bereavement programs.