About Us
Our Beliefs
Our mission is to serve our community, providing the highest quality of care to every patient, every family, every time.
At YoloCares, we understand that every person deserves to be valued and respected for their individual uniqueness. To that end, we strive to embrace and celebrate the distinct qualities, character, experiences, and perspectives that each person brings to the organization. YoloCares is built from a foundation of long-held values that include integrity, compassion, care, commitment, and creativity. As care professionals, we respect each individual’s journey of life and use the tools of diversity, equity, and inclusion to create a sense of belonging that every patient, family member, employee, volunteer, and community partner truly deserves.
Our Legacy
As the first established independent hospice in the Sacramento Valley, YoloCares has a storied history of caring for people who have a life-limiting illness. YoloCares is an active member of the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation and is recognized as a regional leader in end-of-life care. YoloCares offers a wide variety of supportive care services, from an enriching adult day facility to The Joint Commission-accredited hospice and palliative care programs.
YoloCares is a member of the California Hospice Network, a group of like-minded nonprofit hospice agencies dedicated to improving the quality of, and expanding access to, end-of-life services for individuals and families of all backgrounds.
Named as a national finalist in Modern Healthcare Magazine’s Best Places to Work in 2020 and 2021, YoloCares is dedicated to excellence in all aspects of end-of-life care. Our philosophy of care honors the medical, spiritual and psychosocial needs of the individual and enables us to provide a unique care experience for each patient and family.
YoloCares Senior Leadership Team
Craig Dresang
Chief Executive Officer
Craig Dresang brings more than 25 years of nonprofit management experience to his post. Prior to his role at YoloCares, Craig was the vice president for community development for JourneyCare in Chicago, a $100 million healthcare organization that ranked in the top 20 nation-wide for quality inpatient care, and was recognized as one of Chicago’s top 100 workplaces.
Kris Kirkendall, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
After receiving her Masters in Accounting in 1999, Kirkendall has worked more than 20 years in healthcare finance at two large hospital systems in our area. She worked as YoloCares CFO from 2014 until her retirement in mid-2017. She returned YoloCares in 2020 to manage the buildout and licensing of Galileo Place Adult Day Program and to work closely with the Board and CEO on other projects, among them the affiliation with the California Hospice Network. Kirkendall became the CFO in August 2022.
Louise Joyce
Director of Community Programs
Louise Joyce has been with the agency for 10 years; initially hired as the Community Liaison to provide education, resources, and support to community and referral partners. Over the years, she carefully nurtured and developed YoloCares’ community engagement activities, creating a multi-pronged Community Development Department. She now oversees Galileo Place Adult Day Center, Citizens Who Care Volunteer Program and philanthropy.
Clark Wright
Director of Business Development
Clark Wright has been a hospice business development leader in the Sacramento Area since 2017. He oversaw the business development department at Suncrest Hospice in Sacramento and played an integral role in the establishment of their presence in the area. He is passionate about helping people access end-of-life care and finding long-term solutions through teamwork and collaboration.
Donna Feeney
Director of Quality and Compliance
Donna Feeney is a nationally certified medical assistant and brings 10 years of experience in Quality & Patient Safety. Prior to her time with YoloCares, Donna developed and managed a centralized quality patient outreach program for Sutter Valley Medical Foundation in which she developed standard work, implemented new EHR platforms and collaborated with and physician leadership. Donna was involved in all areas of Quality including monitoring various dashboard goals, risk, patient resource, and infection control.
Stephanie Baxter, R.N.
Director of Patient Care
Stephanie Baxter has been a registered nurse leader for seven years; five of the previous years have been spent in service of hospice patients and their families. In that time, Stephanie was involved in all areas of hospice care including case management, admissions, intake and as the Assistant Director of Nursing at SunCrest Hospice. Her passion lies in providing compassionate care for patients and empowering fellow RNs through education.
Chris Erdman
Director of the Center for Loss & Hope, Joshua’s House
Chris Erdman serves as the Director of the Center of Loss & Hope and Joshua’s House—both expressions of YoloCares’ commitment to offer quintessential end-of-life care and support to anyone in the Sacramento region. Erdman also leads the ethics committee of the California Hospice Network. He holds a doctorate in organizational and missional transformation from Columbia in Atlanta. Previously a pastor of three large congregations, a graduate school faculty member, and a missional consultant, he brings three decades of experience to his role of innovative and compassionate organizational leadership.
Lisa Adams
Director of Palliative Care and Patient Access
Lisa Adams has been an employee of YoloCares for 21 years, working first as the manager of patient access. Adams has extensive experience in health information management, referral relations, and healthcare administration. During her tenure with the organization, YoloCares has seen their census increase from 50 to 120.
Fikir Morkoc, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Fikir Morkoc attended medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan followed by internal medicine residency at University of California, Davis Medical Center. Dr. Morkoc has been involved in the care of geriatric patients for nearly two decades and has spent the last 10 years as the medical director of long-term care facilities and as a hospice physician.
YoloCares Annual Report
YoloCares is committed to a culture of transparency in all aspects of operations. To learn more about how YoloCares provides exceptional end-of-life care to all who are in need, please explore our annual report.
