News

Star poet and leading MD to headline at Care Summit
by Craig Dresang, CEO
October 15, 2023
Mark Doty, recognized as one of the most accomplished poets in America – and frequently compared to James Merrill and Walt Whitman — will be one of two keynote speakers at the next national Quintessential Care Summit hosted by YoloCares, Sacramento State University, and the California Hospice Network on March 15, 2024.

What we’re all dying to know
by Craig Dresang, CEO
September 25, 2023
My aunt who was lovingly known as the bleached blonde barmaid with a witty and wicked sense of humor, once told me, “Craig, you have to stop telling people what you do for a living. It’s a party kill. Talking about your work has the same effect as farting in church.” I had to admit that my sometimes vulgar, vodka-drinking, chain-smoking aunt was not wrong.

The streets are no place to die
by Craig Dresang, CEO
July 18, 2023
Earlier this year, one of YoloCares’ sister hospices received a call from a hospital discharge planner who asked if they were equipped to provide care for a homeless woman named Mary. Mary was being released from the hospital with an especially aggressive and incurable form of cancer that had spread to her lungs, liver and bones.

Good and necessary trouble
by Craig Dresang, CEO
June 21, 2023
More than 40 years ago, as an outgrowth of the civil rights movement, the nation’s first hospices played a pivotal role in creating safe and supportive spaces for those in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Mom’s wisdom never dies
by Craig Dresang, CEO
May 21, 2023
During the summer of 2022, I crossed an invisible mile marker, reaching a more advanced age than my mom did when she died. From that scorching August day forward, I felt that every new day would be uncharted territory.

Surprising and little-known facts about hospice
by Craig Dresang, CEO
April 20, 2023
Death is inevitable, but it does not always need to become a tragic string of crises. More often than not, people living with a life-limiting illness will say, “I wish I knew about hospice earlier.”

California Hospice Network Affiliate CEO pens opening chapter for End-of-Life Ethics in a Changing World
by Gia Martucci, Marketing and Communications Specialist
April 7, 2023
The Hospice Foundation of America’s (HFA) newest book, End-of-Life Ethics in a Changing World, begins with a rather provocative opening chapter written by Sacramentan Craig Dresang of the California Hospice Network (CHN).

Center for Loss & Hope continues to evolve
by Chris Erdman, Center for Loss & Hope Manager
March 20, 2023
The YoloCares Center for Loss & Hope exists to help hospice patients, their loved ones, and members of the broader community, journey through experiences of loss and grief.

Galileo Place a safety net for caregivers
by Craig Dresang, CEO
February 20, 2023
After Betty Mundy’s husband, Jack, received an early diagnosis of dementia she faced a swirl of conflicting emotions that ranged from relief to overwhelming worry about the future.

Being board strong
by Craig Dresang, CEO
January 20, 2023
The weighty work of a nonprofit board is no small thing. A board holds the power to make an organization live up to its highest calling and to shine its brightest light, but it can also threaten an organization’s purpose and even its very existence.

The healing power of story
by Craig Dresang, CEO
December 20, 2022
Storytelling is powerful medicine. Sometimes, storytelling can deliver a level and type of comfort to a patient or family that no amount of prescription medications can touch.

Finding peace at the end
by Craig Dresang, CEO
November 20, 2022
When YoloCares affiliated with the California Hospice Network in 2021, it acquired the collaborative energy and leadership of some of California’s leading minds in end-of-life care.

A father’s farewell
by Craig Dresang, CEO
October 20, 2022
Death is always a surprise. Rarely, is someone fully prepared for it, and few people expect it when it finally comes for them.

Where there is loss, there is hope
by Craig Dresang, CEO
September 17, 2022
Loss is an inevitable part of life. Being alive means being vulnerable to both ordinary and extraordinary loss. Sometimes losses are expected. Other times loss arrives as an unwelcome surprise.

Four regional leaders join the team
by Craig Dresang, CEO
August 20, 2022
As YoloCares continues to build out its leadership team, the organization has added three new members to its board of directors and appointed a new manager for its Center for Loss and Hope.

Reconciling California’s history with access to care
by Craig Dresang, CEO
July 16, 2022
Two years ago, YoloCares was awarded a grant from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation to research, explore, and address the barriers to care for indigenous and rural populations.

Celebrate PRIDE, but keep pushing
by Craig Dresang, CEO
June 18, 2022
Harry Root was 86 when I first met him. He was always cheerful and despite his age and many ailments he moved about his business like a slightly injured Energizer Bunny with ruffled white hair.

Corporate America and the monetizing of a movement
by Craig Dresang, CEO
May 15, 2022
Madalon Amenta, a founding mother of hospice in the United States and a 93-year-old YoloCares board member, has often said, “Our agency’s roots stem from the civil rights movement. Hospice itself was a powerful grassroots movement long before it became an industry.”

YoloCares draws thought leaders for national summit
by Craig Dresang, CEO
March 22, 2022
After working with 1,000 healthcare and hospice organizations during a three-decade career, Andrew Reed, founder of Multi-View Inc. (a premier hospice teaching company), recently said, “I am convinced that the best hospices see themselves as teaching institutions as much as they are care organizations.”

One man’s journey through, and back to, hospice
By: Craig Dresang, CEO
February 4, 2022
It was a hot muggy Midwestern July when I left my home in Chicago to spend the weekend with my parents in northern Wisconsin. 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity. The air was thick with the smell of pine, birch, and fresh rain. Lightening from passing thunderstorms flashed in the distance.

A Chance to Strengthen Yolo’s Safety Net
by Craig Dresang, CEO
December 19, 2021
Earlier this year, when it was announced that the City of Davis would receive nearly $20 million and Yolo County would collect $43 million from the federal stimulus initiative called The American Rescue Plan, YoloCares submitted a funding request to address the housing and healthcare needs of those who are terminally ill and homeless.
Latest Posts
- Star poet and leading MD to headline at Care Summit
- What we’re all dying to know
- The streets are no place to die
- Good and necessary trouble
- Mom’s wisdom never dies
- California Hospice Network Affiliate CEO pens opening chapter for End-of-Life Ethics in a Changing World
- Surprising and little-known facts about hospice
- Center for Loss & Hope continues to evolve
- Galileo Place: a safety net for caregivers
- Being board strong