Unity Receives $25,000 Grant from K.C. Stock Foundation to Expand Palliative Care Services
De Pere, WI – Unity is honored to announce the award of a $25,000 grant from the K.C. Stock Foundation to support its Supportive Care Management (SCM) program, which provides compassionate, home-based palliative care to individuals in Northeast Wisconsin facing serious illness.
“We are deeply grateful to the K.C. Stock Foundation for recognizing the growing need for accessible palliative care,” says Unity Executive Director Alisa Gerke. “This generous grant ensures that more people throughout our region can receive the relief, dignity, and support they deserve during some of life’s most difficult moments.”
Unity’s Supportive Care Management program provides an extra layer of support and education for individuals and their family when living with a serious illness, delivering expert care wherever a patient calls home. The program focuses on symptom relief and quality of life through skilled nursing visits, 24/7 nurse consultation, emotional and spiritual support, and connection to critical resources. Recognizing some would otherwise lack access to this superior level of specialized care, Unity maintains its commitment to care for everyone who is eligible for services, regardless of their ability to pay.
In 2024, Unity served 424 patients through SCM, providing more than 5,100 care team visits. Data confirms that patients enrolled in the program are less likely to require emergency room visits or hospitalization. The program also helps reduce the emotional toll of illness by addressing social isolation and supporting informed decision-making for patients and their caregivers.
With renewed support from the K.C. Stock Foundation, Unity anticipates serving 594 patients in 2025 - helping individuals remain at home, avoid unnecessary hospital visits, and receive holistic care tailored to their unique medical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs.
About Unity
Unity is Northeast Wisconsin’s pioneering not-for-profit healthcare provider that offers a full complement of care solutions including nonmedical home care, palliative care, hospice care, and grief support. With a commitment to seamlessly adapt care to the everchanging needs of each patient and family, Unity works tirelessly to enhance quality of life through innovative services and unique programs ensuring the wishes and goals of patients and families are always met. As the only locally owned and operated advanced illness provider in the region, Unity partners with area skilled nursing facilities, assisted-living facilities, and pharmacies, ensuring seamless care in all settings.
Unity is the sole organization offering inpatient hospice at seven area hospitals and is a collaboration between Emplify Health by Bellin, HSHS St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, and HSHS St. Vincent Hospital. Established as the third hospice program in the nation, Unity launched Wisconsin’s first palliative care program in 2002, the area’s first hospice residence in 2007, the region’s only Grief and Education Center in 2021, and the area’s first pediatric hospice program in 2024. Learn more at https://unityhospice.org/palliative-care or call (920) 338-1111.