Inland Hospice recently announced its merger with the Claremont-based Visiting Nurses Association Hospice and Palliative Care of Southern California (VNA), effective last month.

Inland Hospice Association, a nonprofit organization, was established in 1979 with the mission of providing physical, emotional and spiritual support to those going through serious health challenges and their families. Programs and services include “Common Threads,” a bereavement and grief counseling group open to children ages 6-17 and their families, “Simple Gifts, “a volunteer interfaith program designed to eradicate senior social isolation thereby keeping the individual senior as independent for as long as possible as well as a series of adult bereavement groups. Inland Hospice also provides assistance with estate sales that benefit families, as well as their Home Health Equipment for Loan Program (HELP), which brings together those who have medical equipment to loan with those in need of such equipment.

 “The Inland Hospice’s programs represent a valuable and necessary service to our communities,” said Marsha Fox, president and chief executive officer of the VNA. “We are honored to carry these programs forward and want to assure our communities that they represent an important addition to VNA’s family of services and programs.