May 28, 2025
Empath Health Strengthens Commitment to Home-Based Care with Sale of Mid-Pinellas Service Center
Clearwater, FL • May 28, 2025 — Empath Health today announced the pending sale of its Mid-Pinellas Service Center at 5771 Roosevelt Boulevard — a strategic move that reflects the not-for-profit's long-standing commitment to meeting patients where they are: at home, in the community, and with dignity.
Empath Health is the parent company of Suncoast Hospice, which has served the Pinellas community since 1977. It all began in a two-bedroom cottage on Cleveland Street, rented for $250 a month. Volunteers stored walkers in the bathtub, jumped over tables to reach patients, and saved every paperclip and rubber band. When the first phone bill came in — $100.43 — it was quietly paid by a neighbor with a handwritten note calling it "a gift of love."
That legacy of resourcefulness and community partnership continues to guide Empath today. In the early 2000s, the organization created the Empath Health umbrella to support the expansion of services beyond hospice, including home health, PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), HIV and sexual health services, and grief support. Today, Empath serves more than 80,000 people annually across 20 Florida counties.
The Roosevelt Boulevard location, established after a relocation of administrative operations, has long supported that growth. But as models of care continue to shift into homes and neighborhoods, Empath is realigning its physical footprint to invest more directly in patient- and family-centered care.
"Selling an underutilized administrative building allows us to reinvest in the people, programs, and technology that bring comfort, dignity, and support into homes and communities," said Jonathan Fleece, President and CEO of Empath Health. "It's a return to our roots and a recommitment to the future."
Empath's innovative approach includes a mobile simulation lab that delivers hands-on training to clinicians in the field and a durable medical equipment (DME) team that transforms living rooms into safe, comfortable care spaces — blending clinical excellence with the familiarity of home. The organization is also preparing the workforce of tomorrow through its nationally accredited hospice nurse residency program and two dedicated scholarship programs for current colleagues to pursue further education.
Administrative functions currently based at Roosevelt will shift to more agile support sites in Palm Harbor and St. Petersburg. There will be no disruption to patients or family services.
"From a tiny rented cottage to a statewide care network, Empath has always evolved alongside the community it serves," Fleece added. "This moment is about honoring that history while taking bold steps toward the next generation of care — personal, accessible, and centered on home.
