Long-time business leader and Palatka resident, Dan Martinez recently established a $300,000 Endowment to create the Dan & Katie Martinez Endowment for Palliative Care in Putnam County.
Dan and Katie Martinez
The endowment, which consists of a $300,000 charitable donation from Martinez and a $250,000 donation from an anonymous donor, totaling $550,000, is to create the Haven Hospice Foundation’s first endowment for palliative care services in Putnam County. While Haven has long offered palliative care services throughout North Central Florida, the not-for-profit organization announced in 2021 that it would expand palliative care efforts across its 18-county service area.
“It is my honor to establish the Dan and Katie Martinez Endowment to fund palliative care in Putnam County,” said Martinez. “Haven Hospice plays an integral role in the communities it serves especially in Putnam County and this endowment will help ensure that seriously ill patients will continue to receive the compassionate care and assistance they need. I would not have been able to keep my wife at home without Haven’s palliative care program. Everyone who cared for her treated us with kindness, dignity, respect and love.”
The donation was given in honor of Martinez’s late wife, Catherine Martinez, who was cared for by Haven in 2021. Martinez serves as Chair of the Haven Foundation and has long served on Haven’s Palatka Community Advisory Board.
“This generous gift will be transformational for Haven and the Palatka community in that it will expand Haven’s services to patients with serious illness who are still pursuing curative measures,” said Haven Chief Medical Officer Shirley Codada, MD, FAAHPM. “Palliative care is not hospice care. Rather, it is a serious illness care continuum and patients receiving the service can expect compassionate communication and improved quality of life using an approach to care that is centered on the patient and family. That extra layer of support is what is needed to keep vulnerable patients whole through their healthcare journey.”
The Dan and Katie Martinez Endowment will fund Haven’s palliative care program in the years to come with the interest and dividends that are generated from the endowment.
The Haven Hospice Foundation was formed in 2021. In addition to Martinez, the Haven Hospice Foundation Board also consists of local Palatka residents Wayne McClain and Norlene Roberts.