About Us
Lake Circle of Care Leadership Team
Meet Our Leadership Team - Coming Soon
We’re updating this section to introduce the people behind our organization. Leadership team photos and bios will be added soon, giving you a chance to learn more about their experience and commitment to our mission.
Thank you for your patience while we put the finishing touches on this page. We look forward to sharing more with you!
Our Leadership Team
Scott McFarland
Dr. Terri Turner
Christin Colcord, RN
Elin Porter
Michele Elola
April Byerly-Hodder
Chief Executive and Finance Director
Medical Director
Director of Patient Care Services
Director of Human Resources and Retail Operations
Director, Patient and Community Support
Patient Services and Operations Coordination
Board of Directors
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Member
Member
Member
Don Hubbard, Community Member
Dawn Hodge, Community Member
Tammy Rust, Community Member
Diane Plante, CPA, Tomkins Tax Consultants
Petra Bergstrom, Realtor, Morgan Lane Real Estate
Dr. Peter Stanley, Retired Physician
Colleen Assavapisitkul, RN, Retired Nurse
If you would like to Join our board, please fill out our volunteer form:
Lake Circle of Care History
In November 1979, more than 60 dedicated volunteers—many from the healthcare community—came together with a shared vision: to bring hospice care to Lake County, California. By 1980, a Board of Directors was formed and Lake Circle of Care became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Training programs were soon developed to equip the new team with the skills and knowledge needed to care for patients and families facing life-limiting illness. In 1981, the organization hired its first Patient Care Coordinator/Executive Director, launched a Bereavement Program, and began serving its first patients.
Growth continued steadily, and by 1989, Lake Circle of Care achieved Medicare and Medi-Cal Hospice Certification—enabling reimbursement from federal and private insurance plans.
Today, we serve over 300 patients and families annually, with up to 50 patients receiving care each day. Our organization is supported by a professional staff of more than 50 and over 100 dedicated volunteers.
Thrift Shoppe Opening
Lake Circle of Care opened its first Thrift Store in Clearlake in late 1981, followed by a second location in Lakeport a few years later. These stores quickly became an essential source of financial support for our mission. Over time, two additional locations were added, and today we are proud to operate three Thrift Stores across Lake County.
For decades, these stores have thrived thanks to the incredible generosity of our community. Whether through donations, shopping, or volunteer efforts, your continued support helps ensure that compassionate care and vital services remain available to those in need.
Our Mission Statement and Values
Lake Circle of Care is dedicated to providing compassionate end-of-life care that respects the dignity
and wishes of each individual. Our mission is to support patients and their families through
comprehensive services that address physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. We are committed to
excellence in care, fostering a supportive environment for our staff, and engaging with
the community to enhance understanding and acceptance of hospice care.
We support and comfort people by providing the highest quality medical, emotional, social,
and spiritual care in partnership with our culturally diverse communities.
Our Vision
Lake Circle of Care will be an integral part of the community and be recognized as experts
in hospice and palliative care by providing excellent, compassionate patient care; community
education; and bereavement services fostering a new cultural attitude to health, comfort
care, and quality of life at the end of life’s journey.
Our Values
Accountability – We accept responsibility for our actions and honor the commitments we have made to our patients, their loved ones, our Thrift Stores’ customers, our co-workers, and Lake Circle of Care.
Compassion/Empathy – We will act with kindness, consideration and care with our patients, their loved ones, our customers, and each other. We will seek to understand concerns and anxieties and address them with utmost respect and understanding.
Honesty/Integrity – We believe our word is our bond. We will provide our patients, their loved ones, our customers, and our entire community what we promise. We will maintain the highest ethical and moral standards with our patients, our staff, our community, and in our business relationships.
Respect – We believe in the inherent worth of people and will honor our relationships with those who invite us to share in their lives. Respect is measured by how we treat each other, by the contributions that flow from our diversity, by the productivity of our relationships, and by a job well done, no matter what the job. We treat others with the highest degree of dignity, equality, and trust.
Service Excellence – We strive to deliver the best and highest quality service to those we serve: patients, their loved ones, retail customers, the community, and each other.
Teamwork – We will be supportive of each other’s efforts, loyal to one another, value each other’s contributions, and care for each other.
We Honor Veterans
To help provide care and support that reflect the important contributions made by military Veterans, Lake Circle of Care is a national partner of We Honor Veterans, a pioneering campaign developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
By recognizing the unique needs of our nation’s Veterans who are facing a life-limiting illness, our hospice organization is able to accompany and guide Veterans and their families toward a more peaceful ending, and in cases where there might be some specific needs related to the Veteran’s military service, combat experience, or other traumatic events, our care team will find tools to help support those for whom they are caring.
The resources of We Honor Veterans focus on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgment, coupled with Veteran-centric education of healthcare staff caring for Veterans.