St. Louis, Missouri, July 16, 2007 – Kimberly Mercille, RN, has joined VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Greater St. Louis as Director of Market Development. The St. Louis native brings 12 years of nursing and health care sales and marketing experience to her role. gs 12 years of nursing and health care sales and marketing experience to her role.

Mercille will recruit, train and mentor VITAS representatives in marketing VITAS to physicians, hospitals, and assisted living and skilled nursing facilities in the St. Louis area. She also will work with the program’s community liaison in outreach to African American and other underserved communities, which includes involvement with churches, civic organizations, the St. Louis Foundation for AIDS and other community-based organizations.

“I look forward to helping more physicians see hospice as a natural extension of the care regimen for their patients and to working with our VITAS representatives as they educate the community about VITAS and its services,” says Mercille.

Mercille began her career as a cardio-pulmonary nurse, working with patients both as a staff nurse and nursing supervisor. She then worked for an independent contractor, selling implantable pacemakers and defibrillators and working with surgeons in operating suites and cardiac catheterization labs to implant the devices. Just prior to joining VITAS, Mercille spent nearly four years as an Infusion specialist and account manager for Option Care, Inc.

“Kim is a familiar and respected member of the St. Louis area health and medical community,” says Katrina Agnew, VITAS general manager. “We are delighted that she is now representing VITAS patients and families.”

Mercille discovered VITAS through the company website, www.vitas.com, and realized that hospice was a wonderful opportunity both for families and healthcare professionals.

“Looking on the website at the services VITAS offered made me realize how much hospice benefits terminally ill patients and families,” says Kim. “I looked a bit further into the website and saw that VITAS quite frequently promotes from within. I really liked the idea of coming to a company that offers such wonderful services to patients and families and gives employees the ability to rise through the ranks.”

Mercille earned an RN degree through a combined program at the Lutheran Medical Center School of Nursing, Missouri Baptist University and Southeast Missouri State University.