Forrest General Home Care and Hospice is lowering operating costs, meeting an increased demand for care, and providing more reliable fuel-efficient transportation for its clinical staff.

The leased vehicles are an alternative to mileage reimbursement, thus eliminating the need for wear and tear on personal vehicles.

A roll out of 93 new 2014 Nissan Sentra SV’s was made available to Forrest General’s Home Care and Hospice nurses, therapists, social workers, and nursing assistants.

The new fleet of leased cars, wrapped with the Forrest General Home Care and Hospice logo, was unveiled on June 3, 2014 at the Hattiesburg office location.

On June 4,  the cars were unveiled at the Prentiss branch office located  on Columbia Avenue.

Melita Miller, director of Forrest General Home Care and Hospice said, “Our first priority is to serve the medical needs of our patients by providing high-quality care to patients in our 19-county service area.

The decision to switch to leasing vehicles from mileage reimbursement demonstrates that it is possible to significantly reduce our operating expenses while offering our staff the benefits of safe and reliable transportation.”

Angela Huggins, chief quality officer, stated, “Our Home Care and Hospice staff drives over 2.4 million miles annually across an 11 thousand square mile territory. Providing a vehicle for our employees will enhance employee satisfaction, decrease downtime, decrease our costs and improve absenteeism.”

By partnering with Enterprise Fleet Management, employees are issued leased cars accompanied by a comprehensive care package including insurance, maintenance, and vehicle registration. A fuel card program is also provided that automatically monitors fuel purchases and mileage for each vehicle.

Forrest General Home Care and Hospice staff expects the professionally marked cars to provide an advantage in a highly competitive industry.

“Automobiles with a professional appearance will promote a highly visible, positive image of our agency. Our employees are very excited about being given the opportunity to represent us in these vehicles,” explained Miller.