DIANE KARCZ, RN & Founder
Diane Karcz is an RN who has spent most of her career in Home Health. She brings an extensive nursing background, as well as business ownership expertise to Gallagher. Diane, along with her brother Gary J. Gallagher, started Gallagher Home Health Services in 2005 in honor of their mother, Iva R. Gallagher, who passed away in hospice care.
Diane greatly values and fully understands the many benefits of hospice. Diane’s mother, father, husband, and her in-laws, all spent their final days in hospice care. Through those experiences, Diane learned first-hand how essential a supportive and understanding companion in care can be.
“Here at Gallagher Hospice, we develop very strong relationships with our patients, their families and caregivers by focusing on their needs and wishes and making their requests our priority. Some of our other founders are not only doctors, nurses and healthcare experts with excellent hospice training and experience, but they also bring a deep level of understanding to our patients from their own personal experiences with hospice care. We listen to the needs and wishes of our patients, and we meet them where they are in their journey. We enjoy their life stories. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry, but we always treat one another like family.”
BEN KARCZ, Founder
Ben brought his previous corporate finance expertise to Gallagher Home Health in 2009, and along the way, has learned the healthcare business on a much deeper level. Along with his mother, Diane, the other owners and select Gallagher staff, he has been an integral part of creating a health care, and a hospice organization, that focus on patient care and community, first and foremost.
Ben’s most influential hospice memory is when his grandmother was dying in hospice care. He was a quiet, reserved college student who struggled with sharing his feelings. A bereavement counselor simply acknowledged that struggle with a compassionate nod, but without words. Ben said that counselor’s ability to sense what was unspoken showed him that the most important detail of hospice care is to always be patient- and family- centered. Numbers, referrals, statistics, and studies mean nothing if Gallagher’s families and patients don’t feel supported and heard as individuals.
Ben and his mother, Diane strive to always keep in mind the mission when they first started this journey, and Ben takes his direction from her as a leader at Gallagher Hospice. “My mom is a huge influence on my life and an inspiration. She planted my roots for healthcare and hospice care. She also taught me the importance of reading the room and responding sensitively to each patient and their families’ needs. My mom has always been the pillar of our family, and she is also the pillar of our company. Gallagher is a family-owned organization and that sense of family radiates in everything we do. We treat all our employees as an extension of our family and try to be as supportive and accessible as we can be.”
DAN ERLANGER, D.O. & Founder
Dr. Dan Erlanger has worked closely with Gallagher Home Health Services for many years, and has had great respect, as well as a strong relationship with the founders. After selling his own hospice company, Dr. Erlanger decided to partner with Diane and Ben Karcz to establish Gallagher Hospice in 2016. As a doctor with a well-established private practice in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Dr. Dan has extensive experience in geriatric care.
“Like Diane, I also saw a real void in the community for this type of holistic and high-quality hospice care. I knew that with Gallagher’s excellent reputation for both clinical care and responsiveness, we could fill a very important need in our community. And, we have done so by offering unique and exceptional care to our patients, their families and their caregivers. The values, expertise and personalized care and compassion that our patients and families receive at Gallagher Hospice is truly unmatched.”