Woman of the Year: Ellen Bolch

Ellen Bolch is the President and CEO of THA Group, a group of companies specializing in all aspects of in-home health care in the Coastal Empire and South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Ellen formed THA Group in 1995 and it has grown steadily. It now offers Medicare-certified home health care, private home care (private duty), palliation and hospice home care, and telehealth. As a pioneer of vital signs monitoring technology in telehealth for the region, Ellen’s work empowers people to take charge of their health at home. She comes from a nursing background, with a master’s degree in advanced nursing practice and healthcare administration, and logged more than 15 years as a nursing educator at the college and university level. Prior to founding THA Group, Ellen was CEO of Advanced Alternatives and Vice President of Provident Health Systems, a part of the Memorial Health University Medical Center (now Memorial Health). She grew that regional home healthcare company into a multi-state provider with 200 locations and 8000 employees. Bolch served many years on the board of the National Association for Hospice and Home Care and continues to serve on Board committees. She is also chair emeritus of the South Carolina Home Health Care & Hospice Association’s Board of Directors.

Her extensive civic activities include service on the Georgia Historical Society’s Board of Curators, Georgia Southern University’s Foundation Board, the Board of The Rotary Club of Savannah, the Savannah Country Day School Board of Visitors, and the Bethesda Union Society Board of Trustees. Ellen received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2018 for her outstanding service to the community. In 2019, she was the first woman to chair United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society Committee, a committee on which she still serves.