Center For Hospice Care

A community of caring, making the most of living

The African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” is true at the end of life as well as early in life. Every patient that comes to Center for Hospice Care has a story. Each story, just like each patient, is different. Some people travel the world and see things that are hard to believe. Others never leave their hometown and raise a beautiful family. But what makes each story special is that it is uniquely theirs. And teams from hospice are there to share the journey.

Center for Hospice Care provides skilled, compassionate care for patients facing serious, life-limiting illnesses regardless of their ability to pay. An independent, community-based, not-for-profit organization, CHC improves the quality of living through hospice, home health, grief counseling and education to eight counties in Northern Indiana, including Marshall County.

On any given day, 2,700 people in their service area access these services at no charge. The support of CHC can provide a variety of services such as:

-A trip to Camp Evergreen for a grieving child or teenager

-Counseling session for those who have lost a loved one, regardless of whether he/she was a CHC

patient

-Prescription medications for a patient without means to purchase them

-In-home hospice care or hospice care in one of CHC’s Hospice Houses for a patient facing a life-limiting

illness

A frequent concern of CHC donors is that they want to make sure others will be able to receive the care and support that was available to their family while a loved one was in hospice care. CHC wanted to make sure that Marshall County residents had a way to support their mission locally – setting up a fund with the Marshall County Community Foundation was an excellent way to do so. Whether it's for CHC or any other charitable organization, every donation makes a difference in someone's life.

Photos:

Pauline Pierson, Plymouth, knows first hand how helpful CHC teams can be when facing loss and, as a result, for nearly thirty years she has been sharing her passion for helping others as a CHC volunteer.

Defying the odds, in spite of deteriorating health due to heart disease and years of alcohol and drug abuse, Stephen Bock became a changed man. With the help of Hospice, he was able to transform from a surly, egocentric man filled with anger to a man at peace in his soul, with compassion for others and an enthusiasm and appreciate for life.

Fridays on the Front Porch may have looked like Happy Hour to the passerby. For CHC patient, Dale VanOrman, the music, smiles and friendship were shared with, among others, his CHC volunteer Jeff Bickel, a singer with Little Frank and the Premiers. In the 60’s and 70’s, Dale traveled with the rodeo, playing seven days a week. Though he hadn’t played for years, his CHC spiritual care counselor encouraged him to start strumming once again.