Vision

Mission
The staff and volunteers of Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan affirm living.

Our History
Since 1981, Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan has been supporting families and friends in this community who are confronted with the serious illness of a loved one. We combine nursing, medical, emotional and spiritual support with family-centered care to enhance quality of life. We fulfill this mission by creating an environment of caring and compassion, one in which the client is able to rest comfortably while maintaining privacy and dignity.  We serve everyone, regardless of race, color, gender, ethnic or religious background, national origin, gender identification, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, age, height or weight.

As a nonprofit community agency, we accept clients based on their need for care, not their ability to pay.

1981   The Kalamazoo Foundation gives a grant to launch Hospice of Greater Kalamazoo as a three-year pilot program.  Reverend James C. Holt of St. Luke's Episcopal Church offers Hospice free office space.  The staff are mostly volunteers and community support in the form of contributions and memorial gifts helps to sustain the program.

1983   Medicare certifies Hospice as a Home Health Agency.  As grant funding ends, community support makes survival possible.  Hospice terminates nursing contracts with Visiting Nurse Association.  Hospice hires nurses dedicated specifically to hospice care.

1984   Medicare certifies Hospice of Greater Kalamazoo as a Medicare Hospice provider and moves from facilities at St. Luke's to 301 W. Cedar Street in Kalamazoo.

1985   State of Michigan licenses Hospice as a Hospice Agency.  Hospice becomes a Greater Kalamazoo United Way member agency.

1990   Open a division of Hospice of Greater Kalamazoo in Paw Paw to meet the need for hospice services in Van Buren County.

1992   Hire Jean Maile as Executive Director.

1993   Cass County Hospice merges with Hospice of Greater Kalamazoo and becomes its third division.

1994   A feasibility study done by Western Michigan University's Service Quality Institute confirms a growing need for a residential hospice facility in Southwest Michigan.

Hospice of Greater Kalamazoo opens a pharmacy and extends access to other hospice providers.

1995   Hospice Grief Support Program expands to meet community as well as client and family needs.

Develop caregiver program to serves clients who do not have a consistent primary caregiver.

Combine all hospice divisions under the corporate name of Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan to clarify its service area and commitment to southwest Michigan.

1996   Combine Cass and Van Buren county divisions and open an office in Decatur to more efficiently deliver hospice services in Cass and Van Buren counties.

Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accredits agency.

1997   Begin construction on Rose Arbor residential facility.  Donations from the community fund the project in less than 6 months.

1998   Open Rose Arbor, the first licensed hospice residence in the State of Michigan, for clients who have no caregiver or who need palliative care in a more structured setting.

1999   Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accredits agency. 

Rose Arbor wins award for architectural design.

2000   Relocate Cass and Van Buren county division relocate to 310 E. Sherwood in Decatur.

Hire full-time Medical Director.

2001   Medicare approves Rose Arbor to provide inpatient level of care.

2002   A two year pilot project with Bronson Methodist Hospice begins to provide palliative care consultations using a team approach involving our Medical Director and a Hospice social worker.             

Introduce Journeys of Grief, an innovative grief support program for children, teens and their families open to the community. 

Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accredits agency.

Establish community outreach program for underserved populations.

Hire additional staff for the provision of continuous care.

Hire Human Resource Director as staff surpasses 100 in number.

Open 6 additional client rooms at Rose Arbor.

2004   Hire Care Partners Team Leader to strengthen collaboration with nursing care facilities.

Hire IT Systems Specialist to support the agency's technology needs.  

As staff increases, begin search for new corporate office location.

2005   Partner with Kalamazoo Center for the Healing Arts to provide massage  therapy for clients.

Move Kalamazoo office from its location of the past 20 years to 222 N.    Kalamazoo Mall. 

Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accredits agency.

Join the consortium for the Arts and Healing, a collaboration of regional hospice providers, to train artists to work with hospice clients and to offer a grief camp experience for children and their families.

Implement music therapy program for clients and families.

Hire Chief Operating Officer and Community Relations Officer.

Brown University selects Hospice to participate in a national best practices study of successful collaborations between hospices and nursing homes in end-of-life care. The study is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

2006   Implement Seasons, a weekend expressive arts grief camp for families at Pretty Lake Vacation Camp, through our leadership with the consortium for the Arts and Healing.

Develop and implement Grief 101 in partnership with Kalamazoo Public Schools to provide students with grief and loss support while at school.

Initiate Moving Forward, a program providing a safe place for younger widows, widowers and others who have lost a partner to gather for education, sharing, support and activities.

Publish Living Well, Dying Well, a book of twelve short stores about the hospice experience of families served at Rose Arbor, through the creative talents and leadership of Brenda Murphy, hospice volunteer.

Facilitate Picturing Death, a guided journaling experience to learn about one's thoughts and feelings around death at the Portage District Library.

2007   Increase client length of stay by 28%.

Move to an electronic medical record to enhance communication and provide access to up-to-date information.

Join Quality Partners, an initiative of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization to build organizational excellence and improve hospice and palliative care delivery and outcomes.

Hire a volunteer team leader to focus on volunteer department growth.

In partnership with Western Michigan University, increase number student interns in various education disciplines, including nursing, social work, health care administration and music therapy.

Initiate Best Practices program, involving staff through interviews and surveys.

Move Cass/Van Buren office to Paw Paw location near Lakeview Hospital.

Open satellite office in Dowagiac.

Build Rose Arbor addition to support staff and volunteer needs.