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July 1, 1997 fundraising to support hospice care in Monterey
and San Benito counties fundamentally changed with the
formation of Hospice Foundation,
based in Monterey, Calif.
On that day, Hospice Foundation was officially created out of the sale
of Hospice of
the Central Coast to Community Hospital of the Monterey
Peninsula. At the time, Hospice of the Central
Coast was the only Medicare-certified hospice care provider.
Today, there are four that serve Monterey and San Benito
counties.
As an independent provider 1997, HoCC was comprised of its
hospice home care nursing operations, Westland House
(formerly known as Hospice House), and Resource Center
libraries in
Monterey, Salinas and Hollister. All were transferred to CHOMP’s
ownership and have since been integrated into the hospital's system
of services. The fundraising and communications staff
became the founding staff for the new Hospice Foundation.
New Entity Formed and Given a Wider Mission
The new Foundation was created with
the sole purpose of raising funds and making grants to support
a wide range of end-of-life care services--not just
hospice--in Monterey
and San Benito counties. It's philanthropic scope was
to extend across a variety of grief and bereavement
services, hospice care, palliative care for children and adults,
community outreach, and other vital disciplines.
While the
Foundation's board of directors agreed, as part of the
transfer, to help support CHOMP’s hospice program (which
would retain the name
Hospice of the Central Coast) that would not be its only
focus. Its new mission also included funding
additional non-profit providers
of hospice care serving the area, the
Visiting Nurse Association
and
Hospice of Santa Cruz County,
the provider for Northern Monterey County. That
commitment continues today while the Foundation also funds associated
end-of-life emotional support services in Monterey and San Benito counties,
such as those offered by John XXIII AIDS
Ministry. It also funds care coordination for
terminally ill children and their families through
Jacob's Heart Children's
Cancer Support Services and
Children's Hospice and
Palliative Care Coalition, and other services.
Big Community Impact
Since 1997, Hospice Foundation has made grants
totaling more than $16 million to local non-profit organizations
serving local residents at the end of life.
Today, these grants close the gap between what the
provider of care is reimbursed
from a patient’s insurance coverage, including Medicare, and what it actually costs to
provide their services to the community. As these sources
of reimbursement continue to be reduced, the providers turn
to Hospice Foundation for greater help.
What Is Funded
Many services
funded by the Foundation, such as palliative care, resource
libraries, grief support, caregiver relief, and community
education programs, have no reimbursement source. The
Hospice Foundation’s funding is vital to these providers in
keeping these free community services available as they
offer vital help to patients and families.
The
Foundation's grants also help these organizations to expand or open new
programs in underserved populations or areas of Monterey and
San Benito counties, and to be innovative as the community’s
needs change.
Empowering a Community Network of Care and Comfort
The Foundation is proud of its impact since 1997, helping to
create and build a strong network of care in our
community. We help ensure that services are available
to address many of the needs that affect families
who are dealing with the challenges of terminal illness,
loss, grief, and recovery. And we're especially proud of the
fact that many of these these funded organizations
collaborate and work together to help families.
How the Funds are Raised
To raise funds for the grants, Hospice Foundation conducts a
number of well-known fundraising events:
Hospice Foundation
Golf Scramble, the holiday
Trees of Life celebrations,
Southern Comfort
BBQ and Auction, as well as a direct-mail raffle called Bounty and the Feast.
Corporations often sponsor these events or provide prizes or in-kind services. The Foundation also receives donations in
honor or in memory of someone, as well as individual gifts
resulting from a mailing appeal, dues from its
membership
program, and employee giving or matching programs. From time
to time, the Foundation also receives major gifts from
trusts, bequests, gift annuities or other
estate plans.
Educating the community about end-of-life issues has also
been a vital component of Hospice Foundation’s mission.
Throughout the year, the Foundation conducts numerous
educational activities, including hosting the annual Hospice
Foundation of America teleconference, workshops on Executor
Trusteeships, and Coping with Grief During the Holidays.
Taking the Lead in End of Life Care
Hospice Foundation adds its voice to those working to
improve the system of health care in our region, state and
beyond. Locally, in 2000, the Foundation started the End-of-Life Coalition,
administering and coordinating its outreach and community
education activities until the coalition became the
non-profit Compassionate Care Alliance in 2003.
In addition, Hospice Foundation and Community Foundation for
Monterey County collaborated to host the first End-of-Life
Care Leadership Summit in October, 2008. The day-long
retreat was an opportunity for local leaders to discuss
priority needs and to find ways to work together to reduce
duplication of services and to foster greater efficiencies.
A tangible result was the development of a Children's
Collaborative for End-of-Life Care in 2009, bringing
together Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services,
Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition, and
Coastal Kids Home Care.
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