History and Highlights |
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In the late 1970s, several physicians and hospital administrators met to discuss the need for better end-of-life care in Kansas City. As a result, Kansas City Hospice was founded in 1980 and was initially supported financially by these hospitals and local foundations. Medicare began covering hospice services in l982, and eventually the organization was able to support itself with Medicare and insurance payments along with public support through donations.
From 1995 to 2003, Kansas City Hospice was a member of a large, nonprofit, multi- hospital system called Health Midwest. The hospitals were sold in 2003, however, and we once again became an independent, community-based organization.
Over the years, a wide range of specialized services have developed to better meet the unique needs of people facing a life-threatening diagnosis. These programs include Carousel, pediatric palliative care; Kansas City Palliative Medicine, physicians specializing in pain and symptom management; and Palliative Home Care, for patients who aren’t ready for hospice and who may be receiving treatments for a cure. With the addition of these programs, Kansas City Hospice became Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care in 2005 to reflect its range of services available for people at any stage of serious illness.
In April 2006, we opened Kansas City Hospice House at 12000 Wornall Road in south Kansas City, Mo. It’s for hospice patients who have care needs too great to be addressed at home. Kansas City Hospice House is a beautiful and homelike facility that provides a high level of medical and nursing care.
Thanks to generous donations, Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care provides services to the uninsured. In addition to memorial donations and gifts from individuals, businesses and organizations, the community helps support our efforts through special events.
Annual events include the Kansas City Hospice Hop, which began in 2004 and raised more than a million dollars in its first three years to benefit Kansas City Hospice House.
The Top Drawer, a unique, upscale, resale shop benefiting Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care that began in 2002, also provides much-needed support. |
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