Hospice celebrates 40 years

Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY)

April 13--For 40 years, Hospice of Western Kentucky has helped local families care for their loved ones and allowed them to face their end of life in comfort.

On April 21, Hospice will be celebrating its growing legacy along with the fifth anniversary of the first freestanding inpatient hospice facility in western Kentucky -- the Heartford House on Old Hartford Road -- at its Spring Fling fundraiser at the Owensboro Convention Center.

Janie Mahoney, CFO and interim CEO of Hospice of Western Kentucky, said the organization has achieved a lot to celebrate about over the four decades it has served area families.

"America has been a death-defying society; we don't want to accept it, and we think we are all immortal," Mahoney said. "We have been educating the physician community, as well the community in general to let them know there is an easier way."

Mahoney said the organization still works to help people understand their program is designed for more than just the last few days, but the amount of people they connect with is still growing. When she first started, she said there were around 20 employees. Now, there are more than 70 employees helping hundreds of patients.

Formed in 1978 by volunteers and officially incorporated in 1980, Hospice of Western Kentucky has been around as long as the concept of a hospice. In-home, end-of-life services like hospice became federally accepted under Medicare in 1982, but Hospice of Western Kentucky didn't become Medicare-certified until the 1990s.

As baby boomers began to reach a certain age and in-home service became more accepted, Hospice of Western Kentucky began developing ideas like the Heartford House to offer a safe but comfortable environment for care.

"The more people that have been served there, the more people that we end up serving in the future," Mahoney said. "People are starting to understand it's not just a place to die."

The organization has also launched Palliative Care of Western Kentucky to offer services from advanced care nurse-practitioners to patients with chronic diseases.

Mahoney said around 90 percent of all patient costs are typically paid for by Medicare, and they raise money each year for the costs that aren't covered. She said the organization never turns anyone away regardless of their coverage or ability to pay.

Spring Fling is one of the only fundraisers the organization arranges to help pay for the needs of patients that Medicare, Medicaid or insurance can't cover. It also covers Hospice's Wish Program, which helps patients achieve something important to them.

Mahoney said the Wish Program has been used to arrange an impromptu wedding at the Heartford House for a daughter that wanted her father to see her get married and helped fly a patient to Texas in order to see their estranged parents.

The event at the convention center will be from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and will include live and silent auctions, food, dancing and live music from Sam McCrary and The Mix.

Tickets are available for $50 at bidpal.net/hospicespringfling2018. Donors can bid on silent auction items through bidpal remotely without attending the event.

Jacob Dick, 270-228-2837, [email protected],Twitter: @jdickjournalism

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