Center for Hospice Care (CHC) celebrated the opening of their newest location in La Porte on September 30. The new office is located at 309 W. Johnson Road, La Porte, IN 46350.
The La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP) conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony with a welcoming speech from Mark Murray, President and CEO of Center for Hospice Care.
CHC is a community-based, not-for-profit organization, improving the quality of living through hospice, home health, grief counseling, and community education throughout Northern Indiana. The organization serves nine counties in the Region: Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall, Porter, St. Joseph, and Starke. Already serving many patients in the La Porte and Porter County areas, opening the new location in La Porte was the next great step in better serving area residents.
Lance Mayberry, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at CHC, was excited to celebrate the opening of the new office to benefit patients in La Porte.
“We've long cared for residents of LaPorte County, and as the need increased and more people were reaching out for help, we felt that we needed a La Porte office to really support the community. This new location also allows us to serve Porter County residents as well” said Mayberry. “This is a permanent place for the team. We wanted to make the investment into the community because of the demand for assistance.”
In an ever-growing remote world, CHC recognizes that the organization’s healthcare workers and patients would benefit from having a place to convene to offer greater service to patients. For them, this location hosts a place for much needed supplies and offices.
“One of the impacts of having an office for our staff is having the ability to come in to get the necessary supplies for services,” said Mayberry. “We are community based and being able to support our nurses is important. Having a place where they feel at home helps the camaraderie of the team.”
Ribbon Cutting and Opening Celebration for Center for Hospice Care’s La Porte Location 2021
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Building a team atmosphere at an office is one great aspect of having a home office in La Porte. The office also allows space for counseling services, which are available for both those whether or not they’ve experienced hospice.
“We were fortunate to find this beautiful office,” said Mayberry. “Here, we can do bereavement counseling for people who've experienced hospice. A large portion of our bereavement counseling is for the general community. We offer grief support for all ages. Whether it’s children, teens, or adults, we have programs to address their specific needs.” Sessions are offered at the new location and there is never a charge to participate.
Mike Riehle, President of Business Services for LEAP, opened the ribbon cutting ceremony commenting on the great location of the new office. The building is down the street from a local golf course and near Route 35.
“This is a momentous transition for Center for Hospice Care,” said Riehle. “They are in a very good, permanent location to serve La Porte, and we couldn't be happier to welcome them here. It's a great location with good traffic.”
Mark Murray, President and CEO of CHC, excitedly celebrated the new location and enlightened attendees of the rich history of the organization.
“At Center for Hospice Care, we've been caring for patients with terminal illnesses and palliative care patients for 41 years,” said Murray. “Every year for the last six years, we cared for over 2,000 patients, which puts us at the top for nonprofit hospices in the state of Indiana in regard to patients served. We're also in the top 3% of all hospice programs in the United States.”
The organization has been serving patients since 1980 and began in South Bend. Since then, CHC has expanded to nine counties. To date, CHC has helped more than local 42,000 patients and families.
“We're just really happy to have a physical location and presence,” said Murray. “One of the things that makes us somewhat unique is that we made a promise to the communities that we serve. When we first began, we promised that no patient who was eligible for hospice care would be turned down for hospice care due to an inability to pay for that care.”
Seeing that some people made just a little bit too much money for Medicaid, some people aren't quite old enough for Medicare, and some people didn't have private insurance, CHC saw a demand in the community to ensure that those who needed hospice care would receive it.
“In just the last six years alone, the total value of giveaways, free services, write-offs, and discounted care has totaled over $13 million,” said Murray. “That’s the gift that we give back to our communities. We do that through the generosity of a very giving community and some very, very generous donors.”
In order to continue to keep up with increased demand and growth, Center for Hospice Care encourages local healthcare nurses, CNAs, LPNs, and social workers to apply by visiting their website and clicking on the “Careers” tab. Sign-on bonuses and great benefits are just some of the perks of joining the CHC team. Professionals, whose mission is to improve the quality of living for those in their community and help patients and their loved ones experience the best possible quality of living even as they face end of life, are encouraged to apply.
To learn more information about the Center for Hospice Care, visit www.cfhcare.org, visit their office, or call 219-360-0931 or 1-800-HOSPICE (467-7423).
