So many in the Coastal Empire have been touched and helped by services provided by Hospice Savannah! This beloved non-profit headquartered on Savannah’s Eisenhower Drive is proudly kicking off ‘The Art of Living’: a year-long celebration of 40 years of walking hand-in-hand with our friends and neighbors during the most difficult times in life.
 
Minutes from a 1978 United Way Health Council meeting reflect that “several groups have been discussing care for the terminally ill, including the hospice approach.” An enthusiastic Task Force of medical and non-medical volunteers subsequently formed and its chair Anne Stewart  travelled to London, England to visit the first modern-day hospice of St. Christopher’s, and learn more about this cutting-edge healthcare delivery system.
 
In early 1979 volunteer nurses, chaplains, social workers and nursing assistants began to visit patients in Chatham and Effingham counties. Anne, now Hospice Savannah’s Executive Director, was instrumental in assuring that Medicare would eventually pay for these  core services, and that Savannah would have a Hospice House for those patients who could not be adequately cared for in their own homes. In 1992 Hospice House opened, remaining to this day the only inpatient facility dedicated to the care of terminally ill patients.
 
With continued philanthropic support, Hospice Savannah has grown to serve patients not only in Chatham and Effingham, but also in Bryan, Liberty and Long counties, and life-enriching  Massage Therapy, Story Keeping,  Music Therapy, honoring Veterans, and a Pet Peace of Mind program have been added.  Full Circle Grief & Loss counseling services were made available to anyone in our community in  2001, followed by the Steward Center for Palliative Care in 2004 and the Edel Caregiver Institute in 2014. “Our goal is that from time of diagnosis of a serious illness, community members have access to free resources to help them along their journey,” says Jamey Espina, VP of Development and Community Services. “Anyone either struggling themselves, or struggling to care for a child, spouse, parent or friend with a serious life-limiting illness such as heart or pulmonary disease, cancer, or dementia, can find expert physical, emotional and spiritual support at no charge.”
 
Since first opening its doors in 1979, the community’s generosity has made  a difference in the lives of more than 40,000 patients and their families in hospice care, and helped thousands of others through palliative care, caregiver education and support, and grief and bereavement support.