Historical Facts
1982 Hospice for McHenry County was founded in Woodstock by five women who pooled their money together to offer end-of-life care in far northeast Illinois.
1984 A small group of volunteers dedicated to the hospice philosophy established a not-for-profit program called Hospice of Northeastern Illinois.
1986 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois is licensed by the State of Illinois as a volunteer hospice, accepted its first patient and moved from a one-room office to a space donated by Good Shepherd Hospital.
1988 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois is licensed by State of Illinois as a full hospice.
1989 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois and Hospice for McHenry County merged with offices in Barrington and Woodstock, and became Medicare certified. The bereavement department is formally organized and staffed to provide grief support.
1991 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois moved to an office building in Barrington, 410 S. Hager Avenue. The first memorial service is offered to families.
1992 Hospice Foundation of Northeastern Illinois is founded for the purpose of fundraising and providing financial assistance to support the mission of Hospice of Northeastern Illinois to care for all in need regardless of the ability to pay. Northwest Community Hospital’s hospice program dissolved into Hospice of Northeastern Illinois.
1995 Bereavement offered its first 4-day summer camp, Camp Courage, for children.
1996 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois received accreditation from The Joint Commission and cared for 1,000 patients in a single year.
1999 Patient care services expanded from two geographic teams to four, and the triage service expanded to 24-hour on-call capability.
2000 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois received Joint Commission re-accreditation.
2002 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois served its 10,000th patient. A new work station opened in Crystal Lake, replacing the Woodstock location. Professional clinical staff began using laptop computers to chart patient visits.
2003 New mission statements are approved. A fifth team for “extended hours” is created to cover non-regular business hours. Hospice of Northeastern Illinois received Joint Commission re-accreditation. Re-design of www.HospiceAnswers.org offers more interactive features.
2004 Hospice of Northeastern Illinois celebrates its 20th anniversary and introduces a new logo and graphic identity. 1,308 patients received care and 2,084 clients accepted bereavement services. A dedicated RN team began to ensure consistency of care on weekends. Hospice Foundation of Northeastern Illinois raised more than $1.5 million.
2005 Launched two new programs: Hope's Friends, a palliative pediatric program, and an Integrative Therapy Program offering Art, Music, Massage, and Pet Therapies
2007 A $18.5 million capital campaign to build the first "green" hospice home in the state of Illinois begins after a feasibility study shows a great need for such an offering in the northern Illinois region. The agency begins devising plans for The Pepper Family Hospice Home and Center for Care, a free-standing, 16-bed inpatient unit located in Barrington.
2009 Ground is broken for The Pepper Family Hospice Home and Center for Care.
2010 Grand Opening planned for July 1, 2010.