Kosciusko Home Care and Hospice is merging with Stillwater Hospice, effective Wednesday, March 1. Leadership from both organizations participated in a ceremonial signing on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the K21 Health Services Pavilion where KHCH has and will continue to have its offices. From left: KHCH Board Member George Brennan, KHCH Executive Director Glenn Hall, Stillwater CEO Leslie Friedel and Stillwater Board Chair Larry Reed. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

Staff Report

WARSAW — The Boards of Directors from Stillwater Hospice and Kosciusko Home Care and Hospice are pleased to share the two organizations have combined as one, known as Stillwater Hospice, effective Wednesday, March 1.

Both organizations began in a very similar way with a group of women coming together with the hope to serve and care for the seriously ill. Stillwater began in Fort Wayne in 1888 and was known then as the Ladies’ Relief Union. In 1984, Stillwater, known then as Visiting Nurse Service and Hospice, was the third agency in Indiana to receive the Medicare Hospice Benefit certification.

KHCH had its start in 1976 when eight local nurses came together to support patients who needed care in their homes. Six years later, hospice services were also added. Together Stillwater and KHCH have more than 180 years of experience caring for Hoosier patients and families.

Both organizations are nonproft and community-based, providing specialized palliative, hospice and grief support services. As a combined organization, Stillwater serves Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, Jay, Kosciusko, Noble, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. Stillwater offices will continue to operate in Berne, Fort Wayne, Marion and Warsaw, with the latter in its same location at the K21 Health Services Pavilion.

“We have been providing palliative care and hospice services to residents of Kosciusko County for many years through our relationships with area hospitals, and we are glad to further expand our depth of offerings by welcoming the Kosciusko Home Care and Hospice Team to the Stillwater Hospice family,” said Stillwater CEO Leslie Friedel.

In coming together as one organization, Stillwater will ensure that Kosciusko County will continue to have local community members serving as hospice caregivers and an intentional plan for providing services into the future. The decision to enter into this partnership was made after thoughtful consideration by KHCH leadership and after a thorough review of available options and opportunities. As KHCH leadership looked strategically into the future, they identified a purposeful partnership was necessary for such compassionate services to remain nonprofit and community-based in Kosciusko County.

Nonprofit hospice organizations like Stillwater and KHCH provide mission services such as community grief support, music therapy, massage therapy and palliative care, and they also have resources such as Stillwater’s Hospice Home in Fort Wayne. Hospice Home is northeast Indiana’s only free-standing inpatient hospice unit. Since opening in 2001, Hospice Home has served more than 10,000 patients ranging in age from infancy to 104.

KHCH Executive Director Glenn Hall has championed the need for this new partnership.

“It has been a blessing to have the opportunity to meet with Stillwater Hospice staff and board leadership and to see the alignment of our shared values and goals,” he said. “I look forward to helping shepherd this transition with such like-hearted leadership to ensure Kosciusko residents can access such critical and compassionate care.”

Hall said an event marking the merger on Tuesday, Feb. 28, was “a momentous occasion.”

He said the merger was entered into due to KHCH being “a small agency” and struggling “to keep up with the pace of the changes in cost of providing care, employee benefits and all of those things.”

Hall added the K21 Health Foundation connected KHCH with Stillwater, and Stillwater made a presentation to KHCH that “had so heart and care in it,” which helped cement the merger.

He said all 30 of KHCH’s employees will keep their jobs with their current pay rate and seniority intact and gain better benefits under Stillwater.

That number include those working for “the medication and dental assistance program and the help center … They are going to remain under our programming for the foreseeable future,” said Hall. “We’re looking at hopefully making that program even better, but maybe combining those entities. Those are discussions that are underway right now, but as of today, I have 30 employees.”

That gives Stillwater about 195 employees who will serve a current total of more than 200 clients. Hall’s new role will be Stillwater’s Kosciusko community outreach director.

“We just really believe in the goal to serve with compassion and comfort and provide guidance to our families and so we’re so excited to expand that into Kosciusko County along with the team here at Kosciusko Home Care and Hospice,” said Friedel.

Hall said patients should only see “minor changes” as the transition occurs. He mentioned Stillwater was eager to grow in Kosciusko County.

“We also are looking at some additional programming,” said Hall. “A year ago, Kosciusko Home Care and Hospice tried to launch a palliative home care program. That has been slow taking off for us, but Stillwater offers a palliative care program … (called) chronic disease management, but we would love to see those services expanded into Kosciusko County, and again in this office (at the K21 pavilion) we have space to do some additional programming, so those are all things we’ll look at for the future.”

“We also intend to add additional grief support services,” said Friedel. Stillwater has the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center, which offers counseling to anyone.

In addition, several KHCH board members will join the Stillwater board. A ribbon-cutting with the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce should be held later to mark the merger, said Hall.