Hospice is a medically directed supportive service for patients with a life limiting illness and their families. The hospice care alternative ensures support for patients and families that is medically comprehensive but still supports their emotional and spiritual needs. SOMC Hospice offers a team of nurses, home health aides, social workers, chaplains, therapists, and volunteers who are specially trained to provide quality of life in an intensively personal way. When the hope for a cure is no longer realistic, hospice services seek to discover ways to add quality of life to the remaining days.

Since we first opened in 2008, we have touched the lives of more than 5,000 patients in our community for nearly 25,000 patient days. The numbers are increasing every year. The Inpatient Hospice Center is often operating at full capacity and currently isn’t able to accommodate all patients in need. In addition, the Hospice Palliative Care Program has grown significantly since starting in 2013, and 50% of patients in palliative care transition to inpatient hospice care. We need to continue to respond to the growing need for hospice care in our community.

We are asking for the support of our community to help us meet the ever growing needs for the highest quality end-of-life and palliative care in order to build an addition onto the current Inpatient Hospice Center and renovate the existing Hospice Center. The addition will include four new patient rooms, an additional common gathering area, meditation room, new guest restroom facilities, an updated service kitchen, additional support areas for staff, AND a complete renovation and update to all existing patient rooms. To support the financial needs for this expansion and renovation, we are launching $3M capital campaign, Transcending Lives.

The name “Transcending Lives,” as well as the butterfly depicted in the logo, was chosen to reflect the spiritual and emotional changes experienced by a patient and their family during end-of-life care. The logo is meant to draw a parallel between the experience of hospice patients and families with that of a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon to begin a new, but different, life. The name, “Transcending Lives,” is also a reminder that the care provided by SOMC Hospice has an impact that goes beyond – or transcends – the life of the patient. The care received at SOMC Hospice also impacts the family members who carry on after the patient is gone.

While hospice capacity is ever-changing, we have performed studies to conclude that our current needs would be met by four additional rooms. While we have looked into adding more than just four rooms, we did not think it was necessary to build beyond our needs at this time.

Patients treated in our inpatient hospice setting benefit from a staff that has been specially trained in end-of-life care, as well as a comforting environment designed to provide the patient a sense of peace and tranquility.

Pledge commitments can be paid over a period of three years.

Yes, the project will be undertaken in such a way that it will not interfere with current operations or hospice services. The new addition will be built first, with each wing of the center updated individually so there will always be 12 private rooms in use. Upon completion, the facility will have been upgraded to 16 rooms, as well as additional patient and family areas to support hospice services.

Patients will be provided with care packages, which will include headphones and other items meant to negate the noise and inconveniences of construction.

Yes. We accept donations of cash, stocks, bonds, life insurance policies, planned gifts and major gifts. We will also consider any other giving opportunities the donor wishes to explore.

We have limited capital funds to invest in facilities and are unable to achieve all of our goals without community support. Hospice was chosen for this capital campaign both because of its need, and because hospice patients are not billed beyond what insurance will cover.

Any surplus created from our Transcending Lives campaign will be given to the Caritas Fund, which is the ongoing hospice fund that assists with patient and family needs above and beyond what insurance will cover.

SOMC utilizes local vendors on a daily basis, and that will hold true during this project. In fact, in Fiscal Year 2015 our support of local vendors resulted in more than $19M being injected back into the local economy.

SOMC utilizes local vendors on a daily basis, and that will hold true during this project. In fact, in Fiscal Year 2015 our support of local vendors resulted in more than $19M being injected back into the local economy.

The money raised during the Transcending Lives campaign will allow us to build four new patient rooms, add an additional common gathering area, a new meditation room, new guest restroom facilities, an updated service kitchen, additional support areas and a complete renovation and update to all existing patient rooms.

Because of the tremendous community support enjoyed by SOMC Hospice, we anticipate that the full cost of the campaign will be covered and matching contributions will be unnecessary.

No. The SOMC Development Foundation staff has received training in capital campaigns from the Indiana University School of Philanthropy. In addition, with this particular campaign, we did not feel it was necessary to incur the expenses of a feasibility study and campaign consultant due to the outpouring of community support for SOMC Hospice.

The Hospice Advisory Board will engage in regular meetings to discuss the campaign and will service as advisors as the effort progresses.