Illinois-based Lincolnland Hospice of Sarah Bush Lincoln recently received approval from local legislators to renovate a location on a local hospital campus to include an inpatient hospice house. Expected to open early in 2023, construction will begin this spring.
The Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Hospice House will feature eight private patient suites, family quiet rooms and gathering areas, along with a chapel, kitchen, laundry room, library, and indoor and outdoor children play areas. Outdoor patios to patient rooms will overlook a garden and walking path.
The new 14,470 square-foot building will be located near the north side of the center’s main campus in Charleston, Illinois. The facility will also offer respite care.
The hospice launched the facility to increase their capacity to support the community, according to Sandy Miller, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care continuum for Sarah Bush Lincoln.
“Lincolnland Hospice provides very personal care every single day, sometimes in less than optimal conditions, and yet we are laser-focused on the needs and wishes of our patients and their families,” said Miller in a company announcement. “We are so pleased that we will have a peaceful and beautiful place where our community members can go to live their final days with family and friends at their side.”
The organization’s hospice business provides services in 20 counties in the eastern and southern regions of Illinois. Combined, its roughly 200 clinical staff are credentialed in 28 health care specialties, including hospice, home health, behavioral health and acute care services, among others.
In addition to hospice, the provider operates 17 primary care locations and four walk-in clinics, with a total staff numbering nearly 2,700.
Hospice utilization among Medicare descendants runs high in the Prairie State, reaching a rate of 49.7% in 2018, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. This hovered slightly under the national average that year of 50.3%
Demand for hospice in Illinois is expected to climb along with its aging population. The U.S. Census Bureau projected that seniors will represent 22.3% of the state’s overall population by 2030, up 28% from 2012.
The rising need for care led the Charleston City Council to give a greenlight on the hospice house.
With no similar facilities nearby, the state granted the hospice a certificate of need. Previously, accessing these services required some families to drive several hours, Charleston City Clerk Deborah Muller told local news.
“We applied for one of only a few remaining state licenses available to build a hospice house in this area,” said Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System President and CEO Jerry Esker in an announcement. “Area residents have transformed ideas of hope, care and compassion into this special place that now serves thousands. We were fortunate to be selected [and] we will never stop improving to meet the changing needs of this community.”
The health system is financing the center through a capital campaign that thus far has raised $2.5 million.
Companies featured in this article:
Lincolnland Hospice of Sarah Bush Lincoln, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
