About HFA
Mission Statement
Hospice Foundation of America provides leadership in the development and application of hospice and its philosophy of care with the goal of enhancing the U.S. health care system and the role of hospice within it.
How does the Foundation do its work?
Hospice Foundation of America meets its mission by conducting programs of professional development, public education and information, research, publications and health policy issues. Our programs for health care professionals assist those who cope either personally or professionally with terminal illness, death, and the process of grief, and are offered on a national or regional basis. Our programs for the public assist individual consumers of health care who are coping with issues of caregiving, terminal illness, and grief.
History of Hospice Foundation of America
Hospice Foundation, Inc. was chartered in 1982 with the purpose of providing fund raising assistance to hospices operating in South Florida so that they could carry on their mission of providing compassionate care to dying patients. This was prior to passage of the Medicare hospice benefit.
In 1990, with the help of a significant gift from Hospice Care, Inc., the Foundation expanded its scope to a national level in order to provide leadership in the entire spectrum of end-of-life issues. The Foundation board is a distinguished group of health policy experts which guide the Foundation as it explores efforts to:
- become a center of neutral, creative thinking on end-of-life issues for policy makers and opinion molders,
- raise the visibility and credibility of hospice in general, and
- become an advocate for those principles of hospice which may enhance the medical system in general.
To more accurately reflect its national scope, in 1992 the Foundation opened a Washington, D.C. office for its policy and program work, and in 1994 the Board changed the name of Hospice Foundation, Inc. to Hospice Foundation of America.
How is the Foundation funded?
Hospice Foundation of America is supported by contributions from individuals and corporations, bequests, grants from foundations, gifts from associations, civic and fraternal groups, and through program-related income.
We are a qualified member of the Combined Federal Campaign, the federal government's workplace fundraising appeal. We are listed under the Health and Medical Research Charities of America federation.
Donations to the Foundation are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. All donations are used to foster the hospice concept of care. By becoming part of the hospice family, donors help to increase access of this special kind of caring that is simply not available anywhere else.
