Hospice: The Best Kept Secret in American Healthcare

Nov 30, 2017 9:40 AM ET

Since our founding in 1977, Capital Caring’s mission has been to simply improve care for the more than 1,200 people living with advanced illness that we care for each day via our world-class hospice and palliative care programs. While we focus on alleviating pain, anxiety, breathlessness, and all causes of distress, we also equip families and loved with the tools they need to feel confident in their own ability to comfort their loved ones.

With a service area that extends from Prince George’s County, Maryland to Loudoun County, Virginia, and from Washington, DC, all the way to the North Carolina border, Capital Caring covers more than 11,500 square miles (larger than the entire state of Massachusetts!). Our physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors, nursing aides, and others are committed to providing compassionate care to all those who entrust us with the care of their loved wherever they call home, every day of every year. We cared for more than 6,300 patients last year alone, and since our founding, we have been honored to be welcomed into the homes of more than 102,000 patients.

Capital Caring provides hospice care to all who come to us – regardless of the severity of their disease condition or the complexity of their needs. At Capital Caring, 98 percent of our patients report significant pain reduction within 48 hours of coming into our care, thereby allowing them to spend time focusing their attention on friends, family, and loved ones. The vast majority of our care is provided in our patients’ homes, but we also recognize that home is not always an ideal environment and we are proud to offer more than 50 acute care inpatient beds in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia; these beds are located in facilities that provide 24/7, round-the-clock care to our patients whose symptoms cannot be managed at home. And our innovative TeleCaring™ program consists of twice-daily proactive calls to each patient’s home so we are aware of any needs that might arise, even when our clinical teams are not present.

While a vast majority of hospice care is reimbursed through Medicare and commercial insurance, Capital Caring never turns anyone away due to inability to pay for our care. With the support of thousands of donors throughout our service area, Capital Caring provides more than $3 million in care each year through our Patient Care Fund Program to patients with no financial resources.

Your support of Capital Caring will help us continue to meet the needs of so many of our neighbors facing advanced illness. Thank you!

Support Capital Caring through your employee giving program:

As a donor, you can support Capital Caring by donating to them through your employer’s workplace giving program (CFC#39664 if you're a military or federal employee participating in the Combined Federal Campaign). Payroll pledges made through employer-sponsored charitable giving programs represent a cost effective and near effortless way to support your favorite charities.

As Capital Caring's workplace giving partner, America’s Charities can help your company design and implement a program centered on supporting their work - through workplace giving campaigns, employee fundraising, cause-focused signature programs, volunteerism, donation drives, matching gifts, Dollars-for-Doers, In-Kind Giving and other employee engagement and philanthropic initiatives. Click here to request a demo and learn how we can help you do this.