The modern day hospice movement has evolved in the 44 years since its beginning. Starting in the 1960s, the history of hospice care shows how the discipline has grown and how it became what it is now — the model of care to meet the needs of families living with a serious illness.

The story begins in 1967 when physician Dame Cicely Saunders first applied the name “hospice” to specialized care for dying patients. She then went on to found the first modern hospice—St. Christopher’s Hospice—in a residential suburb of London. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization has an informative timeline of the rest of the national history of hospice on its website.

For us San Diegans, the history of hospice care can be linked to Dr. Doris Howell. Dr. Howell is one of the founding members of San Diego Hospice and has served continuously on its Board of Directors since 1977, when the hospice officially began operations. Approached by a local group that wanted to bring hospice care to the San Diego community, Dr. Howell was instrumental in helping to guide the hospice program in its early years. At the time, San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine was the only non-profit program to provide this specialized type of care to adults and children.

Years later she played a major part in establishing San Diego Hospice’s pediatric hospice program and inspiring the late philanthropist, Joan B. Kroc, to donate the initial funds to build San Diego Hospice’s freestanding hospice inpatient care center in the Hillcrest area of San Diego. To date, this is the only specially-licensed hospice-hospital in California.

Hospice care has grown substantially in the last 30 years with more than 4,000 hospice programs nationwide and 16 programs in San Diego county alone. All of these programs are independent from one another, and are operating as either for-profit or non-profit entities. In most cases, people can choose which of these hospice programs fits them best and Medicare, Medi-Cal or a private insurance company will cover tge cost of standard hospice care.

Throughout its 34-year history, one comment that many San Diego Hospice patients and families express is “I wish I would have known about hospice sooner.” This is a statement we love to hear because it tells us that our work is appreciated and beneficial to those batteling a terminal illness. We feel honored that we’ve had such a long-standing, positive relationship with the families in San Diego and with the community as a whole. So on this day, our 34th anniversary, we’d like to say a special thank you to all the employees, volunteers and donors who have helped us evolve into what we are today. Your dedication has been instrumental in helping us grow.