Modesto, CA (February 27, 2025) – After conducting a successful capital campaign, “Mission Possible, Now & Forever”, Community Hospice & Health Services (CHHS) is excited to announce the addition of the Foster Family Suite to our Alexander Cohen Hospice House (ACHH), located in Hughson, California. For twenty years, ACHH has welcomed patients and their families for both respite and inpatient end-of-life care services, providing quality and compassionate care in a peaceful and homelike atmosphere.
Mathew Francis, CHHS President/CEO shared, “I feel so honored to be leading an organization that had the foresight to develop our hospice house twenty years ago to better meet the needs of our friends and neighbors. This is such a special place devoted to offering dignity and respect to all people needing respite from the storm or while completing their life’s journey.”
As part of the organization’s strategic plans CHHS has formalized their pediatric hospice program which began in 1998. The Business Development team has reached out to healthcare partners like Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera and several Bay area healthcare providers to assist more families who reside here in the Central Valley and need support for their ill children. At this time, there are over 30 pediatric families enrolled in CHHS hospice or palliative care programs. For these families having a specially trained nurse and social worker come to your residence to provide medical support services is a true lifeline.
To encourage the parents/adult caregivers to focus on self-care and respite, CHHS has developed the Foster Family Suite at the hospice house. This space was envisioned and brought to life by local designer Robert Roberts of West Coast Design Co. Created with family comfort and quality patient care in mind, and a bit of whimsy thrown in, the Foster Family Suite is a place for solace.
A patient family may work with their nurse to make a reservation to come and stay with their child in the adjacent room to receive much needed rest and relaxation, knowing that the skilled and helpful hands of specially trained nurses, aides, chaplains and other care team members are just moments away. Insurance providers typically cover the cost for the first five days.
We are profoundly grateful to our Friends of Community Hospice & Health Services all-volunteer group who jumped into the Mission Possible campaign with enthusiasm. Their goal was to support our pediatric families through funding the Pediatric Patient Room within the Foster Family Suite. They have focused their fundraising on supporting our pediatric patients and their families for many years. Together, they raised over $100,000!
“Being able to fund the creation of a dedicated space at the Alexander Cohen Hospice House for our smallest patients is the culmination of a dream come true for our group,” shared Friends of Community Hospice & Health Services President, Nancy Scheer.
“We feel a tremendous debt of gratitude to all the Campaign Cabinet members who led the charge of raising funds to bring this project and others to fruition. To our committed donors who have come alongside us over the past many months who made generous pledges to move our critical work forward, we are deeply appreciative,” said Monica Ojcius, Director of Strategic Development.
We will be holding a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Alexander Cohen Hospice House and ribbon cutting ceremony for the Foster Family Suite on Friday, March 7, 2025, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. All are welcome to join us for this special event. Please RSVP 209.578.6370 or email chf@hospiceheart.org.
To learn more about Community Hospice & Health Services programs and services call 209.578.6300 or visit hospiceheart.org.
About Community Hospice & Health Services
Community Hospice & Health Services (CHHS) is a nonprofit, community-based agency, serving the greater Central Valley since 1979. CHHS embraces more than 2,500 patients and families each year providing support through vital programs including hospice and palliative care for adults and pediatrics, general inpatient care and respite care at the Alexander Cohen Hospice House, hospice family bereavement support, outpatient mental health counseling for adults and children, and Camp Wokini, a youth camp for children and teens who have experienced loss. For more information about CHHS programs call 209.578.6300 or visit hospiceheart.org.
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For Immediate Release Contacts: Kristin Mostowski, Director of Public Relations | Community Hospice & Health Services | Kristin.Mostowski@hospiceheart.org | 209.578.6301