In February of 1979, a group of 10 people met and formed the first Board of Directors of what was later to become the Hospice of the Ozarks, the only not-for-profit 501c3 charitable organization. The Board formed to build an organization that would serve the needs of the terminally ill and their families in the area. Hospice of the Ozarks was started as a vision of Dr. Carolyn Wilson, who was the first Executive Director and Medical Director of Hospice of the Ozarks.
History of Hospice of the Ozarks
The first office of Hospice was located in downtown Mountain Home on Church Street, and then later moved to Baker Street behind the Sheid's building. We are currently in our new administrative and warehouse building located at 811 Burnett Drive and on the same grounds as the Hospice House.
In 1985, Hospice of the Ozarks became the second hospice in Arkansas to be Medicare certified. Hospice of the Ozarks merged with Baxter Regional Medical Center in 1986, and was a milestone in the history of Hospice of the Ozarks. As a partner of the hospital, Hospice has been able to provide better continuity of care to patients with incurable illnesses. The support of BRMC has allowed Hospice of the Ozarks to grow significantly over the years to the present time.
The office moved to 21 Medical Plaza in 1986 in order to be closer to BRMC. In 1993, a new building was built for Hospice and BRMC's home health on Burnett Drive at the southern entrance to the hospital. An expansion was done in 1995 to expand the conference areas and clinical work area.
The decision to build the Hospice House, our inpatient unit located at 774 Long Street, was made by the Board of Directors in 2003. This goal was realized in December 2005, and has since provided many patients and their loved ones with specialized end-of-life care.
In 2019, Hospice of the Ozarks was blessed to receive a $15,000 grant from the Eaton Corporation to remodel the family room at the Hospice House. New furniture, electronics, paint and decor have transformed our beautiful family room. We are truly blessed by their generosity.
Our new Hospice Administration Building is located directly in front of the beautiful Hospice House.
In 2015, the Board of Directors started discussing the need for a warehouse to grow the capacity of using our own durable medical equipment. This warehouse would need to be designed in a manner that was to ensure the best practices for medical equipment storage and cleaning. As the conversations continued and the home program staff and volunteers was growing, it became apparent to everyone that we also needed more space for the home program staff, administration staff and volunteers, along with rooms to meet in various size groups.
In 2017, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to build an administration building that would serve as a host to the home program staff and volunteers, the medical equipment warehouse and meeting rooms for support groups, community education and more.
Construction began in August, 2018 and the team moved into the new building at 811 Burnett Drive on August 17, 2019. Donors came forward to name rooms and hallways in the new building, which made it possible to provide furnishings throughout the building. Thanks to donors of several years ago and wise investments, the administration building is paid in full.
