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Hand In Hand Homecare and Hospice is a community-based, nonprofit agency in Emporia, KS. Hospice services were started through volunteer efforts in Emporia in 1983. The agency was known as Hospice of the Flint Hills. In 1992, Hospice of the Flint Hills received Medicare approval. Four years later, Hospice of the Flint Hills merged with Newman Regional Health to increase health care efficiency in the community. In September 1996, following the merger with Newman Hospital, the organization changed its name to Hand In Hand Homecare and Hospice (HIH). In February 1997, HIH was reviewed by The Joint Commission Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO), a nationwide organization dedicated to improving the quality of the nation's health care through voluntary accreditation. HIH received immediate accreditation without any recommendations. In July 2001, HIH received accreditation again. A Board of Directors is utilized to offer advice and recommendations to Hand In Hand. There are nine members on the Board, with many prominent community members in service. The mission of Hand In Hand is to"...affirm individual dignity and quality of life, from birth to death, in our community." Hospice care neither hastens nor postpones death, but views death as a natural part of the life cycle. Each year Hand In Hand has enabled patients to fulfill their wishes by allowing them to die with dignity and comfort in their home or home-like setting such as a nursing home residence. HIH is the only community-based hospice serving Lyon, Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Morris, and portions of Osage and Wabaunsee counties of East-Central Kansas. Approximately 80,000 people live in this service area. |