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Mercy Hospice celebrates 25 years of hospice care
Traveling exhibit on display at St. John’s Villa in Carrollton

Carrollton, Ohio: Hospice services in Stark County began in the early 1980s. A group of community leaders came together to explore the possibility of providing care similar to the movement that began in England by Dame Cicely Saunders. The goal was to provide better care for individuals and families facing a life-limiting illness. Hospice of Stark County and the Visiting Nurse Society of Central Stark County opened offices in 1982. The organizations later merged into Hospice of Stark County, a program of the Visiting Nurse Society. In 1996 the organization became a department of Mercy Medical Center and was named Mercy Hospice. Mercy Hospice serves patients in Stark and Carroll Counties and surrounding areas.

Twenty-five years later, Mercy Hospice pays tribute to their special patients, families and caregivers through a traveling exhibit.  Appropriately named Crossings, this touching exhibit features 10 displays with photography and stories of Mercy Hospice and the remarkable relationship shared between patients, family members and caregivers. 

Crossings is currently on display through Friday, June 27 at St. John’s Villa, located at 701 Crest Street, in Carrollton. The public is invited to view this powerful exhibit between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

What is Hospice?

More than 1.2 million people received hospice services in the U.S. in 2005, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Hospice represents a deliberate shift from aggressive disease management – doing anything possible to cure a condition – to focus on comfort, or keeping a patient as functional, alert and pain-free as possible.

Hospice care providers including physicians, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians, counselors, social workers, clergy, home health aides and trained volunteers help patients live their last days peacefully, with dignity and respect.

House Resolution Bill 5180, cosponsored by Ralph Regula in 1982, was the beginning of coverage for Hospice services by Medicare. Mercy Hospice is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most health insurance plans for individuals with a life-limiting illness and physician’s order. For more information about Mercy Hospice, call 330-649-4380.

Mercy Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation of the Sisters of Charity Health System and University Hospitals Health System, operates a 476-bed hospital serving Stark, Carroll, Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas Counties and parts of Southeastern Ohio. It has 550 physicians on its Medical Staff and employs 2,500 people. Mercy operates outpatient health centers in Carrollton, Jackson Township, Lake Township, Louisville and North Canton. A Catholic hospital, Mercy Medical Center upholds the mission and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and continues to be responsive to the needs of the community, including the provision of care to all, regardless of their ability to pay. For more information, see www.cantonmercy.com.