About Us: Willamette Valley Hospice

Willamette Valley Hospice, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 and located in Salem, Oregon, provides comprehensive hospice care services, pain management, grief services, and support for those patients and families facing serious or life-limiting illness. Willamette Valley Hospice supports adults and children living with a serious or life-limiting illness throughout Marion and Polk counties and beyond.

Our history
Our statistics
Our Board of Directors

Our history

Willamette Valley Hospice began with a group of dedicated volunteers who saw the unmet needs of terminally ill patients and their families in the Willamette Valley. Since that time, Willamette Valley Hospice has grown from caring for nine patients to over 1,000 hospice patients each year.

Community is important to us. We live and work in the communities we serve and are dedicated to providing services and community support to all. We believe hospice care should be available to everyone and we provide services to all, regardless of ability to pay.

As part of our commitment to providing care to our patients and families, we partner with other local non-profits, such as Marion Polk Food Share, to ensure patients and families receive assistance that is available to them. Our partnership with Marion Polk Food Share ensures that those patients and families needing emergency food boxes are able to get them delivered by our hospice staff.

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Our statistics

Please see our most recent Annual Report for a comprehensive view of Willamette Valley Hospice's work in the community. For a copy of Willamette Valley Hospice's most recent Annual Report, call 503.588.3600 or e-mail us at info@wvh.org.

In 2011, Willamette Valley Hospice staff and volunteers provided compassionate care to 1,062 patients admitted to hospice care. Providing excellent and compassionate care for our patients and their families is essential to our staff and volunteers. An additional 83 patients were served by the Home Palliative Care program.

In 2011, two new programs programs were implemented. The Transitions Program enrolled 55 clients in the program in its first year of operation. The first residents at the Edward F. Tokarski Home moved into this special home on November 13, 2011. Twenty residents were served at the Tokarski Home in 2011.

With over 260 volunteers, Willamette Valley Hospice’s strong volunteer program makes a difference in the lives of our patients and in our community. In 2011, volunteers contributed over 10,264 hours of their time providing support for patients and families, supporting bereavement services with phone calls and support groups, assisting with office support, and helping with children’s grief activities, including Camp Mighty Oaks.

Willamette Valley Hospice offers a variety of bereavement services to educate and support individuals experiencing grief, including free, six-week support groups for adults, children, and families, drop-in support groups, in-school support groups, community workshops, home visits to grieving hospice family members, grief support phone calls, community memorial services, and complimentary workplace presentations. In 2011, 13 six-week adult support groups were offered in Marion and Polk Counties, with 95 adults in attendance. Three, seven-week support groups for adults, children, and families were offered, with 105 participants ages 5 and older in attendance. Three drop-in groups were offend every month in 2011 for those unable to attend a multi-week group. Seventy-four adults attended the drop in groups in 2011. Twelve support groups were offered to children at their own schools in 2011, ensuring 67 kids were able to get needed support without leaving their schoool's grounds. For additional bereavement statistics, call 503.588.3600 and ask for a copy of the 2011 Annual Report.

Our community outreach program informs the community of the many hospice and bereavement services available to them in their time of need. In 2011, Willamette Valley Hospice staff and volunteers gave 240 presentations to a variety of audiences, from business groups to local care facilities. Staff and volunteers made over 11,633 contacts with community members in 2011, helping to educate the community on a variety of end-of-life and caregiving topics.

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