Community Hospice — Our Story
Community Hospice has local roots. We are an organization that was started by the community to serve the community. In 1985, a group of local health professionals began discussing the hospice movement and planted the seed that launched Hospice of Tuscarawas County, Inc. A year later, a volunteer board was formed and the organization became incorporated by the state of Ohio as a private, nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization with by-laws and policies and procedures. With no affiliation to a larger organization, the community was asked for financial support to make hospice services available. This grassroots effort made Hospice of Tuscarawas County, Inc. a reality.
We served our first patient in 1987 and were able to touch the lives of 26 patients and families that year. Having served our community for more than 20 years, we have served more than 7,000 patients and families to date.
With the dedication of the original Board and former Executive Director Janie Jones, a solid foundation was built that enabled us to continue to grow. It soon became apparent that hospice services were needed in the neighboring counties. In 1989, a satellite office was opened in Carrollton and in 1999 an office was opened in Stark County.
As we continued to grow and serve our communities we looked towards the future of hospice. What we needed was something that described who we were while maintaining our local roots. We found the answer in our history and in the people we served. There is one word that describes us best and that is Community. Rather than change our name completely and lose our identity, we chose to enhance it instead. In 2010, with the help and support of our Board of Directors and staff, we became Community Hospice of Tuscarawas, Stark and Carroll Counties.
