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Hospice By The Bay's mission is to be the premiere provider of hospice and palliative care services for patients and their caregivers in need of care and support during the final stages of life. We are dedicated to promoting wellness at the end of life, as well as preventing and treating distressing symptoms or conditions that might otherwise threaten the quality of life for patients and families. We compassionately provide quality services, sensitive to the values, interest, capabilities and needs of those we serve.
Hospice By The Bay Foundation's mission is to fund quality, compassionate hospice and palliative care provided by Hospice By The Bay; to provide community education on end-of-life issues; and to provide advocacy and guidance for individuals seeking information surrounding the final stages of life. Through its programs and services, the Foundation affirms that quality of life is essential at the end of life and that the final stages of life are as important as all other stages. Through philanthropic relationships with individuals, businesses, corporations and foundations, Hospice By The Bay Foundation is able to serve as a valued community resource while raising awareness for issues related to end-of-life.
Created in 1975 out of the heartfelt belief that individuals and families coping with incurable and progressive illness should be cared for compassionately, a concerned group of volunteer organizers established Hospice of Marin as a community based not-for-profit organization. Modeling the concept introduced in the 1960s by England's renowned Dame Cecily Saunders, innovative hospice services were born and further developed by Hospice of Marin to minimize pain and suffering and significantly enhance the quality of life for terminally ill patients.
Founding staff members also offered guidance and training to hospice organizers throughout the country, believing that access to this specialized form of care should be widespread. As a highly regarded team of hospice activists and innovators, Hospice of Marin leveraged its expertise and leadership in the field to help mobilize efforts that ultimately lead to the introduction of the Medicare hospice benefit in 1982, which was later made permanent in 1986. Hospice of Marin acquired Medicare certification in 1987.
As the second oldest community-based hospice in the United States, Hospice of Marin has become known by hospice leaders and advocates across the country as a pioneer in the end-of-life care movement. It has a long and rich history that has consistently demonstrated its commitment to quality care and services during the final stages of life.
Hospice of Marin assumed the management of Valley of the Moon Hospice in Sonoma in 1992, and Hospice by the Bay in San Francisco in 2003. In 2006, the organization assumed the name Hospice By The Bay to better reflect its mission of
delivering quality hospice and palliative care to the expanded geographic region it serves.
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