IU Health Bloomington Hospice

At IU Health Bloomington Hospital Hospice, our main goal is to provide compassionate care that meets the emotional, spiritual and physical needs of patients facing the end of life.

Our integrated, family-centered team of trained professionals understands how to assist patients during this time of transition, while helping them to carry out personal choices. Frequent communication between clinical staff and a patient’s primary care physician ensures that patient and family needs are met and constantly reassessed.

Hospice care is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to anyone facing a life-limiting illness with a life expectancy of six months or less. We attend to patients wherever they reside—at home, in assisted living facilities or in the hospital.

Residents of long-term care facilities are eligible for hospice care. You receive care from our hospice team in the long-term care facility just as other patients would receive hospice care in their own home.

No one seeking hospice care from IU Health Bloomington Hospital Hospice is turned away because of inability to pay. We will work with you to bill Medicare, Medicaid and/or private health insurance directly for your hospice care. Other financial options are available through individual donations and memorial gifts.

Bereavement & Grief Services

No one prepares you for the feelings you will experience following the death of a loved one. Grief is an individual and unique experience for each of us. IU Health Hospice offers several bereavement services to help you through this time including:

• Families and loved ones of patients who received hospice care through IU Health Hospice benefit from grief and bereavement care and counseling for 13 months following a patient’s passing away.
• Adult bereavement groups are held in the winter, spring and fall months and facilitated by our bereavement coordinator. The groups are free and open to anyone in the community.
• Healing Hearts, a free children’s grief group, is available three times per year. The group is lead by a licensed counselor and is conveniently scheduled as an after-school activity. A free library of grief-related books is also open to the community.
• Grief counseling and referral sources for individual counseling are available based on your individual situation and needs.

We help you better understand and cope with your grief as you heal and move forward.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are an essential part of our hospice team, providing support to patients, family members, caregivers, and staff in a variety of ways.

Volunteers may provide respite for caregivers at home, social companionship and emotional support to patients in various settings, practical assistance with household chores and errands, and/or bereavement support to family members and loved ones. Volunteers may also choose to work a weekly shift at the Hospice House, our inpatient/respite facility on the south side of Bloomington, or they might prefer to help in the office and with special projects. We believe that each volunteer will bring their own strengths and interests, and we will integrate each person into our care team in the ways that feel most comfortable and rewarding.

There are specific requirements and regulations for Hospice volunteers that differ from those of the hospital setting. For further information about volunteer opportunities and the application/onboarding process, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at IU Health Bloomington Hospital Hospice, 812.353.9818, ext. 9804.