Celebrating 40 Years of Superior Care and Superior Services

This year, Ohio’s Hospice of Central Ohio is celebrating 40 years of service to the community. Since 1982, it has been our privilege to care for your loved ones.

The story of Ohio’s Hospice of Central Ohio began with a small group of visionaries giving their time and talent so that compassionate care and a comforting presence was available to those facing a life limiting illness. During the past 40 years, we have been privileged to provide care for thousands of our friends and neighbors. As a not-for-profit, community-based hospice provider, we are dedicated to supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families facing life-limiting illnesses, wherever they may call home.

Our service area, which the original Hospice of Licking County served, has grown. Today, we have offices in Newark, Columbus, Lancaster, and Zanesville. We currently serve nine counties in central Ohio. We also have two inpatient care centers for symptom management available at Licking Memorial Hospital and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Since our founding, our mission and focus have remained the same. Our mission is to celebrate the lives of those we have the privilege of serving by providing superior care and superior services to each patient and family.

Thanks to the support from generous donors throughout the community, we continue to serve more patients and their families each and every year. Throughout the coming year, we’ll take a look back at some of our milestone moments through photos and stories as well as to share a few plans for our future. We thank you for supporting our mission now and always.

Celebrating Life’s Stories for 40 Years

• 1981 – Selma Markowitz and Kathleen Brown, co-founders, begin plans to bring the hospice care concept to Licking County.
• 1982 – The first board meeting is held, and Hospice Service of Licking County is created.
• 1993 – The not-for-profit hospice celebrates serving its 800th patient.
• 1995 – The name of the community-based hospice provider is changed to Hospice of Central Ohio.
• 1996 – The seven-bed inpatient care center, The Selma Markowitz Care Center, opens at Licking Memorial Hospital.
• 1997 – The first bereavement camp, Camp HOCO, is held for the first time for children, ages 6-17.
• 2003 – The Hospice of Central Ohio Foundation is created, raising funds to provide complementary support services to patients and their families at no cost.
• 2010 – Hospice of Central Ohio celebrates serving its 10,000th patient.
• 2016 – Hospice of Central Ohio joins Ohio’s Hospice strategic partnership and becomes Ohio’s Hospice of Central Ohio.