To fulfill its mission of providing end-of-life support to the terminally ill and their families, Hospice Chautauqua County will:

• Provide direct care services by a paid professional staff of caregivers.
• Supplement professional care with volunteers.
• Work in partnership with area physicians, other health care providers and health-related vendors.
• Promote the Hospice philosophy and concept of care to the Chautauqua County Community.
• Educate the Chautauqua County Community about a wide range of grief and loss issues.
• Provide 1:1 and group bereavement support to anyone from Chautauqua County who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

The majority of patients (85%) who are served by Hospice come onto the program because they desire to, and eventually do, die at home. Terminally ill patients who reside in area nursing homes can also be served by Hospice since we have contracts with most of the county's skilled nursing facilities. When patients can no longer be safely and adequately managed by their family at home, they can be admitted to any of the area hospitals for care, usually during the last two weeks of life.