Honoring Compassion: Celebrating National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
Every November, we proudly lend our voice as we celebrate National Hospice and Palliative Care Month (NHPCM) to honor the dedicated professionals who provide compassionate care to individuals facing life-limiting illnesses.
Within our larger medical care system, palliative and hospice care play a vital role in helping patients maintain dignity, autonomy, and comfort in their final stages of life, while palliative and hospice care teams also provide essential support to families. The hospice movement, pioneered by figures like Dr. Cicely Saunders and Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, opened the door to meaningful conversations about end-of-life care, shaping the hospice services we know today. This month offers a chance to reflect on the vital work being done to ensure patients receive holistic, compassionate care, while advocating for continued progress in the field.
This year is especially significant for Calvary Hospital as we celebrate National Hospice and Palliative Care Month alongside our 125th anniversary.
Since our founding, Calvary has strived to serve as a benchmark and beacon for what end-of-life care can and should be. Today, we remain true to our mission of compassion, dignity, and education, and our legacy aligns closely with this year’s NHPCM theme, “We Are Stronger Together—Let’s Write the Story Together.” At Calvary, we have always recognized the power of collaboration in delivering exceptional care.
As we reflect on 125 years of service, we understand that our story is shaped by the countless individuals—staff, patients, families, and community members—who have worked together to create a lasting impact on hospice and palliative care.
A 125-Year Journey of Compassionate Care
Calvary Hospital’s legacy began all the way back in 1899 when a small group of Catholic widows, known as the Women of Calvary, opened the House of Calvary, a 10-bed facility in New York City. The mission of the Women of Calvary was clear: to care for terminally ill women who the healthcare system had forgotten. The Women of Calvary provided comfort, respect, and dignity to women in their last days. Over the years, Calvary’s mission grew, and in 1965, we became licensed as an acute care hospital, allowing us to serve more patients and broaden our range of services. Today, we are the only U.S. hospital exclusively dedicated to hospice and palliative care.
Calvary’s multidisciplinary approach is holistic. It focuses on managing physical symptoms and addressing patients’ and their families’ emotional, spiritual, and psychological needs. This holistic model has been central to our care philosophy since our founding and inspires our work today.
Dr. Robert Brescia, a Calvary psychiatrist, often speaks about our hospital’s “culture of caring.” As he explains, “It’s this sense of ‘you’re not dying; you’re with us today.’” This mindful philosophy remains at the heart of all that we do at Calvary. It informs how we care for patients, communicate with families, and provide emotional and spiritual support. Dr. Brescia’s words capture Calvary’s unique approach to end-of-life care, where each day is a new day that we can bring comfort, joy, and meaning to patients’ lives.
“We Are Stronger Together—Let’s Write the Story Together”
The theme for National Hospice and Palliative Care Month 2024, “We Are Stronger Together—Let’s Write the Story Together,” holds particular resonance for Calvary as we reflect on our 125-year journey. Over the years, we’ve seen firsthand how collaboration among healthcare professionals, families, and the broader community is essential to delivering high-quality, compassionate care.
At Calvary Hospital, we believe caring for people facing life-limiting illnesses is a sacred gift, a shared responsibility, and an opportunity to learn and improve for the future.
Our work has always been a collective effort involving doctors, nurses, chaplains, social workers, volunteers, and families. This year’s theme reminds us that we are stronger when we unite to support those at the end of life. The story of Calvary is not just our own; it is crafted by the countless individuals who have been part of our mission over the past 125 years.
Looking ahead, we remain committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise with the world. Through education, resource-sharing, and community-building, Calvary continues to shape the global understanding of hospice and palliative care. Our influence reaches beyond our beloved New York City, as we work to train and equip healthcare professionals and advocate for the best practices in end-of-life care worldwide.
Celebrating Our 125-Year Legacy
Reflecting on 125 years of service, we acknowledge that Calvary’s story has been written by the many people who have passed through our doors—patients, families, caregivers, and staff. From our early beginnings as a small facility to our current role as a leader in palliative care, we have always been driven by our commitment to relieving suffering and improving the quality of life for those at the end of life.
Calvary’s history is deeply tied to the development of hospice and palliative care. Before the modern hospice movement, led by pioneers like Dr. Cicely Saunders and Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Calvary had provided comfort and dignity to terminally ill patients. We’ve continued to uphold and build upon this legacy ever since.
Today, Calvary remains steadfast in being a place of care and learning. As a teaching hospital, we train healthcare providers from all over the country and worldwide in the best practices of hospice and palliative care. We aim to ensure that all patients, no matter where they live, have access to the same level of compassionate, high-quality care that we provide at Calvary.
Raising Awareness During National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month also provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the vital role that hospice and palliative care services play in the lives of patients and their families. These services help individuals maintain dignity, comfort, and autonomy during their final stages of life while offering essential emotional and practical support to families.
Throughout November, several key observances highlight the importance of care at home:
- National Family Caregiver’s Day: November 1, 2024
- Palliative and Advanced Care Week: November 4–8, 2024
- Home Health Week: November 18–22, 2024
- Private Duty Home Care Week: November 25–29, 2024
These events honor caregivers and healthcare professionals who dedicate their lives to providing end-of-life care. They also remind us that hospice and palliative care services are available to all who need them.
Looking Ahead: Our Commitment to the Future
As we celebrate our 125th anniversary and reflect on our history, we keep our eyes on the future of hospice and palliative care. We are committed to continuing our mission of providing compassionate, high-quality care to those most need it. As the healthcare landscape changes, we know that there will be challenges—particularly around funding and resources for palliative care—but we remain focused on expanding access to our services and building stronger partnerships with healthcare systems.
Our goal is to bring palliative care “upstream,” ensuring that patients receive this type of care earlier in their illness so they can fully benefit from it. We remain committed to improving the experience of patients and families by expanding our home-based services and supporting caregivers.
At Calvary, we understand that caring for those at the end of life is not any job—it is a profound calling. We are fortunate to continue writing our story of compassionate care, in partnership with the patients, families, and communities who have trusted us for 125 years. Together, we will continue to create a world where every person receives the comfort, dignity, and respect they deserve at the end of life.