About Rice Hospice - Celebrating 30 years of hospice care in 2012

Compassionate Care for the Journey

For thirty years, Rice Hospice has provided end-of-life care to residents of west central Minnesota. Every day, compassionate people living in your community - nurses, social workers, hospice aides, support staff, clergy, and volunteers - offer care and peace of mind to those who have reached the end of their journey.

The dedicated staff of 36 full- and part-time employees, along with more than 240 trained volunteers, provided care to almost 500 patients in 2010. Last year, more than 14,394 hours were donated by volunteers and 107,808 miles were logged in service to the Rice Hospice program, patients, and families.

Rice Hospice staff and volunteers are loving, caring, and knowledgeable about the unique issues facing families coping with serious illness and the challenges of care giving. They are integral members of the hospice care team and partner with the patient and primary physician, friends and family, caregivers, and faith leaders, to meet patient needs.

Hospice staff and volunteers provide emotional support, comfort, and assistance to hospice patients and family members. They visit with patients and family members wherever the patient is, whether that's at home, in the hospital, in an assisted living facility, or in the nursing home. They listen to converns and needs to discover what's important to each individual and find ways to help make things a little easier for everyone.

Care that makes you comfortable

Know that Rice Hospice care is always available. You may reach a registered nurse through our toll-free telephone number 24 hours each day, seven days every week.

The commitment of Rice Hospice to go "above and beyond" is fully supported by a generous community. Thanks to philanthropic gifts, Rice Hospice is able to continually look for ways to expand existing programs and develop new ones that not only meet the medical needs of patients, but also provide complementary therapies and programs that make life m ore enjoyable as well as more comfortable.

Complementary therapies and special programs at Rice Hospice include grief counseling and support groups, music, healing touch, massage therapy, Canine Care for the Journey, and the Sentimental Journey Program.

Quality Care

Quality Improvement studies done by Rice Hospice consistently found that 100% of the patient who were experiencing pain upon admission to our program had their pain brought to a comfortable level within 48 hours.

Rice Hospice received the 2008 American Hospital Association Circle of Life Citation of Honor.

Rice Hospice was the recipient of the 2002 Blue Cross / Blue Shield Champions of Health Award, which is an award that recognizes organizations which have improved the health of their community.