Contact:
Liz Kopling
Cell: (608) 772-9653
liz.kopling@agrace.org
FITCHBURG, Wis. –More than 1,750 donors have assisted Agrace with the completion of their $15 million endowment campaign to help ensure that all local hospice patients can receive the compassionate end-of-life care they need, even if they cannot pay.
Agrace, Wisconsin’s largest nonprofit hospice and palliative care organization, announced today that it has met its goal of raising $15 million for its Care for All Endowment Campaign, which began in 2014. The endowment will provide financial support for Agrace patients who demonstrate needing help paying for their hospice care.
Agrace provides hospice services to people with a life expectancy of six months or less and a primary goal of comfort, rather than cure. While Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurance cover the cost of basic hospice services for most patients, an increasing number of people in southern Wisconsin still find themselves without hospice coverage when they need it. Factors that can leave people without hospice coverage include the high deductibles associated with private insurance, longer waiting lists for those seeking medical assistance and a rise in the rate of some cancers, including colorectal, thyroid and testicular cancers in people who are too young for Medicare.
From the $15 million endowment investment, Agrace expects to generate $750,000 in annual income, which will be used solely to fund Agrace’s “Care for All” charitable care program. To date in 2019, approximately 100 Agrace patients have received Care for All support and that is expected to double by the end of the year.
“We are so humbled that more than 1,750 individuals and businesses share our belief that everyone deserves the chance to die with dignity, regardless of their circumstances or their ability to pay for the care they need,” said Marcia Whittington, chief development officer for Agrace. “The gravity of this success is overwhelming. Patients and families served by Agrace will never be turned away because they cannot afford to pay for our services.”
More information about Agrace’s Care for All fund can be obtained by calling (608) 327-7209 or visiting agrace.org/careforall.
Founded in 1978 by volunteers, Agrace is a nonprofit, community-supported hospice and palliative care agency dedicated to providing exceptional care and support to patients and families facing serious and life-limiting illnesses. With offices in Madison, Janesville, Baraboo and Platteville, Wis., and Rockford, Ill., Agrace serves more than 950 patients every day throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
