Hospice care has come a long way in the more than 30 years since the founding of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care^®, and we’re committed to developing its future. The VITAS Hospice Charitable Fund is a not-for-profit organization seeking to improve end-of-life care for individual patients and their families while supporting groundbreaking research and fundamental social change.  

The fund’s activities are directed toward four core missions: special needs, bereavement, research and education.

• Special Needs Grants for Patients and Families: From buying an air conditioner for a patient’s stifling apartment to helping loved ones fly in for final farewells, these grants cover extraordinary expenses that lie outside the realm of hospice care but are critical to a patient’s comfort or piece of mind.
• Assistance for Bereavement Programs: The fund assists the Hospice Foundation of America in implementing programs such as clergy-to-clergy services, grief counseling activities and the annual National Bereavement Teleconference.
• Research Grants and Partnerships: Grants are awarded to support promising research at sites around the country, including hospices, teaching hospitals and academic research centers.
• The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life: As a founding benefactor, the fund is a major supporter of the nation’s first comprehensive institute for the advancement of research, education and caregiving for those near death.
   

For more information, visit www.vitascharityfund.org.