The History of OSF Home Care & Hospice
For more than five decades, OSF Home Care & Hospice has extended the healing Mission beyond hospital walls and into the homes and hearts of the communities we serve. What began as a commitment to continuity of care has grown into a comprehensive Ministry of comfort, dignity and hope. The following timeline reflects the milestones that have shaped this sacred work.
The Beginning
1975: Saint Francis Hospital-Medical Center established a home discharge program in conjunction with the Peoria Health Department. The program provided a continuity of care to discharged patients under a physicians’ treatment plan.
1980s
1980: Hospice of Central Illinois was formed as a community effort between Saint Francis Hospital - Medical Center, Proctor, Pekin Memorial and Eureka hospitals along with area health departments, hospital home care programs and the American Red Cross.
1981: Bay de Noc Hospice Inc. and St. Francis Hospital in Escanaba, Michigan, implemented a medical equipment loan program for home hospice patients.
1982: The Hospice of Central Illinois Palliative Care Services program at Saint Francis Hospital-Medical Center was established and six private rooms were located in the Forest Park building.
1983: Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois, established a home care program.
1984: Saint Anthony Medical established the Center for Home Care; taking care of patients from Rockford and Belvidere.
1989: The St. James Hospice, later known as Franciscan Hospice, was formed at St. James Hospital in Pontiac, Illinois, and originally provided services in Ford, Grundy, Kankakee, LaSalle, McLean and Woodford counties.
1990s
1991: The Saint Francis Medical Center Hospice Program was established.
1994: Saint. Francis Hospice provided services to Peoria, Woodford, Tazewell, Marshall, Putnam, Stark, Fulton, Logan and Mason counties.
1994: A Franciscan Hospice office opened in Bloomington, Illinois.
1995: Bay de Noc Hospice merged with St. Francis Hospital in Escanaba, Michigan, to form OSF Bay de Noc Hospice.
1996: OSF Bay de Noc Hospice was formally recognized in a proclamation by Gov. John Engler as the oldest hospice program in Michigan.
1997: The hospice program based at Saint Francis Medical Center name changed to OSF Hospice to reflect the reach of the program over much of central and northern Illinois.
1997: OSF Hospice added services to six new counties: Henderson, Henry, Knox, McDonough, Mercer and Warren.
2000s
2000: The OSF Franciscan Hospice, originally managed at St. James Hospital in Pontiac, was renamed OSF St. Joseph Hospice when management moved to Bloomington. It was later known as OSF Hospice.
2001: OSF Home Care was established.
2004: The OSF Home Care Bridge program was established to offer a transition between home health and hospice care.
2005: OSF Physician House Calls program begins. It was the first program of this type in Central Illinois.
2006: SOS (Share Our Stories) program begins. The new program matches grieving survivors for a support network.
2010s
2010: Hootie Owens donated $2 million for a hospice home in honor of her late husband Richard L. Owens, a former hospice patient.
2011: A groundbreaking ceremony for OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home was held.
2012: Bishop Jenky blessed the new OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home, located next to OSF Center for Health on Route 91 in Peoria.
2016: An outpatient palliative care program was expanded to Bloomington and Pontiac, after successful programs were established in Peoria and Rockford.
2019: OSF Hospice services were established in Champaign and Danville.
2020s
2023: The OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home celebrated 10 years of service to the community.
2025: The Beacon of Light memorial was unveiled at the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home to honor those who have passed in hospice.