When choosing a hospice service, patients and families want options. That's why we opened the William Childs Hospice House — Brevard's first freestanding hospice facility — to provide area residents with an additional choice for care at the end of a loved one's life. Located on five serene, secluded acres on the campus of Palm Bay Community Hospital, this eight-bed, inpatient facility is the first of its kind locally. Convenient to I-95 and US Highway 1, residents from all over Brevard benefit from this facility.

A program of Hospice of Health First — Brevard's leading not-for-profit hospice provider — the William Childs Hospice House provides inpatient and/or limited respite care to anyone who qualifies for hospice services. Appropriate diagnoses for admission include:

• Cancer
• Cardiac disease
• Alzheimer's disease/dementia
• Stroke
• Kidney or liver failure
• Auto-immune diseases
• Diabetes
• Neurologic diseases such as MS and ALS
• Failure to thrive

Under the direction of a full-time medical director, the staff of the hospice house includes registered nurses, social workers, bereavement counselors, clergy, home health aides, and a devoted group of specially trained volunteers.

Many in our community will benefit from the care available at the hospice house, including, but not limited to:

• Patients who require more intensive, skilled nursing care and symptom management in a supervised setting
• Patients imminently dying without a caregiver or living in an unstable home situation
• Patients requiring five-day respite stay

Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance reimburse for hospice care. However, Hospice of Health First provides care regardless of an individual's ability to pay. As a not-for-profit organization, it's our mission.

The William Childs Hospice House is open for visitation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Children and pets are always welcome.

If you or your loved one would like to be evaluated for care at the William Childs Hospice House, please contact your physician and request a referral. You can also obtain more information by calling us at 321.434.8400, or take a virtual tour of the hospice house.

How you can help

Named by Madeline Childs in memory of her husband who died in the care of Hospice of Health First in February 2002, the William Childs Hospice House was built and furnished with the assistance of $1.6 million in community gifts. Donations are made in support of the hospice mission, in appreciation of care received, in memory of loved ones, and in celebration of special blessings. If you're interested in donating to the William Childs Hospice House or the programs and services of Hospice of Health First, please contact the Health First Foundation at 321.434.4242.

321.434.8400
321.952.0494

381 Medplex Parkway
Palm Bay, FL 32905