Former Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice changes name, how it helps

Fox Valley Hands of Hope is the new name for the former Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice, which reflects how the group operates and the services it offers.

The nonprofit organization will continue to provide social and psychological support - not medical - to people receiving end-of-life hospice care. It is no longer licensed by the state as a volunteer hospice, Executive Director Greg Weider said.

The move is partly due to changes in the hospice care industry since the agency started in 1981, Weider said.

Medicare has taken a central role in providing medical hospice care, and fewer people were approaching the Geneva-based group for it, he said.

Fox Valley Hands of Hope will train volunteers to serve through Presence Health and other hospice care providers.

The group also will concentrate on a growing segment of its services - helping people who are grieving.

"We have seen significant growth in people coming to us after a death loss," he said.

The group has long run programs, such as support groups, for people who are grieving.

It took on the Hands of Hope name from a program it has run the last 12 years, which provided support to people waiting for, or undergoing, cancer treatments at Dreyer Medical Clinic in Aurora and at Presence Health Regional Cancer Care Center in Elgin.

Fox Valley Hands of Hope has more than 400 volunteers and has served more than 22,000 clients and their families. Most have been from the Fox Valley area, but it also helps people in DuPage and Cook counties. Its services are free. For information, visit fvvh.com/handsofhope.