Steve and Laura Parkey founded Heart of America Hospice in 1996 with the goal of providing family oriented care for patients and families facing end-of-life care issues. The Parkeys are Kansas residents with a lifetime of experience in various healthcare fields. We have seen wonderful advances in medical care but along with advances, we have also watched people continue with futile medical treatment until the very last day of their lives. Most adults, if asked how they would like to die, would respond, At home, pain free and with my loved ones.

Local management and a professional staff including Physicians, Nurses, Bereavement Coordinator, HHA's, Social Workers and Chaplains ensure individualized care plans and responsiveness to patient/family requests/needs. We are part of your community and want to support you through this journey.

No matter how the patient is referred to Heart of America Hospice, self-referred, physician, hospital discharge planner, nursing facility staff, public administrator or family member, they will talk to a Heart of America Hospice professional who will ensure that you are fully informed about not only hospice care, but, other end-of-life care issues as well, such as nursing home placement, in home care options, medications and medical equipment.

Heart of America Hospice is well staffed with specially trained physicians and nurses to address physical symptoms and pain but we also specialize in the other types of pain that patients often face at the end-of-life, spiritual and emotional pain. Spiritual and emotional pain can be more debilitating than physical pain especially for those patients who are in the last stages of a terminal illness. Our Chaplains, Social Workers and Bereavement Coordinator are devoted and specially trained to help patients and families with those issues that result in spiritual and emotional pain.

To learn more about the services that Heart of America Hospice provides, please call in Topeka, 785-228-0400, in Lawrence, 785-841-5300 or toll free at 800-396-7778. We can arrange for a hospice nurse to telephone or visit you or your loved one to explain in detail the hospice benefit and offer advice on health care choices. Heart of America Hospice is ready to listen and provide end-of-life care during this time of life's most important transition.