The seedlings of Elea Institute began in 1978 when Horizon Hospice and Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter were founded in Chicago. Eventually, those entities would merge and become JourneyCare, a Chicago based hospice organization staffed by a team of expert clinicians and dedicated volunteers.
In 2022, JourneyCare’s hospice and palliative care functions were acquired by Addus HomeCare, which is one of the nation’s largest home care providers. The sale allowed for the creation of Elea Institute, which strives to build on the collective histories and legacies of countless physicians, nurses, certified nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, and donors who dedicated their myriad resources and compassion to provide care and comfort to people with serious illness.
Elea Institute remains committed to our heritage and predecessor organizations’ original missions: ensuring all persons have access to high quality hospice and palliative care. To date, Elea Institute has awarded numerous grants and projects that support enhanced access for communities, broaden hospice and palliative services, and provide crucial educational resources, which touch the lives of patients and caregivers.