Our story spans nearly 45 years, during which The Elea Institute has stood at the forefront of hospice and palliative care in the Chicago area.
Our roots took hold in 1978 when both Horizon Hospice and Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter were founded, respectively, in Chicago and its North Shore suburbs. Both nonprofit organizations were created by groups of community volunteers, each seeking to help those with life-limiting and terminal illness enjoy life to the fullest with respect and dignity. Both were among the first hospices in the region to serve patients at the end of life during the AIDS crisis.
Four years later, in 1982, those roots grew as two new nonprofit, volunteer-driven hospice and palliative care organizations emerged in McHenry and Lake Counties – both would eventually merge and become known as JourneyCare.
By 2015, Horizon Hospice of Chicago, Glenview-based Midwest CareCenter and JourneyCare in Barrington joined together to create a new agency that offered more than 100 years of expertise in caring for patients living with serious illness and at the end of life. This new, nonprofit organization was also called JourneyCare and served 13 counties in Illinois with patient-centered, best-quality hospice and palliative care. JourneyCare was also the largest of only a handful of pediatric hospice and palliative care programs in Illinois.
Staffed by a team of expert clinicians and supported by dedicated volunteers, JourneyCare worked to care for the whole patient – mind, body and spirit. Nurses, certified nursing assistants and physicians worked to manage pain and symptoms, while also collaborating with social workers, chaplains and volunteers to honor each patient’s personal goals, wishes and spiritual needs. To ensure access to care for all, the JourneyCare Foundation annually secured support from generous donors and corporations, keeping JourneyCare’s promise to serve those who could not afford care.
Our Story Today
In 2022, JourneyCare’s hospice and palliative care services were acquired by Addus HomeCare, one of the nation’s largest home care providers.
With this change, JourneyCare forged a new path as the Elea Institute. The Elea Institute remains committed to our legacy organizations’ original missions: ensuring all persons have access to high quality hospice and palliative care. To further explore the history of JourneyCare and the Elea Institute click here.