For older Washingtonians facing the end of life, the biggest obstacles often have nothing to do with medicine — they are financial, logistical, and deeply human. A new citywide initiative announced October 22, 2026, takes direct aim at those barriers, channeling more than a quarter-million dollars into a coordinated effort to make hospice and medical respite care reachable for vulnerable DC residents.
The Washington Home’s Hospice Access Collaboration unites four organizations to expand access to hospice and medical respite care while strengthening workforce capacity across the district.
“This initiative will help more DC residents access quality end-of-life care by reducing financial, housing, and caregiver-support barriers, and by expanding the healthcare workforce’s expertise,” said Crystal Townsend, MPA, Chief Executive Officer of The Washington Home.
The $327,814 investment flows to four partner organizations: Capital Caring Health – A Chapters Health® Affiliate, Forest Hills of DC – By Goodwin Living, Joseph’s House, and Sibley Memorial Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine. Together, they will expand hospice-related care for 25 older DC residents and train 200 healthcare professionals in four priority areas:
- ACCESS – Increasing inpatient hospice and medical respite capacity for older adults without stable housing or caregiver support;
- TRAINING – Educating healthcare professionals at Sibley Memorial Hospital about hospice and end-of-life care, including how to compassionately engage patients and caregivers in difficult decisions;
- FUNDING – Providing bridge funding for uninsured or underinsured patients; and
- NUTRITION – Delivering medically tailored, supportive meals to inpatient hospice patients.
The effort marks a strategic shift for The Washington Home, whose redesigned FY26 grant program moves away from isolated interventions and toward collective accountability, coordinated planning, and long-term systems change. In FY26 alone, TWH awarded $4.5 million in grants supporting initiatives across all eight wards, with collaborations focused on healthcare access, social isolation, workforce development, and aging-in-place supports.
The collaboration arrives as demand grows for accessible, highly skilled end-of-life care delivered with dignity and compassion.
COLLABORATION PARTNERS DELIVER IMPACT
Each of the four organizations brings a distinct capacity to the partnership, expanding both the physical infrastructure and the human expertise needed to serve DC’s aging population:
Capital Caring Health – A Chapters Health® Affiliate, a nonprofit community-based organization founded in 1977, provides hospice, palliative care, advanced illness services, and counseling across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
“Support for older adults during their most vulnerable moments should be accessible to all — regardless of their financial or housing circumstances,” said Stephen Venute, Vice President of Institutional Philanthropy for Chapters Health Foundation. “This funding enables us to provide more inpatient hospice care to patients and their loved ones while ensuring comfort, dignity, and peace remain at the center of every decision.”
Forest Hills of DC – By Goodwin Living, a Washington, DC, retirement community with a 134-year history of providing assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care, is part of the larger Goodwin Living senior living and healthcare organization serving 4,000 older adults across the National Capital Region.
“Many patients who need hospice care do not have access to a 24-hour caregiver at home,” said Andy M. Siegel, MHA, Chief Business Development Officer and Head of Goodwin Living Health at Goodwin Living. “By providing a supportive residential setting with the medical respite care these patients need, Forest Hills by Goodwin Living can help make hospice care accessible to more patients while ensuring comfort, dignity, and coordinated support for them and their families.”
Joseph’s House provides and coordinates holistic care for unhoused adults living with HIV/AIDS and terminal cancer, honoring dignity, offering companionship, and promoting justice.
“For individuals experiencing homelessness who do not have stable housing or a 24-hour caregiver to support them at home, accessing hospice care can be especially challenging,” said Kowshara Thomas, Executive Director of Joseph’s House. “This funding will allow us to provide a safe, supportive home and the medical respite care necessary to help individuals access hospice services in an environment where they are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. At Joseph’s House, we believe everyone deserves comfort, connection, and compassionate care at the end of life, regardless of their housing status or circumstances.”
Sibley Memorial Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine provides inpatient and outpatient services to Washington, DC-area communities, including medical, surgical, intensive, obstetric, oncology, orthopedic, and emergency care.
“Delivering exceptional hospice care begins with a well-prepared, compassionate workforce,” said Kristen Pruski, MSA, CFRE, Vice President of Development at Sibley Memorial Hospital. “This funding will educate healthcare professionals about hospice and end-of-life care and strengthen their ability to engage patients and caregivers with compassion, clarity, and confidence. Having trusted community partners to whom we can refer patients will also make hospice and supportive services more accessible throughout serious illness, difficult decisions, and the final stages of life.”
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON HOME
The Washington Home is a private foundation that funds innovative, compassionate, and well-managed programs that improve quality of life for older adults and people with terminal illnesses in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
Founded in 1888, The Washington Home previously provided long-term care at its upper Northwest Washington, DC, nursing facility, hospice care in patients’ homes, and inpatient hospice care.
In recent years, the Board of Directors repositioned the organization by ending direct care and consolidating its financial resources for greater mission impact. Learn more at www.TheWashingtonHome.org.
Why it matters: This collaboration signals a broader recognition that end-of-life care in an urban setting cannot be one-size-fits-all — it must account for housing instability, financial precarity, and caregiver shortages. By investing in both direct services and workforce training, The Washington Home is modeling a systems-level approach that could inform how other cities address the growing needs of aging populations.
Crystal Carr Townsend, MPA
The Washington Home
+1 202-895-0105
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