About Vitas Healthcare

VITAS Healthcare, a pioneer in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care. Our name, derived from the Latin word for “lives,” symbolizes the VITAS mission: to preserve the quality of life for those who have a limited time to live.

VITAS Healthcare provided $11.9 million in genuine charity care to hospice patients nationwide in 2023. This represents an average of 1 percent of our gross revenues—a ratio that few, if any, hospice providers can match.

Fast Facts about VITAS

Here are some facts and figures about VITAS Healthcare:

• VITAS has 45 years of experience in hospice care and is the nation's largest single-source provider of end-of-life care.
• The name VITAS is pronounced VEE-tahs and is derived from the Latin word for "lives."
• 10,763 VITAS professionals provide care to 19,952 patients daily throughout 15 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
• VITAS is a Founding Benefactor of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, the nation’s first comprehensive institute for the advancement of research, education and caregiving for those near death.
• The authoritative hospice text, originally published in 2002 and reprinted in 2011 as End of Life Care: A Practical Guide, was compiled by former VITAS Chief Medical Officer Barry M. Kinzbrunner, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, with contributions by 19 VITAS clinicians—from physicians to chaplains, and every hospice discipline in between.
• VITAS has won the Trailblazer Health Award presented by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in recognition of VITAS’ ongoing efforts to expand awareness of and access to hospice services for African Americans.
• VITAS Healthcare provided $11.9 million in genuine charity care to hospice patients nationwide in 2023. This represents an average of 1% of our gross revenues—a ratio that few, if any, hospice providers can match.
• VITAS provides care in 25 inpatient hospice units as well as patients' homes, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities for older adults.
• 5,700 volunteers trained VITAS volunteers provided 229,132 hours of care during 2023.

Our History

VITAS was founded in 1978 as Hospice Care Inc., one of the nation’s first hospice programs. But our story really begins in the mid-1970s, when Hugh A. Westbrook, an ordained United Methodist minister, and Esther T. Colliflower, a registered nurse, and Don Gaetz saw a void in the treatment of people with terminal illnesses.

As a pioneer in the American hospice movement, VITAS was instrumental in leading a bipartisan effort to add hospice to the healthcare payment system. In October 1983, the Medicare Hospice Benefit was enacted, ensuring coverage for all Medicare beneficiaries for care related to terminal illnesses or any illness that shortens life expectancy.

This pivotal moment in US healthcare history happened because a few visionaries saw the gap that existed for patients nearing the end of life. 

As a result of these efforts, Medicare pays for hospice services. Many states have established Medicaid coverage for hospice, and virtually all private insurers and managed care plans provide coverage for hospice care.

Today, VITAS is America’s leading provider of end-of-life care, working in cooperation with hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, senior living communities, insurers, and community-based organizations throughout the nation. We remain committed to identifying and closing gaps in treatment.

VITAS works to ensure that seriously ill patients and their families of all walks of life have timely access to compassionate and effective end-of-life care.