Penn Wissahickon Hospice

Last Modified: September 25, 2012

Penn Wissahickon Hospice is a non-profit, Medicare certified, community-based hospice that serves terminally ill patients and their families in their own homes where they live. Established in 1982, Penn Wissahickon Hospice was the first Medicare-certified hospice in Pennsylvania. Penn Wissahickon Hospice is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and is part of Penn Medicine. Penn Wissahickon Hospice serves patients through community offices located throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.

Penn Wissahickon Hospice provides care for people who have a life expectancy of six months or less and wish to remain at home, with their care focused on comfort and relief of pain and associated symptoms. While many of our patients have cancer, the services are not limited to patients with cancer. At Penn Wissahickon Hospice, over 25% of our patients' admitting diagnosis are non-cancer such as AIDS or advanced cardiac, pulmonary or neurological illness. No one is denied service because of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, diagnosis or ability to pay.

In addition to hospice care, our Caring Way program provides continued curative care for patients with a life-limiting illness. Patients who are used to living independently may be eligible for our Living Alone program, which does not require a live-in caregiver.

To receive care, anyone – a doctor, family member or person needing care – may request services. For more information, call 1-800-700-8807. A registered nurse (RN) is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For further information about Penn Wissahickon Hospice programs and services, please call us at 1-800-700-8807, or e-mail us at hospice@uphs.upenn.edu.