Hospice of Washington County, Rhode Island (Mss. Gr. 84)

Historical note

The records described in this register are those of Hospice of Washington County, Inc. Hospice of Washington County was organized in 1981 when 15 to 20 people met at the request of the Reverend John Hall of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Kingston, Rhode Island. In cooperation with the Visiting Nurse Services of Washington County, this group established Hospice of Washington County to provide home care and emotional support to the terminally ill and their families in the communities of North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Narragansett, Charlestown, Jamestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Westerly, and Richmond, Rhode Island. After several months of recruiting and training medical professionals and volunteers, Hospice of Washington County accepted its first patient in April 1982. Over the next eight years, the organization treated hundreds of patients in Southern Rhode Island.

In November of 1989, Hospice of Washington County merged with Island Hospice of Newport and Hospice Care of Rhode Island. The new organization retained the name of Hospice Care of Rhode Island, and an affiliate, Hospice of Washington County Associates, was established to provide continuing care to the terminally ill of Southern Rhode Island.