On July 1, 1985, the existing hospice program at Parkview Episcopal Medical Center was phased out and the freestanding, not-for-profit Sangre de Cristo Hospice began operations. On March 15, 1995, St. Thomas Moore Hospice in Florence merged with Sangre de Cristo Hospice as a satellite, operating as Sangre de Cristo Hospice West. In March of 2004, the organization’s in-patient facility, Hospice House, located in Pueblo, began operations. In the summer of 2007, the service area expanded to service Trinidad and Walsenburg. In the spring of 2008, Sangre opened doors to a new in-patient facility. We have since grown to the East with an office and staff that provide hospice services to locations that reach far beyond La Junta.
On July 9, 2018, SDCCC purchased a home health agency to better serve the patients of Southern Colorado, starting out small, but quickly expanded that single branch office to serve the Trinidad and Walsenburg areas that December 2018.
While the mission remains the same, a new name and location signaled the start of a new era for Sangre de Cristo Hospice and Palliative Care in November 2019.
The rebranding as Sangre de Cristo Community Care (hospice, palliative, home health) corresponds to the upcoming relocation of the administration offices — currently occupying separate South Side buildings — to a 16,000-square-foot, two-story building at 1920 Valley Drive.
In 2020, SDCCC expanded coverage west and applied to serve the additional counties going west to match the Hospice footprint. SDCCC started servicing those counties in August 2020 out of the La Junta parent office while awaiting approval of the branch license in Cañon City. On October 19, 2022, SDCCC was finally approved to have a brand office in Cañon City, which allows it to better advertise and serve all the areas for home health.
With hospice support in these communities, Sangre de Cristo Community Care has established offices and staff who continue to provide quality of life and dignity to those who we extend compassionate care during the difficulties that results with end of life.
Sangre de Cristo Community Care is not aligned with not a part of any other organization. It was established to serve all terminally ill patients and their families without regard to age, race, religion, color, sex, marital status, national origin, handicap, sexual orientation, veteran status, and regardless of the patients’ place of residence in the service area.
The primary focus of the program is to allow the patient to remain in his or her own home among family and in familiar surroundings. However, when this is not possible, the hospice staff will provide their entire range of services in a hospital, extended care facility or at our in-patient facility, Joni Fair Hospice House.
At Sangre de Cristo Community Care, we stand firm in our commitment to racial justice and equity. We recognize the systemic injustices that have perpetuated inequality and discrimination, and we are dedicated to actively challenging and dismantling these barriers. We pledge to foster an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated, voices are heard, and everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
