Our Mission: To care for anyone experiencing the impact 
of a life-threatening illness or grieving the death of a loved one.

This September, Hospice of Santa Barbara has the distinct pleasure of honoring individuals in our community whose work has advanced our mission to care for anyone experiencing the impact of a life threatening illness or grieving the loss of a loved one.  This year's honorees are:

Dr. Stephen Hosea for his decades long career in furthering end of life care in the community.


H. Guy DiStefano , posthumously, for his bequest that provided the financial security that allows us to serve our community in perpetuity.

Catherine Remak for her volunteer service as a Board of Director and as volunteer emcee at our annual Light Up A Light ceremonies.

Gerd Jordano and Kenny Slaught for their years of service and wise counsel while serving on our

Board of Directors.

Please join us as we honor these outstanding heroes!


 


 

 

We Are All Heroes...

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.  It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."

              - Arthur Ashe

What is a hero? Someone who inspires us by their example to show us that anything is possible?  Someone who by their decisions and actions demonstrate an uncommon courage?  Someone that finds the strength to overcome adversity and thrive?  Heroes are those who transform compassion into action.

 
One such hero was Alice Heath, the founder of Hospice of Santa Barbara.   Alice was first introduced to the hospice concept in 1973 after attending a workshop of death and dying.  Inspired by Dame Cecily Saunders' work in establishing St. Christopher's Hospice in London, the world's first purpose-built hospice, Alice was determined to bring that concept to the Santa Barbara community.

 
Alice's original vision for hospice was a place for the dying that expanded medical care for the terminally ill to include emotional, social, and spiritual care for both patients and their families.  When she sought the endorsement of the Santa Barbara County Medical Society, she was denied.  Undaunted, Alice visited St. Christopher's Hospice in London and returned more determined than ever to adapt the hospice concept to a Santa Barbara model.

 
Alice began a bold campaign to educate the community and gain supporters.  She was a tenacious visionary talking the unpopular topics of dying, suffering, caring and sorrow to the public.  She challenged the definition of pain at life's end.  Pain is physical, emotional, social and spiritual.  Pain should be treated with more than medications; it is also relieved by conversation, companionship, and spiritual support.  Alice championed the partnering of trained volunteers with health professional to deliver comprehensive and compassionate care.

 
Her persistence paid off and on December 3, 1974, Hospice of Santa Barbara began its over 40 years of service to the Santa Barbara community.

 
Within our hospice community is a hidden team of heroes - to all our clients and patients, their families and friends, the staff and volunteers, and our donors - kudos for all you do! 

Upcoming Events
August 2nd

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

"Parkinson's:  Along the Road to Hope"

Counseling Room by Dr. Daniel Joseph

Leigh Block Gallery at Hospice of Santa Barbara

Click here to read about Dr. Joseph and his art.

August 12th

5:30 - 7:00 pm

Opening Reception

"Celebration"

Solo exhibition by Margaret Singer

Leigh Block Gallery at Hospice of Santa Barbara

Click here to read about Ms. Singer and her art.

 
August 20th

4:00 - 6:00 pm

Community Five Wishes Workshop

The Alliance for Living and Dying Well offers free community workshops to facilitate end-of-life discussion and assistance in completing advanced health care directives.  Workshops are offered the third Thursday of each month at HSB. 
To register, please call 805-845-5314.

 

Ongoing Support Groups

Spotlight on Community Resource

The Muscular Dystrophy Association sponsors a support group for people involved with ALS and other progressive neuromuscular diseases. The group meets monthly on Fridays, from noon to 1:15pm at Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital located at 2415 De La Vina. Meetings are open to the public.

They are geared toward the special issues that accompany a progressive neuromuscular diseases such as ALS. Attendees include people who are living with a disease and/or their families and caregivers. 


Meetings are facilitated by Fran Finney, a physical therapist with extensive experience in working with ALS. Dr. Karen DaSilva, a local neurologist with a specialized background in progressive neuromuscular diseases, contributes her expertise.

The next meeting will be on Friday, August 21. The guest speaker will be Kate Carter from LifeChronicles®. LifeChronicles® is a non-profit organization that provides comfort to people during defining times in their lives by providing video recordings about their life experiences as well as their messages of love and wisdom for future generations.

To find out more information about the MDA support group meetings, please contact Fran Finney at fran.finney@gmail.com. Please include as subject of email "ALS meeting." 

Contact Us
Hospice of Santa Barbara
2050 Alameda Padre Serra
Ste. 100
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Phone: (805) 563-8820
Fax: (805) 563-8821

Email: info@hospiceofsb.org

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HSB Welcomes Brooke Johnson to its Patient Care Services Team

Hospice of Santa Barbara is pleased to announce Brooke Johnson as their new social worker/care manager. Brooke brings with her valuable internship work with cancer patients and their families, including developing and facilitating support groups and working with families to develop coping strategies.  To read more about Brooke, please click here.

Partnership in Action

Lynda Tanner and David Selberg

Staff and board members from Santa Barbara's two hospice organizations -- Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care and Hospice of Santa Barbara - came together for a joint mixer outside of HSB's Alameda Padre Serra headquarters.

 

Lynda Tanner, VNHC President and CEO, and David Selberg, CEO of HSB, each thanked the crowd for the services they bring the community.

"In a recent coffee with Lynda Tanner, as our conversation flowed, I was so moved by the simple fact that our two organizations together do the real charity care in this community," said Selberg. "This is care provided regardless of a person's socio-economic status or ability to pay.  Both our organizations do this through the donor dollar!  This is quite unique and extraordinary in a community of this size."


The two nonprofits routinely collaborate in providing a continuum of care that is seamless to the patients and families they serve.