Center for Hospice Care launches campaign to renovate Elkhart Campus, celebrates 20 years of supporting patients and their loved ones in Elkhart   

On the evening of Wednesday, July 30, Center for Hospice Care (CHC) hosted a private kickoff event for its Elkhart Campus fundraising campaign at the Wellfield Botanic Gardens. This initiative is intended to raise 1 million dollars by the end of 2025 to support the comprehensive renovation of CHC’s Elkhart Campus. These upgrades will help CHC, a nonprofit organization, further its mission to ensure that everyone has access to hospice support, regardless of their ability to pay. Over 70 guests were in attendance, many of whom were current and former CHC board members and employees. The majority of the guests in attendance had, at some point or another, generously donated funds to support CHC.

“Many of the people who are here tonight were instrumental in helping us start this initiative in Elkhart 20 years ago,” said Mike Wargo, vice president and chief operating officer of CHC. “They continue to stay engaged and involved with us. Each guest was hand-selected to be a part of this event. This is a group of individuals who care passionately about the work that CHC has done in this community through the years and want to support that work as we continue forward. In my opinion, the people in this room represent the past, present, and future of hospice care in Elkhart. It is a joy to work with them.”

CHC’s presence in Elkhart County is built on a legacy that began in 1982, when a group of local volunteers founded Elkhart Community Hospice to provide compassionate end-of-life care. The program merged with Elkhart General Hospital in 1999, and in 2005, Elkhart General entrusted its hospice program to CHC. CHC has served Elkhart County since 2001 and is proudly celebrating 20 years of continuing this tradition of care. Today, CHC is the region’s foremost provider of hospice and palliative care, honoring the mission of those original volunteers with expanded services and an enduring commitment to the community.

Dick and Rita Strefling made a major lead gift to support the Elkhart Campus project after CHC provided compassionate care for Dick’s mother, Esther, at the South Bend hospice house. In her memory, the Elkhart inpatient unit was later named Esther’s House, honoring her life and the care that inspired the family’s generosity. This facility was intended to offer patients and their loved ones a relaxing home-like location on the 11-acre Elkhart Campus. The campus also features the Gardens of Remembrance and Renewal, a location where patients and their family members can reflect, pray, and seek solace in nature. Since it was first established, the Elkhart Campus has served more than 15,000 patients, with over 2,500 patients being treated at Esther’s House alone.

With a commitment to providing patients and their families with the best care possible, CHC plans to enact a sweeping renovation and upgrade of the Elkhart Campus. These will include the construction of a new maintenance garage, the addition of new furnishings and decorations throughout the campus’ buildings, an all-new nurse call system, and the installation of a cutting-edge Wanderguard System that will help monitor at-risk patients. A new water softener system will be installed, and the campus’ pergola will be replaced, offering patients and families a shady area where they can gather and relax.

“Once you use them for 17 years, things start to wear down and break,” Wargo said. “After a while, you need to update the facility and freshen things up. Additionally, there’s so much technology that either didn’t exist or was too expensive for us when we were establishing the Elkhart Campus back in 2007. Now that we have access to that technology, we are eager to implement it. We have already outfitted the Ernestine M. Raclin House, our Mishawaka-based in-patient unit, with state-of-the-art features. Our goal is to elevate our Elkhart facility in a similar manner.”

Wargo, who oversaw the original Elkhart Campus project as the volunteer board chair of the CHC’s Hospice Foundation, appreciates the fact that things have come full circle. He is once again working on the Elkhart Campus, only now as CHC’s vice president and chief operating officer.

The attendees at the kickoff event enjoyed cocktails and delicious finger foods as they caught up with one another. After hearing some remarks from members of the CHC leadership team, they watched a video produced by WNIT: PBS Michiana that outlined CHC’s history and emphasized the importance of the renovation initiative.

“The Elkhart community has supported us from the very beginning,” Wargo said. “There are so many people who continue to support us to this very day. I am pleased that we could bring together our close friends and supporters here tonight. We wanted them to understand what we’ve been able to accomplish together and what our plans for the future are. My hope is that everyone here leaves feeling proud about the legacy of hospice care in Elkhart County and that they will consider investing – or reinvesting – in the organization’s future.”

To learn more about Center for Hospice Care’s services and upcoming events, please visit cfhcare.org.