First Christian Church Contributes to Quality End-of-Life Care

The Hildegard House has provided quality end-of-life care during the last months of life for people without a home in Louisville since 2016. First Christian Church of Louisville has been proud to support this ministry with Wholeness Grants since 2017. Grant funds have been used for volunteer training, food staples and treats for the residents, and now, in 2019 to help pay the utility bill for the house, which is about $12,000 per year.

Hildegard House provides a home and compassionate care to individuals at the end of life who have no home or loved ones to care for them, so that they may die with dignity. Residents are not charged any fees nor does Hildegard House bill insurance. Each resident receives care from Hosparus Health, just as if they were in their own home. The heart of Hildegard House is our volunteers called Compassionate Companions. They commit to a 5 hour shift each week. It takes 42 volunteers a week to staff Hildegard House. Hildegard House can serve 3 residents at a time and has served 68 individuals, including homeless, veterans, widows and those that have no one else in this world to care for them at the time of their death.

St. Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval German Benedictine mystic, is the patroness of Hildegard House. She practiced hospitality, and believed all life carries Divine energy. In line with this tradition, Hildegard House provides so much more than just a bed in a room, the staff and volunteers provide the hospitality of a home, an extended family, and a death with dignity.

The wholeness grant used to fund this ministry was made possible through your faithful financial support of our church and its ministries and help fund a variety of efforts to make our world a better place.

You can find more examples of those efforts or apply for a grant to make the world a better place by clicking here.