Northern Illinois Hospice

What Northern Illinois Hospice does

Northern Illinois Hospice is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) hospice and palliative care provider founded in 1979 in Rockford, Illinois, operating as the region's first hospice and one of the first 50 hospices in the United States. The organization delivers end-of-life hospice care in patients' homes, nursing facilities, and private residences across six northern Illinois counties (Winnebago, Boone, Stephenson, DeKalb, Ogle, and western McHenry), and has progressively extended its service surface to include Northern Illinois Palliative Care for patients with chronic serious illness. Its core offering comprises expert medical care, pain and symptom management, integrated therapies (music therapy, pet therapy including a robotic companion under the Pet Peace of Mind program), medical equipment provision, caregiver training and respite, and a 13-month bereavement program that includes Tranquil Tuesdays, A Walkabout With Grief, Bridge of Hope groups, and Memorial Pillow Workshops. The underlying technology base is standard hospice care delivery augmented by these therapeutic services and an educational digital resource (The Reading Room) in English and Spanish, with no proprietary platform or software product documented.

The organization bills primarily through the Medicare and Medicaid hospice benefits and private insurance, with patient acquisition driven by physician referrals and healthcare-facility partnerships (referrers section targets physicians and affiliates). Donations, grants, and an annual charity golf event (the 38th edition) supplement reimbursement revenue through the Northern Illinois Hospice Foundation subsidiary. Customers are individual patients with life-limiting illnesses, their families and caregivers, referring physicians and healthcare facilities, and grieving community members; the Veteran Support program tailors service to veteran patients via a veteran-to-veteran volunteer model. The Payer mix is highly concentrated in federal/state reimbursement schedules, which sets the per-patient-day economics.

Governance rests with an Operating Board of Directors and a separate Foundation Board, alongside a CEO (Lisa Novak), CFO (Kim Ellis), Medical Director (Dr. Dale R. Gray), and a clinical/operational leadership team including a Director of Clinical Services, Director of Business Development, Director of Human Resources, bereavement coordinators, and a hospice nurse practitioner. Accreditation by The Joint Commission (Gold Seal of Approval, 2021) and memberships in NPHI, the National Alliance for Care at Home, the Illinois Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and the Rockford Regional Health Council anchor the organization's positioning as a community-rooted, compliance-oriented regional hospice provider.

Name

Northern Illinois Hospice

Legal name

Northern Illinois Hospice

Website

https://northernillinoishospice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Northern Illinois Hospice is a nonprofit hospice and palliative care provider serving six northern Illinois counties from Rockford since 1979. It delivers end-of-life and chronic-illness care in patients' homes and care facilities, reimbursed primarily through Medicare and Medicaid with supplemental donations and fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospice and Palliative Care Services

NAICS

Home Health Care Services (62161), Home Health Care Services (6216), Ambulatory Health Care Services (621)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082)

akta.pro primary industry

Home Hospice Agencies (HLAFAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hospice Care in Nursing Facilities (SNF/NH Hospice) (HLADAHAD), Hospice Care in Assisted Living / Residential Care Facilities (HLADAHAE), In-Home Hospice Nursing Visits (RN/LPN) (HSABAFAL), In-Home Hospice Physician / Nurse Practitioner Visits (HSABAFAM), End-of-Life Planning & Hospice/Palliative Care Coordination (HLADALAL), End-of-Life 24/7 In-Home Care (Hospice Support) (HSABAHAG)

Keywords

• Hospice care services
• Palliative care
• End-of-life care
• Bereavement support
• Home health hospice

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Medicare Hospice Benefit: Hospice care covered under Medicare hospice benefit for eligible patients, which includes medical equipment, medicines, and care services.
2. Medicaid Hospice Benefit: State Medicaid program coverage for hospice services for eligible individuals.
3. Private Insurance: Coverage from private insurance plans for in-home hospice care.
4. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Donations from community members, including the Pet Peace of Mind program funded by grants and donations, and 38th Annual Charity Golf Event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Northern Illinois Hospice delivers end-of-life hospice care to terminally ill patients in their homes or care facilities, supported by clinical medical care, integrated therapies, medications, medical equipment, and 13 months of bereavement support. It also operates Northern Illinois Palliative Care for chronic serious illness, plus caregiver support, grief support groups, pet therapy, and veteran volunteer programs across six northern Illinois counties.

Product overview

Northern Illinois Hospice operates as a single, unified hospice and palliative care service provider offering end-of-life care, palliative care for chronic illness, caregiver support, grief counseling, pet therapy, and educational resources. The organization functions as one integrated service rather than a platform with separate modules. Core services include hospice care delivered in patients' homes or facilities, Northern Illinois Palliative Care for chronic illness management, comprehensive caregiver training and support, grief support groups (Tranquil Tuesdays, A Walkabout With Grief, Bridge of Hope), pet therapy including the Pet Peace of Mind program with robotic therapy dog, The Reading Room educational resource, medical equipment provision, and veteran support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Northern Illinois Palliative Care: A service offered by Northern Illinois Hospice for individuals living with chronic serious illness, providing relief from pain, anxiety, and other symptoms to help patients remain comfortable at home while complementing ongoing treatments.

Products and services

• Hospice Care Services Core end-of-life hospice care providing comfort, dignity, and compassionate clinical care to individuals with life-limiting illnesses, delivered wherever the patient calls home (private residences, nursing homes, and care facilities) across six northern Illinois counties. Includes medical care, symptom management, medications, medical equipment, and emotional and spiritual support for patients and families.
• Northern Illinois Palliative Care Palliative care service that complements ongoing treatments for patients with chronic serious illness, providing relief from pain, anxiety, and other symptoms in the home setting to help patients remain comfortable while continuing curative treatments.
• Caregiver Support Services Training, education, and personal support for family caregivers of hospice patients, including social worker assistance, caregiving skills training, respite care, care coordination, and emotional support during the hospice journey.
• Grief Support Groups Bereavement support programs including Tranquil Tuesdays at Anderson Gardens (Rockford), A Walkabout With Grief at Sycamore Lake Rotary Park (second Saturday of each month), Bridge of Hope bereavement groups in Rockford and Sycamore, and Memorial Pillow Workshops, serving grieving community members for 13 months after patient death.
• Pet Therapy Program (Pet Peace of Mind) Pet therapy services including live therapy dog visits and a robotic therapy golden puppy (with built-in sensors, speakers, heartbeat, and lifelike coat responding to motion, touch, and voices), plus the Pet Peace of Mind program providing pet food, litter, medication, veterinary care, and pet walking to keep patients and their pets together during hospice transition.
• Medical Equipment and Supplies Provision of medical equipment and supplies for hospice patients at home, including oxygen tanks, hospital beds, walkers, and wheelchairs, covered under the Medicare hospice benefit for eligible patients.
• Veteran Support Program Specialized support and recognition for veteran hospice patients through a veteran-to-veteran volunteer program that pairs veteran volunteers with veteran patients for companionship and recognition of service.

Quantifiable outcome

• Patients reduce ER visits and hospital stays when referred to Northern Illinois Hospice

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Local Senior Care ExpertsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2022Partnership with local senior care experts for the Alzheimer's & Dementia Symposium held in June 2022. The event featured expert speakers on understanding Alzheimer and dementia, diagnosis, management, and hospice care timing.
• Screw City Jeeps 815minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 22 December 2020Community partnership for the Jingle Jammin Jeep Parade event in December 2020. Screw City Jeeps organized a parade of decorated Jeeps that visited local senior care facilities including Northern Illinois Hospice to spread holiday cheer during COVID-19 when residents were isolated.
• Pet Peace of Mind ProgramminorOthersNational initiative that provides direction to hospices on how to care for pets of hospice patients. The program helps keep pets and people together during hospice transition by providing pet food, litter, medication, veterinary care, and pet walking services. 100% funded by grants and donations.
• SwedishAmerican Health SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Lauren Ives practices at SwedishAmerican's Valley Clinic in Rockford, indicating a working relationship with SwedishAmerican Health System for hospice physician services.
• Anderson Japanese GardensminorOthersVenue partner for Tranquil Tuesdays grief support program. Located at 318 Spring Creek Road, Rockford, the garden provides a peaceful setting for grief support sessions held on Tuesday mornings.
• Sycamore Lake Rotary ParkminorOthersVenue partner for A Walkabout With Grief program. Located at 400 N Cross Street in Sycamore, the park offers a paved walking path for grief support walks held on the second Saturday of each month.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OSF Hospice: Operates hospice services across Illinois as part of the OSF HealthCare system, directly competing for hospice referrals and patients in northern Illinois counties overlapping with NIH's service area.
• Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care: Illinois-based nonprofit hospice and serious illness provider offering comparable hospice, palliative, and bereavement services, representing a regional nonprofit competitor with similar service-line breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Kindred at Home / Gentiva: One of the largest national hospice and home health operators with extensive Illinois footprint; competes directly for referrals and contracts with the same hospitals, physicians, and managed care payers in northern Illinois.
• Amedisys Hospice: National hospice provider with Illinois operations, offering hospice and palliative services at scale with sophisticated EMR, marketing, and payer contracting capabilities that smaller regional nonprofits struggle to match.
• VITAS Healthcare: Largest U.S. hospice provider (Chemed Corporation subsidiary) operating across multiple states including Illinois; competes for high-acuity and routine hospice referrals with substantial staffing resources.
• Compassus: National hospice, palliative, and home health provider with operations across the Midwest; directly comparable in service-line mix and competes for the same referral channels in Illinois.

Regional players

• Northwestern Medicine Hospice: Health system-affiliated hospice in northern Illinois suburbs, offering comparable hospice and palliative services to patients in geographies adjacent to NIH's core Rockford market.
• UnityPoint Hospice: Health-system-affiliated hospice serving parts of Illinois and the broader Midwest, providing a comparable integrated hospice/palliative care model anchored to a regional health system.

Others

• Pet Peace of Mind: National nonprofit program that NIH partners with to provide pet care services for hospice patients; a relevant ecosystem peer as an enabling program rather than a direct competitor.
• National Partnership for Hospice Innovations: Industry alliance of nonprofit hospice innovators of which NIH is a member; relevant as a peer ecosystem organization that shapes policy, benchmarks performance, and facilitates collaboration among comparable nonprofit hospices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-illinois-hospice
• Xx.com/NILHospice
• Facebookfacebook.com/northernillinoishospice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northern Illinois Hospice