Hands of Hope Hospice is now 25 years old. Resource Specialist Jim Pierce, who has been with the program since the beginning, says Hands of Hope provides a caring companion for patient and family on life’s final journey.

Pierce says the forerunner of Hands of Hope began in the early 80s when the hospice movement was just getting started. That volunteer program folded after the merger that created Heartland Health. Heartland launched Hands of Hope in 1987. It now serves 11 Northwest Missouri counties out of offices in Saint Joseph and Stanberry.