On Friday, May 14, 1999, Archbishop Justin Rigali blessed the Fern and Russell F. de Greeff Hospice House on the St. Anthony’s campus, marking the opening of the first freestanding hospice house in the St. Louis region. Today, 25 years later, Mercy Hospice South – de Greeff Hospice House remains one of only two hospice houses in the region providing much needed end of life care in a home-like setting for patients and families in need of this support.

The caregiving team at de Greeff Hospice House serves patients 24/7 providing comfort and compassion as patients complete their journey through this life. But care goes beyond the patient. The de Greeff hospice team also cares for and supports patients’ families by lifting the caregiving burden from them and providing the counseling they need to work through their own grief. Volunteers provide a tremendous amount of support–whether that’s through the visits of comfort dog Fred, baking cookies for everyone who enters the house or through their many other meaningful actions that make the hospice house feel like home.

The de Greeff Hospice House operates today the same way it was established – through the generous support of our community. Donors made construction of this leading facility a reality led by primary benefactors Fern and Russell de Greeff. During Russell’s own time in hospice care, Russell and Fern said they were divinely led to make the hospice house their legacy to their South County community.

The de Greeff Hospice House opened with 10 beds, and through an expansion completed in 2006, it now provides 18 patient beds. In its 25 years of caring for our community, the de Greeff Hospice House has provided more than $6 million in charity care.

Learn more about how you can support the de Greeff Hospice House through Mercy Health Foundation South.