History

The word "hospice" was used during the Middle Ages to refer to a lodging place where weary and sick travelers could stop and refresh themselves. The term was first applied to specialized care for dying patients in 1967 when Dr. Cicely Saunders established St. Christopher's Hospice in a residential suburb of London.

Marguerite Nash and Helen Lagen founded Mission Hospice of San Mateo County. The pair was drawn to hospice service from different directions. Nash, known as "Mac" to her friends, was a cancer patient. In 1977 doctors told her she had two months to live. In fact, she lived for another two years, long enough to meet Lagen who had just suffered through the death of a close friend. The two formed a partnership that is still affecting lives. In March of 1979, Mission Hospice was incorporated in San Mateo County. "Mac" Nash became the first Mission Hospice patient. Since that time, Mission Hospice has served thousands and thousands of terminally ill patients and their loved ones.

Board of Directors

Co-Founder and Honorary Lifetime Board Member - Helen Lagen
Chair - Mary D. Chigos, RN, NP
Vice-Chair - Sheila Young
Treasurer - Robert M. Adams III
Secretary - Ann Regan

Member-at-Large - Sean Stannard-Stockton

Members: Peggy Andrews, Glenda Carney, Kathryn Diamond, Judy DiPaolo, Margaret Flynn, Ralph Garcia, Jr., Sheila Littrell, Danette H. Magilligan, Robert Sawyer, Michael N. Teutschel and George Thomas.

Auxiliary

President - Glenda Carney, Co-President - Mary Lehmkuhl
1st Vice-President - Yolanda Crosby, 2nd Vice-President - Karen Beainy
Recording Secretary - Barbara Leonard
Corresponding Secretary - Margaret Flynn
Treasurer - Sandy Dennison

Staff

Executive Director - Dwight Wilson, RN

Director of Community Outreach - Reverend Linda Siddall, Chaplain
Director of Administration and Finance - Ted S. Magbitang

Director of Patient Services - Barbara Feduska, BSN
Manager, Volunteer Program and Transitions Program - Matt McCoy

Medical Director - Ken Barnes , MD.