Fast Facts about VITAS

Here are some facts and figures about VITAS Healthcare:

• VITAS has more than 40 years of experience in hospice care and is the nation's largest single-source provider of end-of-life care.
• The name VITAS is pronounced VEE-tahs and is derived from the Latin word for "lives."
• 10,003 VITAS professionals provide care to 18,076 patients daily throughout 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
• VITAS is a Founding Benefactor of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, the nation’s first comprehensive institute for the advancement of research, education and caregiving for those near death.
• The authoritative hospice text, originally published in 2002 and reprinted in 2011 as End of Life Care: A Practical Guide, was compiled by former VITAS Chief Medical Officer Barry M. Kinzbrunner, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, with contributions by 19 VITAS clinicians—from physicians to chaplains, and every hospice discipline in between.
• VITAS has won the Trailblazer Health Award presented by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in recognition of VITAS’ ongoing efforts to expand awareness of and access to hospice services for African Americans.
• VITAS Healthcare provided $12 million in genuine charity care to hospice patients nationwide in 2021. This represents an average of 1 percent of our gross revenues—a ratio that few, if any, hospice providers can match.
• VITAS provides care in 25 inpatient hospice units as well as patients' homes, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities for older adults.
• 3,463 trained VITAS volunteers provided 124,174 hours of care during 2021.

Last updated: April 2023