The History of Home Health & Hospice Care

Home Health & Hospice Care traces its roots to 1883 and the founding of the Good Cheer Society by a group of young Nashua women who were concerned with the health and welfare of the community’s poor and disadvantaged. The members of the Good Cheer Society visited sick mill workers and their children.

In 1902, the Society hired its first nurse. As the need for services grew over the years, more nurses and a supervisor were employed, and the Nashua Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) was formed, becoming one of the nation’s first VNAs.

For over a century, the Good Cheer Society has continued its active support of the agency, both through the volunteer efforts of its members and through its financial contributions to help support programs. In recent years, the Society’s generosity has allowed HHHC to acquire state-of-the-art medical and business equipment.

Home Health & Hospice Care, as it exists today, was created in January 1989 through the merger of the Nashua Visiting Nurse Association, the Merrimack Valley Home Health/Visiting Nurse Association, and Community Hospice of Nashua. The consolidation of these three agencies created an organization that could offer area residents a comprehensive range of home health care services, from prenatal care to bereavement support.

In December 2000, HHHC admitted its first patient to the Community Hospice House in Merrimack. The 16-bed facility serves patients who do not have a primary caregiver at home or whose symptoms require medical intervention that cannot be provided in the home setting.

Today, Home Health & Hospice Care is an independent, non-profit visiting nurse association.  Over 300 clinicians and administrative staff provide a broad range of health services to people of all ages, medical conditions, and financial circumstances across approximately 25 communities in southern New Hampshire.