Major hospice providers are opening new inpatient facilities, community residences, and regional offices across the United States, accelerating a broader push to close geographic and demographic gaps in end-of-life care access as the U.S. population of adults 65 and older continues to grow.
Expansion activity in 2026 has spanned freestanding inpatient centers in Florida, multi-state acquisitions by national providers, and small community residences designed to serve patients who lack a suitable home environment. The U.S. hospice market was estimated at $31.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $45.3 billion by 2033, according to Grand View Research, with facility expansion among the primary growth strategies.
VITAS Breaks Ground in Florida
VITAS Healthcare, the nation’s largest hospice provider, broke ground in April 2026 on a new 12-bed, 14,000-square-foot inpatient hospice center in Port St. Lucie’s Tradition community. The facility — the first freestanding inpatient hospice unit in the city and VITAS’ initial inpatient site serving Florida’s Treasure Coast region — is expected to open in 2027 and serve more than 500 patients annually.
The center is designed for patients whose symptoms can no longer be managed at home, with private rooms and dedicated family spaces intended to support comfort and preserve dignity.
“Florida’s growth means more families are facing serious illness and the need for hospice care,” said Patty Husted, executive vice president at VITAS Healthcare. “Our responsibility is to meet that need with compassion, clinical excellence and timely access to the right level of care.”
VITAS has pursued parallel expansion elsewhere in Florida. A 12-room inpatient unit at Oak Manor in Largo opened in March 2026, bringing hospice care to Pinellas County residents. The company announced plans to begin serving Manatee County in summer 2026, extending its Florida network to 61 of the state’s 67 counties. Adults 65 and older comprise approximately 22 percent of Florida’s population, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. VITAS operates more than 30 inpatient hospice facilities nationwide.
Bristol Hospice Grows Footprint Across 25 States
Bristol Hospice has added patients in multiple states through acquisitions and de novo openings. In June 2026, Bristol acquired Hope Hospice & Palliative Care, which serves patients across the Memphis, Tennessee, region and was established in 2020. Earlier in 2026, three DaySpring Hospice offices in Alabama — in Enterprise, Dothan, and Andalusia — joined the Bristol network.
The provider now operates more than 80 locations in approximately 25 states and offers adult and pediatric hospice alongside palliative care. New locations have recently begun accepting patients in Lubbock, Texas; Tacoma, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; Burr Ridge, Illinois; Fort Worth, Texas; and Eastern Oklahoma.
Bristol’s stated strategy is to enter markets where access to quality end-of-life care has historically been limited by both geography and provider availability.
Community-Based Providers Fill Local Gaps
Facility expansion is not limited to large national operators. Circle of Life Hospice House, a four-bed adult family home in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, began serving patients in spring 2026. The private residence offers a homelike setting for patients who cannot receive care in their own homes — a model drawing attention as providers acknowledge that safe home hospice depends on having a suitable home environment and an available caregiver.
In Ohio, a new location for the Kobacker House — a nationally recognized inpatient hospice facility — is being established at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, with plans to expand the collaborative model to additional sites operated by Ohio’s Hospice statewide.
Persistent Gaps Drive Urgency
The expansion wave comes against a backdrop of documented access inequity. A 2026 peer-reviewed study published in Palliative Medicine found that 2.3 million Pennsylvania residents — 17 percent of the state’s population — live in hospice “cold spots” with severely limited access, with the highest concentration in rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.
National research has consistently identified compounding barriers in rural areas: insufficient reimbursement, geographic isolation, medical supply shortages, and workforce shortfalls. A 2026 consensus paper from the American Nurses Association identified systemic inequity in end-of-life care as a priority concern requiring coordinated policy action. Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous patients utilize hospice at significantly lower rates than the national average, according to prior research from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Federal regulators and industry advocacy groups have increasingly called for targeted expansion in underserved markets. Hospice News reported in May 2026 that palliative care collaborations are expanding into hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and community-based settings — a structural broadening of the care continuum.
Why This Matters for Home Care
For most families, hospice begins at home — and the quality of that environment directly shapes a patient’s comfort and dignity in their final weeks. New inpatient facilities serve as critical backup when symptoms escalate beyond what home care can address, but the primary setting remains the patient’s own room. Families preparing a home for comfort care can explore adjustable bed options designed to support positioning, caregiver safety, and patient dignity at sondercare.com/beds/.
