
According to the owners, the House of Goshen, a recently opened hospice care center in Flossmoor, was meant to be.
The House of Goshen celebrated a ribbon cutting in the spring of last year, and its owners are happy to announce that it is now officially open for business. The Illinois Department of Public Health recently granted the hospice house its license to admit patients. The owners are now working on the next step: getting certified by Medicare.
The House of Goshen, a state-of-the-art 14-bedroom facility on Governors Highway, is the only independently owned stand-alone hospice center in the South Suburbs.
“There are only four independently owned inpatient hospice centers in Illinois,” said co-owner Hakeem Bello. “House of Goshen is the only Black-owned facility.”
Bello, who has a background in restaurant management, opened the House of Goshen with his wife, Sade. She worked in hospice care for many years and later directed other centers before the couple started their family business. They dreamed of building a hospice house to provide patients and their families with the best care imaginable. The Bellos learned they must become established hospice care providers to open a hospice center.
Fast-forward 11 years, and the Bellos have run a hospice care agency for over a decade. Bello describes Oasis Hospice and Palliative Care as one of Illinois’s best community-based hospice agencies.
“When you look at Oasis on Google, you will see that we are a 4.9-star agency,” Bello said. “On Medicare Compare, we are a five-star agency.”


The House of Goshen operates under the umbrella of the Oasis agency that provides outpatient hospice care to patients in their homes and other facilities. While the Bellos are not medical professionals, they manage a hospice team that includes doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, therapists, trained volunteers and other experts dedicated to hospice care.
“Oasis Hospice and House of Goshen bring value to the community,” Bello said. “It’s a needed service. Some people don’t know anything about hospice care. At the hospital, a social worker might rush a family through the process, which can cause family members to make mistakes.”
Bello explained that a lack of knowledge about hospice care might prevent family members from providing relief for their loved ones early enough to improve their situation. In some cases, Bello says, this can result in worse outcomes for their loved ones.
Bello explained that palliative care is when a patient with a serious condition needs considerable treatment to relieve their symptoms and provide comfort. Hospice care is a form of palliative care for terminally ill patients. Hospice patients usually receive a diagnosis from a doctor predicting that they have less than six months left of their lives.
“It is a free service provided by Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance,” Bello said. “We really need to let people know.”
Bello explained that there are four levels of hospice care. At the routine level, a hospice care provider might travel to patients’ homes, assisted living facilities, or nursing homes. Routine care sometimes involves a family member or other caregiver caring for a hospice patient. The team coordinates with patients’ physicians and medical providers to ease their pain and give them as much comfort as possible.
When a patient requires continuous care, their condition has reached crisis level. They need additional care for short-term management of severe symptoms. In these cases, a nurse usually stays in the patient’s home for an extended period. Oasis Hospice and Palliative Care provides the services described above.
Facilities like the House of Goshen serve other needs. Respite is an up to five-day stay at an inpatient care facility that allows a family member or caregiver to take a break or a vacation.
“There is a lot of caregiver burnout,” Bello said. If a caregiver needs rest, their family member can stay here while they take time off, and in most cases, it is free for the family.”
Inpatient hospice care is higher level short-term care that is sometimes necessary for hospice patients who have symptoms that need extra attention. When a patient’s condition is elevated to a level that requires more care, a patient might be admitted to a facility like the House of Goshen. Bello compares this to an intensive care unit for hospice patients. Family members are allowed to stay with the patients at the House of Goshen.
“Many hospitals and medical facilities have their own inpatient hospice wings or have partnerships with another center,” Bello said. “They aren’t always the best option, though, and families deserve the opportunity to make the best choice for their loved ones.”
Bello said that the stigmas attached to hospice care are often misguided. Fear, guilt and other emotional effects of grief might prevent family members from considering hospice for a loved one. He stresses that hospice reduces patients’ pain, and his team can provide counseling and other services to families. They try to work with the patient’s physicians, and because of the increased levels of care, the patient’s conditions often improve after entering hospice.
“There are many misconceptions about hospice care,” Bello said. “Families might have heard of other patients entering hospice and dying right away. This usually happens because the family has waited too long. We don’t hasten death, and we can’t prolong it, but a patient’s condition can improve, and we celebrate when we can discharge them and send them back home or to a facility.”
Faith is an essential idea for the Bellos. The name Goshen, taken from the Bible, refers to a land of comfort and plenty where Israelites found refuge in Egypt. The Bellos have tried to create this place of refuge at the House of Goshen. They pray for their patients and try comforting their family members with faith-based approaches. Sometimes, family members blame a higher power for the pain and loss they might feel—the team at Oasis and the House of Goshen try to help them deal with these emotions.
“In the midst of chaos, we try to offer peace,” Bello said. “We want them to come in here and feel the presence of God on them.”
They also try to be culturally sensitive. Bello said, “If a patient wants an imam, we will find one. We have had Catholic patients who requested priests, and we have accommodated them.”
Bello said that the location they chose on Governors Highway came to him in a dream. “About six years ago, I had a dream,” he said. “I mean, literally, the streets Governors and 198. I drove down, and it was all trees and bushes. I called the broker and said ‘this is what I want to do.”
The Bellos were lucky to find some building plans that reflected their vision. However, they faced hurdles when discovering the cost of purchasing the property and constructing the facility. Eventually, everything aligned, and they made it happen.
“God gave us the ability to acquire the land,” Bello said.
According to Bello, the property was in unincorporated Cook County, and they had no problems getting the land annexed into Flossmoor. Bello said they appreciated the help of local officials, especially the village trustees and the mayor of Flossmoor.
While they are already helping patients in the new facility, the Bellos are looking forward to when the rest of their certifications are complete. People interested in the House of Goshen can learn more on their website and look for updates on their social media sites.

a grand opening celebration April 11, 2024, for the House of Goshen hospice at 19810 Governors Highway in Flossmoor.
(Chronicle file photo)