LLUH and Kara Health form joint venture to launch Loma Linda University Hospice

Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) and Kara Health are partnering to expand access to hospice services for patients and families across the Inland Empire. LLUH, a leader in clinical care and education, and Kara Health, a technology-enabled post-acute care organization, today announced the formation of a new joint venture: Loma Linda University Hospice.

The collaboration combines LLUH's clinical expertise and longstanding community presence with Kara Health's hospice infrastructure and technology platform. As healthcare systems continue to emphasize coordinated, high-quality end-of-life care, this partnership brings hospice services directly within the Loma Linda University Health network. The goal is to offer patients consistent, whole-person care that aligns with the standards of clinical quality, ethics, and compassion found throughout LLUH's hospitals, supported by Kara Health's operational expertise.

The Rationale: Mission-Aligned and Forward-Looking

LLUH chose to partner with Kara Health to leverage a proven, scalable engine for hospice delivery. Kara Health's industry-leading platform streamlines the complexities of home-based care, allowing clinicians to focus on patient comfort and family support rather than administrative hurdles.

"Caring for patients at the end of life is an essential part of the continuum," said Anthony Hilliard, MD, CEO of Loma Linda University Health hospitals. "To ensure patients and families receive the same compassionate, whole-person care at the end of life that they experience throughout our health system, we recognized the need for a more advanced hospice solution. We partnered with Kara Health because their technology and operational expertise allow us to extend our clinical excellence directly into patients' homes, ensuring dignity and compassion at every step of the journey.

The launch of Loma Linda University Hospice marks the second joint venture for Kara Health with a major health system, with additional joint ventures currently in development. This trajectory solidifies Kara Health's position as a preferred partner for hospitals seeking to internalize hospice services through a high-performance, tech-forward model.

"We are incredibly proud to stand alongside Loma Linda University Health in this venture," said Devan Walia, CEO of Kara Health. "At Kara, our mission is to help health systems manage the most complex patient populations at the end of life. Partnering with an institution of Loma Linda's caliber validates our model's ability to deliver elite-level care at scale. We aren't just launching a service; we are setting a new benchmark for how health systems and specialized partners should collaborate."

As the need for hospice and serious illness care continues to increase throughout the Inland Empire, Loma Linda University Hospice is also recruiting team members to support its launch and future growth.