The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate psychometrically an abbreviated instrument to assess hope in adults in clinical settings. The Herth Hope Index (HHI), a 12-item adapted version of the Herth Hope Scale (HHS), was tested with a convenience sample of 172 ill adults. Alpha coefficient was 0.97 with a 2-week test-retest reliability of 0.91. Criterion-related validity was established by correlating the HHI with the parent HHS (r = 0.92), the Existential Well-Being Scale (r = 0.84) and the Nowotny Hope Scale (r = 0.81). Divergent validity with the Hopelessness Scale was established (r = -0.73). Construct validity was supported through the factorial isolation of three factors: (a) temporality and future; (b) positive readiness and expectancy; (c) interconnectedness. These three factors accounted for 41% of the total variance in the measure.