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Home Health & Hospice Care Reopens Renovated Inpatient CenterHospice NewsDecember 13, 2023fMerrimack, NH—Home Health & Hospice Care has reopened its inpatient facility in New Hampshire after expanding with a new addition. The Community Hospice House opened in November and serves patients in Merrimack, New Hampshire. ... All told, the hospice anticipates serving more than 600 patients annually at the center going forward, HHHC President and CEO Barbara Lafrance told local news.

Gentiva Opens De Novo in TennesseeHospice NewsDecember 13, 2023Gentiva has opened a new hospice in Greeneville, Tennessee, the latest move in the company’s growth trajectory. The de novo opened earlier this month, and will serve patients, families and facilities across both Greene and Cooke counties in eastern Tennessee. ... Gentiva is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. 

Kaiser Permanente lays off 115 IT employeesModern HealthcareDecember 12, 2023Kaiser Permanente has joined a growing list of health systems cutting back their IT teams. The Oakland, California-based health system confirmed it eliminated 115 workers from IT positions last month. Kaiser declined to specify how many IT employees were retained or provide detail about the roles and locations affected. Overall, Kaiser has about 220,000 employees. 

Compassus Looking For More AI Use Cases, Risk-Bearing Partners In Near-Term FutureHome Health Care NewsDecember 12, 2023As artificial intelligence becomes more applicable in health care, home-based care providers are finally diving into use cases that may work for them. The Brentwood, Tennessee-based Compassus is a prime example of that. A forward-thinking provider, it has been utilizing RPM and telehealth for years, even prior to COVID-19. Now, it’s looking at ways it can fit AI into its operations. 

‘Hospice is more about living better’ transitional care director says of misunderstood programTribune-Review (Pittsburgh, PA)December 11, 2023... There is an assumption a patient entering hospice care is not expected to live beyond six months, a guideline that is tied to Medicare coverage. But the experience of individual patients can vary widely, as evidenced by [senior living residents] the Pattersons [Robert, 97, and Joyce, 90,] and by former president Jimmy Carter and his late wife, Rosalynn. Like many who elect to receive hospice care, Rosalynn Carter entered the program toward the very end of her life—just days before her death Nov. 19, at 96. But it’s also possible for patients to beat the odds and have hospice care extended. Jimmy Carter was 98 when he entered hospice in February and continues to endure. 

Children in hospice care gifted Christmas presents in Virginia BeachWVEC-TV (Norfolk, VA)December 10, 2023Virginia Beach, VA—It’s the season of giving and Edmarc and Dominion Energy are teaming up to give back to families who need it most. Sunday morning, Santa Claus and a team of helpers from Dominion Energy and Edmarc delivered Christmas gifts to families with children facing life-threatening, terminal illnesses. Edmarc, a nonprofit that helps children in hospice care, organized the effort. The organization’s assistant director, Dorothy Jenson, said it’s about taking the stress off families who need a reason to smile. “The holidays are especially hard for some families... This puts everybody into the spirit,” she said. “We treat the whole family, not just the child who’s sick.” She said her team wanted to lift spirits and make sure families with sick children can make the most of the holidays.

Hospice of South Texas guided Woodsboro woman through transition to afterlifeVictoria (TX) AdvocateDecember 9, 2023Woodsboro, TX—Rebecca Roitsch had suffered an accidental overdose on morphine after undergoing surgery to remove both of her breasts. Roitsch was battling an aggressive Stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to her bones and other organs, riddling her body with more than 30 metastases. ... She became a patient of the Hospice of South Texas in Victoria where health care providers aimed to ease her pain and heal her spirit as the inevitable approached. ... When Roitsch was first admitted into the Hospice of South Texas in April, she feared the worst. She worried the hospice would be a sterile place without life or love, where she would languish in a cold, unfamilar clinical setting. Quickly, she realized she had been wrong. ... “These people here came into (my hospice) room, and it was like lightning filled the room. I’m not kidding. They were real. They were just fabulous. They listened. They didn’t push you. If you couldn’t eat, then you couldn’t eat. They were just wonderful, and I started realizing that this was not what I had in mind at all.”

Teleios Collaborative Network Announces Teleios University GraduatesNews ReleaseDecember 7, 2023Hendersonville, NC—Teleios Collaborative Network announced its 2023 Teleios University graduates. Eleven individuals successfully completed the year-long program, earning their certificates in leadership excellence. TU’s Leadership Excellence program is unlike any other. This one-year course is provided through monthly webinars, experiential monthly activities, quarterly challenges and more. It culminates with a capstone project and earns each participant who completes the assignments a certification in leadership excellence. This year’s graduates include the following leaders in the Hospice and Serious Illness Sector:

How Health Equity Payment Models Are Impacting Hospice Staff DiversityHospice NewsDecember 8, 2023Recent health equity initiatives in hospice reimbursement may reverberate impacts into providers’ staff recruitment and retention strategies, particularly when it comes to leadership roles. ... While equity-focused reimbursement channels like ACO REACH hold promise in helping to reduce disparities, unknowns exist around how providers should shape their care delivery approaches and where to pour operational and financial resources, according to Hospice of Acadiana CEO Keith Everett. ... A key for hospices to understand about health equity payment programs is that strategies to improve disparities can come in a variety of ways, which can be both a challenge and opportunity for providers, Everett said. ... One area of focus is to grow a more diverse employee base—not just in terms of interdisciplinary staff who interact with patients and families, but also among leadership teams, according to André Lee, co-founder and administrator of Heart ‘n Soul Hospice. ... Community collaborations are key to knowing where to search for hospice professionals from diverse backgrounds, according to Agrace Hospice & Supportive Care CEO Lynne Sexten.

‘Rock Your Ugly Sweater’ event raised money for Hospice of SiouxlandKTIV-TV (Sioux City, IA)December 7, 2023Sioux City, IA—Christmas is just days away, and one local non-profit combined the spirit of Christmas with raising money for a good cause. Thursday night, Hospice of Siouxland held its 2nd annual ‘Rock your Ugly Sweater’ event. The 300 guests showed up in their craziest and ugliest Christmas sweaters to raise money for the organization. ... Especially for their Uncompensated Care, We Honor Veterans, and Making Memories programs.

South Arkansas Regional Hospital announces new inpatient hospice servicesBanner News (Magnolia, AR)December 8, 2023Magnolia, AR—South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado now offers general inpatient hospice services in partnership with Arkansas Hospice, the state’s largest non-profit provider of hospice care. The new service, which went into effect Dec. 1, demonstrates both organizations’ commitment to meeting the comprehensive healthcare needs of the community and ensuring compassionate care for patients and their families. ... With this GIP partnership, Arkansas Hospice will augment the direct patient care provided by South Arkansas Regional Hospital with an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers and chaplains to support patients and families during this challenging time. In addition, GIP patients will have access to dedicated family rooms designed to create a welcoming environment and ensure the comfort and privacy of patients and their loved ones, according to a press release issued by SARH. 

Here’s why you can’t die peacefully in Oklahoma.By Abby RemmingThe OklahomanDecember 6, 2023... Having Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan would cover hospice, but many people have private insurance from work or state Medicaid plans. Private insurance and Medicaid Advantage plans at times can have a hospice benefit but limit which companies can be used. Applying for Medicare will ensure you are covered for hospice. ... I currently work as a hospital social worker and assist many people who need hospice. Many times, I have had to share with patients and their families that, while they may be ready to peacefully pass away, hospice coverage is not included in the patient’s current insurance plan. Providing end-of-life care is extremely difficult without the added burden of worrying whether insurance will cover the benefit. Those without the benefit and who need the service are then reliant upon the generosity of the companies to absorb the cost. If the Medicaid Advantage plan is picked, a person would need to decide if they wanted the benefit to either cover nursing home care or in-home hospice care. A Medicaid Advantage plan might not cover hospice even when the policyholder believes they have the benefit. 

HopeWest accepting cryptocurrency donationsKREX-TV (Grand Junction, CO)December 6, 2023Grand Junction, CO—HopeWest, a nonprofit hospice care organization on the Western Slope, is moving ahead with the times and now accepting cryptocurrency donations. ... As of November 2022, HopeWest started accepting cryptocurrency donations and accepts around 100 different cryptocurrencies. HopeWest’s Debbie Horwitz tells WesternSlopeNow crypto donations benefit HopeWest donors by helping them avoid capital gains tax. Plus, crypto donations are tax deductible.