Hospice of the Western Reserve has moved forward with the launch of its foundation aimed at supporting the provider’s endeavors to expand bereavement, palliative and pediatric care services, among others.

The Hospice of the Western Reserve Foundation will operate as a separate public charity, creating a pool of funding to support the hospice provider’s expanding service lines once receiving approval as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Thus far, the foundation’s impending impetus has already had a significant impact on the provider’s ability to raise funding support, according to Hospice of the Western Reserve President and CEO William Finn.

The ball started rolling forward on the foundation’s launch in 2019 in a move made in concert with Hospice of the Western Reserve’s parent company, Western Reserve Care Solutions, according to Finn. Funded through donations in support of the hospice provider’s projects and programs, the foundation is anticipated to be operational later this year.

The foundation was created to essentially support activities and services that are not covered by Medicare and other third-party insurances, as well as to create a pool of funds that can be used to support innovative and generative work, Finn told Hospice News.

“The foundation gives us the flexibility to serve our community as we feel we need to at a time when we don’t expect Medicare or bundled payment or risk revenue to go up,” said Finn. “We expect there to be a tightening of reimbursement, and the need in our community does nothing but grow. We think the best and highest service is where we can meet the unique needs of our communities through this foundation’s efforts, rather than scale down or cut back in order to have the ability to add services.”

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Hospice of the Western Reserve serves 1,200 patients daily across nine counties throughout the state’s northern region, providing palliative care and hospice to adult and pediatric patients alike. Demographic tailwinds are fueling rising demand for hospice and palliative care in The Buckeye State.

Adults 65 and older accounted for 17.5% of Ohio’s overall population in 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. Ohio is projected to see a surge in its aging population by 2030. The provider has been working to expand its breadth across the continuum of care, seeing the foundation as a way to branch out with community engagement and spread awareness of serious illness and end-of-life care.

While the majority of hospice patients are seniors by far, providers are recognizing and responding to a growing need for pediatric services. Youth-specific hospice patients are among the most underserved demographics, and they face a variety of end-of-life care needs that are unique from those of adults.

The majority of children with serious illness are cared for exclusively by primary care or subspecialty clinicians, according to research by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Quite a few areas of need exist in adult and pediatric hospice care that the foundation aims to address, Finn told Hospice News, particularly the community’s rising demand for palliative care. Hospice of the Western Reserve’s pediatric hospice and palliative care is an integral part of the services it provides to the community. In tandem with its adult palliative care services, the hospice provider reaches around 7,000 patients at home each year, stated Finn, with a “very strong presence” in the community for grief services as well.

The foundation will look at supporting the hospice’s entire continuum of supporting patients and families through the end of life through art, music and other therapies, as well as raising awareness within the community about the continuum of services.

“We would turn to the foundation to help us support programs like these that aren’t covered by the insurance revenue we receive,” Finn said. “We need to turn somewhere for funds, and we think the foundation strategy is a really good one to pick up those special projects.”

Thus far, roughly $750,000 in pending gifts to support the hospice provider’s continuum of care and its deepening reach into the community. These funds will be allocated to the foundation’s efforts with approval of its 501(c)(3) status, stated Finn.

“The foundation has already had a significant impact on our ability to raise money and support the mission of Hospice of the Western Reserve,” Finn told Hospice News. “Looking back at the last six months of our fundraising efforts, I would suggest that we raised above and beyond what we normally raise. We have about another three quarters of a million in pending gifts that we think will be realized very soon.”

The hospice raised these funds in addition to nearly $3.5 million supporting construction and operation on its $3.25 million facility, the Care Solutions Center. Breaking ground in March, the center features an advanced technology system aimed at improving operational efficiency and patient experiences and represents a technological investment anticipated to bring significant savings in the long-run, Finn told Hospice News.