Ohio’s Hospice, Kettering Health Launch Hospice, Palliative Fellowship

Ohio’s Hospice and the Kettering Health hospital system are collaborating on a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship to help bolster the field’s physician workforce. The program will accept two fellows annually at Kettering’s Soin Medical Center and two Ohio’s Hospice affiliates, Pure Healthcare and Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton.

Since long before the pandemic, the workforce shortages occurring throughout the industry has included physicians as well as members of other disciplines. An April 2018 study found that the United States has 13.35 hospice and palliative care specialists for every 100,000 adults 65 and older. The research estimated that by 2040 the patient population will need 10,640 to 24,000 specialists; supply is expected to range between 8,100 and 19,000.

“This fellowship is part of our ongoing commitment to advance and innovate hospice and palliative care, not only for the communities we serve, but also for other communities throughout the nation as these physicians move forward in their careers,” said Kent Anderson, CEO of Ohio’s Hospice. “This fellowship will inspire physicians to become outstanding clinicians and dedicated mentors in hospice and palliative medicine.”

Ohio’s Hospice is a statewide alliance of nonprofit providers established in 2013 that collaborate on back office functions and expenses and leverage their collective size in negotiations with vendors, payers and referral sources. The collaborative began with three hospice members and now includes 11 organizations.

Ohio had the sixth highest rate of hospice utilization among Medicare decedents during 2018 at 56.7%, the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization reported. The national average that year was slightly higher than 50%.

Most medical, nursing and social work students receive little training in hospice and palliative care during the course of their education. A 2018 study found that most would not feel prepared to provide family-centered care in the final stages of life.

The Ohio’s Hospice-Kettering fellowship is available to physicians who are beginning in careers or for more experienced practitioners who want to adopt a new specialty. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) recently accredited the program.

Ohio’s Hospice also has a hospice and palliative fellowship program with Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.

The fellowship will incorporate components designed around self-care for clinicians to help manage the stress of hospice and palliative care professions and stave off burnout. About 62% of hospice clinicians have experienced burnout at some point in their careers, according to a 2019 study.

The first year’s fellows are Hiep Luu, D.O., and Janna Quiling, D.O., both of whom have finished a family medicine residency at Grandview Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio.

“This partnership with Ohio’s Hospice will allow us to bring an excellent palliative and hospice education fellowship program to local resident physicians,” said Robert Smith, M.D., network chief medical officer and designated institutional official of Kettering Health. “The extensive training experiences provided to physicians will advance the care provided to patients in the communities we serve.”