Eden Health Begins Offering Hospice, Palliative Care in Idaho

Home health agency Eden Health has added hospice and palliative care in its eastern Idaho market. The company’s operation in the town of Idaho Falls recently obtained Medicare certification as well as accreditation from Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC).

Eden Health is a subsidiary of EmpRes Healthcare, which provides management and consulting services to rehabilitation and post-acute care centers, assisted and independent living communities and home health, home care, palliative care, and hospice agencies in nine Western states.

“We are beyond thrilled to add hospice, home care and a robust palliative care program to our, now complete, continuum of care,” said Jamie Brown, vice president of Eden Health. “As an accredited organization, we are held to a much higher quality standard and are proud to live up to that each and every day, treating patients as loved family members.”

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Parent company EmpPres Healthcare is 100% employee owned. EmPres offers an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Employees are fully vested in the plan after six years of working for the company.

Eden’s hospice program also provides advance care planning services, assistance with accessing community resources to address social determinants of health, help with funeral and memorial planning and disease process education for patients and families.

Expansion of the hospice and palliative care programs will be a priority for Eden during the next 12 months.

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Idaho was ninth in the nation for hospice utilization in 2018, with 53.9% of Medicare decedents electing the benefit, up from 51.9% the prior year, according to the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization. The national average was 50.3% that year. 

The Idaho population is aging faster than the national average. The number of state residents age 65 or older rose 30% between 2010 and 2016 compared to 22% for the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Individuals born between 1946 and 1964 represent 15% of the Idaho population.

“Our goal is to ‘keep health care local’ to ensure that each community is represented and strategies are implemented specifically to meet the needs of the residents in the communities that we are so honored to serve,” Brown said. “Our home health agency is one of the only 5-star rated agencies in the area, and while hospice doesn’t have a star rating, a quality-related focus is as equally important to us.”

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