Hospice & Community Care has inked a deal to affiliate with Hospice of Central Pennsylvania. The affiliation is set to solidify at the beginning of next year, with each organization retaining its own brand and locations.
Joining forces will also allow the two Pennsylvania-based nonprofit hospice and palliative care providers to realize cost-savings potential when it comes to purchasing durable medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies. These can represent significant expenses for hospice and palliative care providers in today’s reimbursement climate.
“Affiliating our two organizations is a step forward in achieving a shared ambition of sustainable palliative and end-of-life care and bereavement services, for patients and families in the communities that we serve,” Hospice & Community Care President and CEO Steve Knaub said in a statement. “Over the next several months, our organizations’ leadership will be working on a plan with the goal of a formal relationship on January 1, 2024.”
Each hospice has provided care in their respective communities for roughly 40 years.
Hospice of Central Pennsylvania operates two office locations and a six-bed inpatient facility in Harrisburg, the capital of its home state.
Hospice & Community Care also has two office locations in the state, along with a 24-bed inpatient center, a residential center and a bereavement facility, the Pathways Center for Grief & Loss.
The affiliation will provide the ability to work with more private insurances and Medicare Advantage plans, the hospices indicated in the statement. It will also allow both hospices to continue offering care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay, according to Knaub.
“Our vision is that every person living in our community will receive the care and compassion they need while coping with serious illness, facing end-of-life, or experiencing the loss of a loved one,” Knaub stated. “Providing care and support for people in the communities that we serve is our highest priority and we are committed to ensuring seamless care for our patients and their families.”
The move to affiliate is also aimed at improved recruitment and retention. Pooling financial resources augments the organizations’ purchasing power for expanded employee benefits during a time of widespread workforce shortages.
Currently, the organizations have a total of roughly 500 employees and an average daily census upwards of 700 patients, along with 1,242 volunteers that provided roughly 34,000 hours of services last year, the two hospices reported.
The ability to attract and retain clinicians is crucial to the combined organization’s plans to expand their footprint, according to Gil Brown, president and CEO at Hospice of Central Pennsylvania.
The hospices serve a total of eight counties across south central Pennsylvania, and parts of three others in the surrounding region.
“Hospice & Community Care and Hospice of Central PA have the opportunity to dramatically strengthen our combined not-for-profit missions,” Brown said. “Together we have the ability to provide the best possible outcomes for patients, families and our dedicated team members.”
Nearly 74,000 beneficiaries in Pennsylvania utilized the hospice benefit in 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Seniors are projected to represent more than a quarter (27.5%) of Pennsylvania’s overall population by 2030, a rise from 19.6% currently, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
The two affiliating hospice providers have existing referral relationships with five larger health systems in the area including Lehigh Valley Health Network, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, Penn State Health, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and WellSpan Health.
“We remain committed to the meaningful relationships that we have developed with all health care providers and long-term care communities and will continue to work collaboratively to best serve patients throughout south central Pennsylvania,” Brown said.
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