A number of hospices across the country have expanded their footprints or launched new facilities.

AccentCare Unveils Florida De Novo

AccentCare is expanding its presence in Florida with the launch of a de novo in the Miami area.

Patients at the new 30,000-square-foot facility will have access to 24/7 general inpatient hospice care. The center’s interdisciplinary staff will also offer spiritual, bereavement and companion support, memorial programs, respite services and music therapy

Growing its footprint in Miami is key to improving equitable access among the area’s many diverse communities, according to Andy Johnston, president of hospice and personal care services at AccentCare.

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in the Miami area, offering compassionate and personalized hospice care for more patients and their families in Florida’s diverse communities,” Johnston said in a press release. “This facility builds on our mission to provide quality care and support patients’ physical, emotional and spiritual needs through their end-of-life journey.”

Dallas-headquartered AccentCare provides hospice, home health, personal and palliative care across 32 states and in the District of Columbia. The company has an average annual census of more than 200,000 patients. AccentCare also offers non-medical services, care management and veterans services. The company also focuses on staff training for culturally appropriate and LGBTQ+ inclusive care delivery.

AccentCare is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Advent International, which purchased the provider from Oak Hill Capital Partners in 2019 for an undisclosed sum. The company merged with Illinois-based Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care in 2020.

The company plans to continue expanding in the South, according to Pedro Del Campo, executive director of AccentCare.

“As the southern part of the country continues to grow, the need for hospice care becomes increasingly critical,” Del Campo said. “Our enhanced capacity to accept more acutely ill patients offers our partner hospitals a vital discharge alternative, ensuring patients receive the support, dignity and comfort they need during end-of-life care.”

Circle of Life Hospice’s New Nevada Location 

Nevada-based Circle of Life Hospice has opened a new facility in its home state.

The nonprofit organization recently launched the three-bed inpatient hospice in northern Nevada, which will offer care to patients who lack caregiving support, are unhoused or cannot afford room and board. The hospice offers support at the center at no cost to patients and their families.

The hospice provider has plans to build a second location on the property with an aim to eventually serve roughly 270 patients annually at both centers, according to Michelle Cagle, CEO and administrator at Circle of Life Hospice.

“Whether they are homeless … elderly, their wife can’t take care of them, they’re just not able to afford it or they don’t have any family or children — that’s what we do,” Cagle told local news. “[We] opened this house to care for those people.”

The hospice center’s opening was in part fueled by donations through its philanthropic arm, the Circle of Life Hospice Foundation. Established in 1999, the foundation helps support the hospices’ strategic initiatives to expand its community education, caregiving support, therapeutic services and inpatient end-of-life care. Additional funding came with state and federal grants.

Circle of Life is in the works of launching another hospice facility, anticipating its opening in approximately two years. The center will feature 10 patient beds and provide a home-like environment for terminally ill individuals unable to receive end-of-life support in the home.

All told, the hospice projects serving an annual census of roughly 221 patients at both facilities.

The hospice is currently building the financial and operational steam to operate two inpatient centers, according to Chaz Blackburn, director of volunteer services and spiritual care chaplain at Circle of Life Hospice.

“We want to create a space where patients can have guests who come, if they do have families, and they can have lunch together and be able to just have dialogue and enjoy life,” Blackburn told local news. “It’s not just money … it’s volunteering; it’s landscaping. There’s so many opportunities, and we can do this. We are stronger united.”

Good Samaritan Prepares to Open New Inpatient Center

Virginia-based Good Samaritan Hospice Inc. has opened a new inpatient center in the southwest region of its home state.

Opening the 30,000 square-foot inpatient facility has been among Good Samaritan Hospice’s goals since its establishment more than 30 years ago, according to Aaron Housh, president and CEO of the organization. The $13 million center will allow for expanded end-of-life support to terminally ill patients and their families with higher acuity needs, he stated.

“Our primary focus will always be taking care of patients at home,” Housh told local news. “But when that’s not possible — maybe someone has pain or needs respite, or a situation just arises that they need a different level of care — then we will be able to provide that in a facility that looks and is designed to be as homelike as possible.”

Good Samaritan Hospice has more than 150 employees who care for patients across 14 cities in Virginia. The nonprofit provider is both Medicare- and Medicaid-certified and offers community-based hospice, therapy services, memory/legacy programs and bereavement support.

Its new facility’s location in Roanoke, Virginia is near the Appalachian Mountains’ Blue Ridge region, a predominantly metropolitan area surrounded by sprawling rural communities. The location was a pivotal consideration in terms of access, with two larger health care and hospital systems nearby, according to Housh.

The 16-bed inpatient center has been four years in the making and features a living room, dining area, family rooms, a chapel and gardens. Dubbed the Sheila S. Strauss Hospice House, the facility was launched with funding support from a capital campaign started by local resident Maury Strauss after his wife received end-of-life support provided by Good Samaritan.

Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care Expands Inpatient Unit

Colorado-based Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care is expanding its inpatient care unit.

The $8.5 million expansion includes adding 12 patient rooms to the hospice provider’s inpatient unit at CommonSpirit – Penrose Hospital. Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care operates the unit independently of the hospital.

Expanding its inpatient care capacity in the hospital setting will allow more patients to receive end-of-life support in a home-like environment, according to Andy Petersen, executive director at Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation, the organization’s philanthropic arm.

“The benefit of us being able to design something on our own is it removes that hospital-type setting and makes it a homelike experience,” Petersen told local news. “It’s going to be a great service for the community.”

Pikes Peak is an affiliate of Care Synergy, a group of nonprofit home health, hospice and palliative care providers in Colorado. The hospice offers 24/7 inpatient care to patients at the hospital-based unit.

The expansion was in part driven by pandemic-related impacts, according to Peterson. Access was limited during the outbreak as the hospital experienced an influx of patients with COVID-19 and needed the additional space. This led to greater recognition for a larger hospice unit with the ability to support more patients, he indicated.

Pikes Peak anticipates serving more than 2,000 patients annually at the unit.

“We realized in leasing those beds we were not necessarily in control, and if something else happened we could potentially lose the entire floor,” Peterson said in a local news report.