Hospices Facilities Launch, Renovate With Growth in Mind

Julia Hospice & Palliative Refuels De Novo Plans

Pennsylvania-based Julia Hospice & Palliative (JHPC) has reignited plans to launch a de novo after experiencing pandemic-related setbacks.

Dubbed Julia House, the facility will provide inpatient hospice and serve as an outpatient palliative care clinic. It will be the first hospice center in Erie County, Pennsylvania, the provider indicated.

The new location will allow for improved support for serious and terminally ill patients that lack caregiver support or need higher levels of care, said Dr. Christopher Strzalka, medical director at Julia Hospice & Palliative Care.

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“For people who don’t have a caregiver in their home, we can put them in our facility and they can live there until their natural death, and they’ll have access to specially trained caregivers in end-of-life care,” Strzalka told local news. “It’s also going to have an outpatient palliative medicine clinic to support all adults in the county who are living with any serious illness, trying to make their lives and the quality of their lives better.”

The nonprofit launched a capital campaign to fuel the center’s development following its establishment in April 2020. The organization planned to begin construction in 2022 and open by the end of 2023.

Progress on the new center slowed as construction and operating costs rose during the COVID-19 outbreak. Julia Hospice & Palliative Care is holding a fundraising event on October 5 to garner support to refuel construction efforts. A new opening date has not yet been announced.

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MultiCare Revamping Hospice Center Into SNF

Washington-based MultiCare Health System is temporarily closing its inpatient hospice center to repurpose the building as a skilled nursing facility (SNF).

Operated by MultiCare Yakima Memorial Home Health & Hospice, the facility shuttered operations Wednesday as the health system undergoes a SNF certificate of need process.

Mounting hospice reimbursement pressures and increased patient preferences for home-based care were among the closure’s driving forces, according to Marcus Perry, corporate communications specialist at MultiCare.

“The current financial situation at Cottage in the Meadow is no longer sustainable,” Perry told local news. “Changes in end-of-life care patient preferences and reimbursement practices have led to our resulting, ongoing operational losses for the past five years.”

MultiCare Health System operates 12 hospitals and 300 primary, urgent, pediatric and specialty care locations in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

The center, Cottage in the Meadow, opened in September 2012 fueled by more than a decade of philanthropic donations. It began as part of the Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital’s palliative care program prior to its acquisition by MultiCare last January.

The 20-patient bed center was the only inpatient hospice facility located in Yakima County, Washington. The health system anticipates the location to remain closed until the end of 2025.

Inpatient hospice services will still be available at the SNF upon its yet-to-be-determined reopening in addition to short-term rehabilitation services. The facility will be expanded to 32 patient beds, with renovation costs totaling roughly $440,100, the health system stated in a letter of intent to the Washington State Health Department.

Hospice House of Williamsburg Temporarily Closes

Virginia-based Hospice House of Williamsburg has temporarily shuttered its inpatient facility as it undergoes renovations.

The nonprofit has provided hospice care to nearly 3,000 patients at the four-room center since its opening in 2002. The hospice facility is projected to reopen in the fall.

The closure decision was not part of the initial plans, but ultimately reached to ensure quality care delivery to terminally ill patients during the project.

“Our original plan was to complete the lobby area before tackling two of our four guest rooms, allowing us to remain open throughout the work,” the organization said in an announcement. “We believe that the quality of end-of-life care we provide for our guests and their loved ones would be compromised if we tried to operate in conjunction with a project of this magnitude, and we are not willing to risk an unpleasant experience for any guest or family.”

In its third stage of updates, renovations to the hospice facility include adding space for family member stays in each patient room, a new nurse station, technology and structural upgrades, and family gathering areas.

Established in 1982, Hospice House of Williamsburg provides care across the eastern region of Virginia known as the Coastal Plain.

The hospice anticipates pouring $650,000 into the renovation process. An estimated 50 patients will be impacted by the temporary closure.

Delaware Hospice Expands with New Location

Delaware Hospice recently opened a new office location in southern Pennsylvania to improve care coordination.

Located in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, the office serves as a hub for interdisciplinary teams to assess and address patient and family needs.

Having a location in this geographic region is an important part of sustaining growth and providing quality end-of-life care support, according to Anne Mueller, program development specialist at Delaware Hospice.

“We are very excited to move into the new Glen Mills location,” Mueller said in a statement. “Our expansion provides our team with a new facility where we can meet to collaborate and assess the needs of our patients, families and organization. We are delighted to continue to provide care and support to Southern Chester and Delaware Counties.”

Established 1982, the nonprofit provides hospice and adult and pediatric palliative care across Delaware and two counties in Pennsylvania. Delaware Hospice also provides bereavement support and nonmedical transitional services.

The hospice provider is currently hiring a range of administrative, clinical and interdisciplinary roles across its geographic service region, as well as a new business development executive position near its new office location.

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