Arkansas-based Hospice of the Ozarks has launched a non-medical care training program to improve caregiving support.

The hospice’s new Care Coaching program is being offered at no cost to family caregivers. Through the program, interdisciplinary staff use phone calls and in-person visits and assessments to assist caregivers who are navigating the needs of serious and terminally ill patients in the home.

These services are designed to help educate caregivers on the resources available to them and address some of their largest practical and personal challenges, said Greg Wood, executive director at Hospice of the Ozarks. Providing care coaching could ultimately result in improved goal-concordant outcomes, he stated.

“The Care Coaching program is a non-medical service to individuals living with serious, chronic medical conditions who are struggling to maneuver the health care system,” Wood told Hospice News in an email. “This includes regular phone calls to help serve as an advocate for the client when juggling appointments, information and life wishes. This also includes one-on-one contact as wanted and needed as the relationship develops.”

The coaching program provides caregivers with guidance on medication management, insurance navigation, transportation, advance care planning and care coordination. Patients do not need to be hospice eligible for caregivers to receive these services.

Led by Carol Jackson, care coach at Hospice of the Ozarks, the program began in part due to an array of pressures that today’s family caregivers face, according to Wood.

Mounting challenges have included the fragmented health care system, financial strain and a lack of supportive resources. Caregivers are often not aware of respite services available to them, or about the community support and education that many hospices provide nationwide. These factors can pose barriers to caregivers’ ability to support patients’ goals of care, Wood stated.

“We have seen a larger number of seriously ill people struggle with keeping up with the demands of the complexities in health care,” he said. “We have found them exhausted, frustrated and discouraged with communications and keeping track of all the moving parts in health care.”

Hospice of the Ozarks provides palliative care and facility- and home-based hospice across two counties in Arkansas. The organization operates a 12-patient bed facility located in Mountain Home, Arkansas, which provides general inpatient and routine hospice care as well as respite services.

Established in 1979, the nonprofit is a subsidiary of the Baxter Health hospital system and also offers community education, pet therapy and veteran services, as well as operating a children bereavement program, Camp Willow.

The hospice’s new care coaching program represents an opportunity to fill a growing gap of unmet community needs amid rising demand, Wood said.

The care coaching program is meant to change this status quo not only around caregiving support, but also in breaking down misconceptions and fears about hospice, he indicated. Community members will hopefully gain a better understanding about their end-of-life and serious illness care options, which could improve access and utilization, Wood added.

Adding the new services will hopefully improve timely access to hospice and palliative care, boosting both census and referral volumes as the program progresses, he said.

“We have noticed that if we could be part of this journey with seriously ill individuals, that when it does come time for hospice or palliative care a relationship has been established and trust is built in order for the client to be more apt to try hospice or palliative care further upstream than the final days of life,” Wood told Hospice News. “Far too long we have seen last-minute referrals to hospice care. We know it will continue to be a challenge, but if we can make the experience better with timely referrals, while also supporting these individuals living with challenging illnesses, then our mission and goal is met, one person at a time.”