The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with Homecare Homebase. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of home health, hospice care, senior housing, skilled nursing, and behavioral health. To see this year’s Future Leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.
Deanna Bieniek, director of support services at St. Croix Hospice, has been named a 2024 Future Leader by Hospice News.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40-years-old or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for seniors, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Bieniek recently shared details about her career trajectory with Hospice News about the ways the industry is evolving due to technology trends and innovations in person-centered care delivery alongside rising demand.
What drew you to the hospice industry?
For me, it’s less about what initially drew me to the industry and more about what has inspired me to stay. What keeps me in the hospice industry is the profound impact we can make on patients and families during such a challenging time. While we spend so much time preparing for the beginning of life, we often overlook the importance of how we experience the end.
Hospice providers have one chance to offer exceptional care and emotional support, and I’m proud to be part of that. Last year, I experienced hospice personally when my brother-in-law, just 43, entered our services. Being on the receiving end deepened my appreciation for the frontline hospice workers who are truly the heroes in this field.
What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in this industry?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned in hospice is that while the industry has evolved over the last eight years, one thing remains constant: Quality of care must always come first.
When an organization prioritizes exceptional care, growth happens naturally. More importantly, by focusing on quality, we create a meaningful experience for patients and their families, helping them heal during their grief journey after losing a loved one.
If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of hospice, what would it be?
If I could change one thing for the future of hospice, it would be to expand our reach and education.
Although we’ve seen longer stays, many still miss out on the full benefits of hospice care. We need to enhance education for diverse ethnic groups, collaborate more with physicians dealing with diagnoses that typically have shorter stays and shift the national perception of hospice. It’s not about “giving up,” but about prioritizing comfort, dignity and quality of life in the final days.
What do you foresee as being different about the hospice industry looking ahead to 2025?
Looking ahead to 2025, I believe the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation’s (HOPE) spiritual assessment tool will be a gamechanger for the hospice industry. Having overseen our bereavement program, I’ve seen how crucial spirituality is for both patients and their families during and after their journey.
As our society becomes more diverse in its religious and spiritual beliefs, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t cut it. The HOPE assessment will enable us to tailor support more personally for patients and their families, offering meaningful, individualized care throughout the entire bereavement process.
In a word, how would you describe the future of hospice?
In a word, I’d describe the future of hospice as “innovative.”
We’re on the brink of exciting advancements, especially with artificial intelligence (AI), which will revolutionize our back-office operations, boosting efficiency and accuracy while maintaining compliance.
But innovation won’t stop there. With the aging baby boomer population and a shrinking workforce, hospice agencies will need to find creative ways to deliver exceptional patient care and ensure top-quality support remains our core focus.
What quality must all Future Leaders possess?
The key quality all Future Leaders must possess is passion. Passion fuels everything else—communication, empathy, resilience and a growth mindset. It drives us to seek innovative solutions, hold ourselves and others accountable and lead with empathy.
I’ve learned this from working with exceptional mentors whose passion inspired me to elevate the teams and programs I oversee. When you lead with passion you not only excel, but you also inspire your team to thrive and become future leaders.
If you could give advice to yourself looking back to your first day in the industry, what would it be and why?
If I could give advice to my younger self on the first day in the industry, it would be this: Make it a habit to find one positive thing each week.
Celebrating these small victories can lead to bigger accomplishments and help you stay motivated. In a field where you deal with death and grief, focusing on the positive aspects can lift your spirits and keep you centered on your mission to support patients and families.
To learn more about the Future Leaders program, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.
