St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care and Treasure Coast Health on Tuesday completed their affiliation, a move nearly a year in the making after the two Florida-based nonprofits signaled they would join forces.
Combined, the two organizations provide hospice and palliative care to more than 7,000 patients annually across Brevard, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties in their home state. The deal includes Treasure Coast Hospice, which the health system established in 1982.
The organizations announced their intent to affiliate last October, with leadership citing a shared goal to provide sustainable hospice, palliative care and bereavement services to communities across their combined geographic Florida footprint.
“This strategic alliance is an opportunity to strengthen each organization’s ability to expand services and advance care innovation so that we can continue to meet the growing needs of our communities and build upon the legacies of caring that our organizations’ founders established years ago,” Treasure Health President and CEO Jackie Kendrick said in a statement.
Florida is among the states with large and growing cohorts of seniors 65 and older. This age group represents 21.7% of the Sunshine State’s overall population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Senior populations are projected to more than 30% of Florida’s population by 2045, reported the state’s Department of Elder Affairs.
Hospice utilization rates among Medicare descendents in Florida reached 55.97% in 2022, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Facts and Figures report. This hovered above the national average of 49.1% that year.
Established in 1977, St. Francis Reflections operates two general inpatient hospice care units in Melbourne and Titusville, Florida. The nonprofit provides hospice, palliative care and bereavement services. St. Francis’ NorthStar Child Grief Support is designed to specifically address the needs of bereaved children and their families. The hospice also has a veterans program, advance care planning services and a pet care program.
Treasure Coast Hospice also offers veteran and bereavement services, including its annual summer program for children, Camp Good Grief. The nonprofit provides adult and pediatric hospice care, which includes music therapy, among other interdisciplinary services.
St. Francis Reflections and Treasure Coast Hospice will each retain their brand names post-affiliation as the organizations work toward strategic innovations aimed at improving patient-centered care delivery.
St. Francis Reflections is currently developing a new Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) program in Brevard County, Florida. The program is designed to help older adult populations age in place through a range of medical and nonmedical services, including preventative, primary and acute and long-term care.
Meanwhile, Treasure Coast Hospice is designing a new simulation lab that will expand training opportunities. The lab will allow for group and individualized training in an effort to promote hands-on orientation and skill development among new nurses and nursing aides, as well as educational opportunities for experienced clinicians.
“By bringing together our mission-driven organizations, St. Francis Reflections and Treasure Health will be able to capitalize on our unique strengths and create synergies so that we can continue to provide the highest quality end-of-life care and grief support services that our communities have grown to expect,” Joseph Killian, president and CEO of St. Francis Reflections said in the announcement.
Companies featured in this article:
St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care, Treasure Coast Health, Treasure Coast Hospice