Financial and staffing headwinds are chipping away at hospices’ sustainability, with some providers recently pausing or closing their programs. Concerns have also mounted amid federal Medicaid cuts.

Solvay Hospice House Pauses Services

Duluth, Minnesota-based Solvay Hospice House has temporarily halted services due to a nursing strike.

The strike was set to begin on Tuesday, with financial tensions brewing over nursing wages for several years in the area.

The center is operated by St. Mary’s Hospice and Palliative Care Program, which is part of Essentia Health. The nonprofit health system’s hospice team is collaborating with local long-term care facilities to ensure continued care and stable housing for patients. Patients who are unable to be relocated or nearing the end of life will continue to receive care at Solvay Hospice House, according to a local news report.

“Both patients and health care workers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect by Essentia leadership,” Kim Volkart, a registered nurse at Solvay Hospice House said in a statement. “Relocating patients and shutting down end-of-life care in response to our strike notice — rather than choosing to bargain in good faith — makes Essentia’s priorities painfully clear.”

Hospice care at the facility is anticipated to resume upon the nursing strike’s cessation.

The general inpatient hospice facility launched in 2007 and is supported by the Miller-Dwan Foundation and philanthropic donations. Patients at the facility receive 24/7 hospice care, with music therapy, respite and bereavement support also available. Referrals come from health care providers across northern Minnesota.

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) in May issued a statement calling on local health care leaders and lawmakers to offer more competitive wages to sustain staff. MNA indicated that Essentia Health has infused several millions of dollars into initiatives such as a new hospital while seeing fundraising revenue dwindle and clinicians’ salaries being “stretched thin.”

“This isn’t about dollars and cents. It’s about stability and safety in our healthcare system,” Volkart said in the MNA statement. “Essentia is choosing growth over care. The public deserves to know.”

Hospice of the Piedmont Closes Center

Hospice of the Piedmont has announced the closure of its Center for Acute Hospice Care (CAHC).

The Virginia-based hospice provider cited reasons such as rising care delivery costs and a greater focus on home-based care.

The decision came as the 10-patient bed unit’s lease neared an end, said Hospice of the Piedmont President and CEO Nancy Littlefield.

“It gives us an opportunity to concentrate more on where patients want to be, which is home, and those services will still be provided,” Littlefield told local news.

Established in 1980, Hospice of the Piedmont provides community-based hospice and palliative care in Charlottesville, Virginia, and across 12 surrounding counties.

The acute hospice care facility was designed to serve patients with higher levels of end-of-life care needs.

Another consideration fueling the program’s end was the looming uncertainty of federal budget cuts, according to Littlefield. Congress on Thursday approved President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes $1 trillion in Medicaid reductions over the next 10 years.

Now on the House floor for final approval, passing of the legislation would make operations at the facility unsustainable, Littlefield said.

“Our hospice, as well as all hospices across the state, are having to be very cautious about what Medicaid and other reimbursement changes may occur under the current administration,” Littlefield said, “The worst thing we can do for families and patients is to not be prepared.”

Homestead Hospice House Re-Opening is Stalled

Plans to reopen the Homestead Hospice House facility in Owatonna, Minnesota have been delayed as state licensure obstacles and financial pressures mount.

The stalled opening of Homestead Hospice House was announced on Tuesday. Seasons Hospice recently announced the residential hospice house re-opening set for later this year, fueled by $850,000 in philanthropic donations.

Staffing challenges, problems related to state and federal licensing and certification, along with uncertainty regarding federal budget priorities are among the issues, according to Dawn Beck, board president at Seasons Hospice.

“This was a very, very difficult decision to make,” Beck told local news. “The hospice facility was built in 2005 and Allina Health provided the staff and services for this hospice organization until it closed in 2023, due to labor pressures and declining patient census volumes. Its closure was met with rising concern about the lack of hospice support for patients and families in need of 24/7 residential hospice care.

Among the challenges Seasons Hospice and other non-profit hospice organizations has been “the stiff competition” from for-profit hospices increasingly entering the area, according to Beck.

“We regret to share that Seasons Hospice is no longer accepting new patients in the Owatonna region,” the organization said in a statement. “This very difficult decision has been made because of licensure and financial obstacles that have arisen during the process of expanding our service area.”

Seasons Hospice and Homestead Hospice have committed to an ongoing relationship, sharing the hope that someday the beautiful facility in Owatonna will once again receive hospice patients.

Wilshire Health Halts Inpatient Hospice Program

Wilshire Health & Community Services has closed its hospice center after roughly four decades of serving patients and their families due to financial difficulties.

The Wilshire Hospice Center for Grief, Education & Healing is located in San Luis Obispo, California. The hospice and community care center shuttered on June 30, 2025.

More than 100 employees were laid off as the organization collaborates with local community service agencies and other health care providers to transition patient care.

“This is a huge, huge loss for seniors in our community,” Shannon McOuat, executive director at Hospice SLO County, told local news. “I think it’s possible they were the only organization providing mental health programs to seniors in their homes.”

Wilshire Health provided hospice, home health and other community-based services and has served thousands of patients and families for more than 40 years.

Reimbursement rates have not kept pace with the cost of doing business and rising operational expenses, said Mark Wilson, vice president of business development at Wilshire Business Partners. This trend has made it increasingly difficult for providers to remain financially viable, he stated in a recent press release.

“Despite every effort to adapt, the current reimbursement environment has made continued operations unsustainable,” Wilson said in the release.