North Carolina-based hospice provider Four Seasons has launched a new mobile palliative care unit to reach patients in remote and rural areas. The mobile clinic will deliver care through six North Carolina counties. It also carries a simulation mannequin for enhanced staff training. The unit includes an interdisciplinary care team with physicians, advanced practice providers […]
A transition to value-based reimbursement would fundamentally change the traditional hospice business model. It could also wield a powerful influence on an organization’s culture. Hospices are inching ever closer to the value-based arena. To date, much of this has centered around diversified programs like palliative care, PACE and other services. However, the ongoing value-based insurance […]
California-based Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest integrated health systems, has opened a hospice de novo on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The new location is the most recent of a series of investments that Kaiser has made in the home setting, including hospice and palliative care. Two years ago Kaiser united its […]
If pending legislation were to create new palliative care career opportunities, clinicians would be ready to take them, Dr. Holly Yang, incoming board president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) told Palliative Care News. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) have reintroduced the Palliative Care and Hospice Education […]
Addus HomeCare Corp. (NASDAQ: ADUS) has completed the acquisition of the home health, hospice and private-duty company Tennessee Quality Care for an undisclosed amount. Across all of its business lines, the Franklin, Tennessee-based provider serves nearly 1,800 patients daily from 17 locations that cover 50 of that state’s 95 counties. Addus covered the transaction with […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled a new payment model demonstration geared toward dementia-related illnesses, which are becoming more prevalent among hospice patients. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model is designed to improve the quality of life for dementia patients and their caregivers by addressing behavioral health and […]
Virginia-based Blue Ridge Hospice is building a foundation for a larger future with geographic expansion, a growing range of services and a rebrand in the works. In addition to bringing its core hospice business to a broader market, Blue Ridge is working to position itself for success in a value-based payment environment, according to CEO […]
High-acuity care in the home has become an admissions growth engine for Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED), which the company delivers through its subsidiary Contessa. Combined, hospital-at-home and skilled nursing facility-at-home admissions grew by 55% year-over-year during the second quarter of the year. This is compared to a 4% increase in home health same-store admissions and a […]
Agape Care Group has acquired two hospices for undisclosed sums — Birmingham, Alabama-based Hope Hospice and Assured Hospice in Cartersville, Georgia. Agape is a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners. With the addition of Hope Hospice, the company’s footprint has expanded across 20 Alabama counties. Through the Assured Hospice deal —coupled with a recent de […]
Physicians in training need greater exposure to geriatric training in order to better grasp the needs of older patients, including during transitions to hospice, according to Dr. Julia Lowenthal, a geriatrician from Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Lowenthal recently presented research at the American Geriatrics Society Meeting in which she found that many residents are unfamiliar […]