Hospices Expanding Services for the Veteran Population

The nation’s veterans are aging along with the rest of the U.S. population, and hospices are developing more programs and resources to address their unique needs. Veterans of the Vietnam conflict range in age from 62- to 104-years old, and they now represent the largest contingent of former military who are approaching the end of […]

HCA Healthcare Launches Hospice, Palliative Care Fellowship Program in Florida

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA) and the University of Central Florida (UCF) recently added a new graduate fellowship in hospice and palliative care medicine to their existing repertoire of training programs. The program will accept two fellows annually. The fellowship will launch in July 2023 at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, the Orlando VA Medical […]

Comfort Care Homes Build Bridges to Hospice for Underserved Patients

For terminally ill patients who lack secure housing or loved ones to care for them, hospice is typically not an option. Organizations called comfort care homes have been working to fill this gap. These are generally nonprofit residential facilities that will give patients a place to stay while they receive hospice care. These organizations first […]

Hospices Face ‘Astronomical’ Costs to Attract and Keep Staff

Hospices are allocating more financial and operational resources on staffing initiatives than ever before to remain afloat and grow. Recruitment and retention have been top of mind for hospice providers amid ongoing workforce shortages that have only worsened with the pandemic. More than 67% of the 203 hospice care professionals surveyed indicated that staffing would […]

As More Hospices Close Their Doors, Staffing Strains Are Becoming Crystalized

Staffing issues have increasingly been at the root of leading causes behind shuttered hospice programs nationwide. Demographics are pushing up demand for end-of-life care amid long-standing staffing shortages in hospice. Some hospices have been unable to sufficiently fill their ranks to keep up with that demand for care, resulting in them either temporarily limiting new […]

Enhabit Adapts Case Management Model to Stem Turnover in Acquired Hospice Agencies

Enhabit Home Health & Hospice (NYSE: EHAB) is adapting some aspects of how they integrate newly acquired hospice assets. Early on the company would implement a set of processes that were symmetrical with those in its home health business, but agencies in its hospice segment experienced some difficulties with those transitions. This contributed to a […]

Tech Firm Empathy Partners with Benekiva to Speed Insurance Claims for Bereaved Families

The bereavement care tech platform Empathy is now partnering with the software company Benekiva in an effort to streamline life insurance claims processing and help families access benefits more quickly. Benekiva’s claims automation platform is designed to simplify and accelerate that process, which on average can take as long as 13 months, according to a […]

Hospices Leverage Tech To Combat Staffing Woes

Hospices are beginning to leverage technologies used to identify eligible patients in need to recruit and retain staff amid ongoing workforce shortages. Systems like artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, and machine learning have helped providers identify eligible patients sooner in their disease process. Hospices are now applying those tools to help relieve industry-wide labor pressures. […]

Florida Awards Chapters Health CON for Pinellas County Expansion

Florida-headquartered Chapters Health System recently received a green light to advance on expansion plans across the state’s west central coast. In August, post-acute care provider Chapters set its sights on expanding its hospice business into Florida’s Pinellas County. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) recently awarded the company a certificate of need (CON) […]