Atlanta-based Precious Hospice is expanding to CEO Henry Mason’s hometown of Chicago, where the company will provide in-home hospice and palliative care as well as 12-bed inpatient beds via contracts with local facilities. The company expects an initial daily census of 25 patients in Chicago, according to Mason. The hospice’s Atlanta location cares for approximately […]
Hospice providers are not taking advantage of the Medicare Service Intensity Add-On (SIA) program, despite the program’s potential to drive quality improvement and increase revenues. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced SIA in 2016 to allow hospices to bill an additional payment on an hourly basis for registered nurse and social […]
As hospices stare down widespread staff shortages across all disciplines, many are looking to the millennial generation to fill those gaps, adapting recruitment and retention strategies to potential employees who came of age in a very different cultural environment than their baby boomer or Generation X colleagues. Hospices are already struggling to fill their ranks.The […]
Health care organizations, including hospices, are the top target for cyber-criminals eager to obtain protected health information, insurance information, and patient identifiers. As technology is increasingly pervasive in hospice care, providers are seeking stronger methods to protect themselves and their patients, cyber security experts told Hospice News. A number of hospices have experienced serious data […]
Select Medical Corp. (NYSE: SEM) has entered the hospice and home health market through Select at Home, a new joint venture with Alternate Solutions Health Network (ASHN) designed to extend the care continuum after patients are discharged from Select Medical’s specialty hospitals. Pennsylvania-based Select Medical is a national provider of inpatient medical rehabilitation, long term […]
As more hospices diversify their services to include palliative care, 71% of adults in the United States are unaware that the service exists, a recent Journal of Palliative Medicine (JPM) study found. Similar to hospice, palliative care provides non-curative treatment to improve comfort and quality of life for patients. Unlike hospice, providers offer palliative care […]
Even hospitals are concerned about the rising costs of inpatient care, as well as the ability of frail patients to transport themselves to health appointments. To better address patient needs, North Dakota-based CHI-St. Alexius Health System is expanding its palliative care program to include outpatient and home-based services. The hospital’s inpatient palliative care team emerged […]
Rosemont, Ill.-based Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care has begun offering programs through Facebook Live to support families coping with loss. The program supplements the hospice’s in-person and online grief support groups. The program’s first video presentation, presented late last year, addressed grief during the holidays and garnered more than 1,800 views. The most recent presentation […]
More than 62% of hospice and palliative care clinicians have suffered from burnout, research indicates. As hospices contend with widespread staff shortages across all disciplines, staff burnout threatens to increase turnover and cause some staff to leave the industry altogether. Factors leading to burnout included emotional exhaustion, working longer hours, being younger than 50-years-old, and […]
The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG), will separate its hospice and home health segments into a publicly traded entity called The Pennant Group, Inc., with the split expected to complete in the 4th quarter of the year, pending regulatory, legal and board approval. Pennant will include 60 home health and hospice agencies, 51 senior living […]