St. Croix Sets $20 Minimum Wage for Employees

St. Croix Hospice, a portfolio company of the private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, has increased its minimum pay for all full-time positions at the agency to $20-per-hour effective Oct. 10. The increase applies to both clinical and back-office staff. St. Croix currently services about 2,700 patients from more than 50 locations in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, […]

NHPCO Launches Partnership with Grief Care Tech Firm Empathy

The National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) is partnering with tech company Empathy. The collaboration will allow members of the nation’s largest hospice industry trade group to offer a co-branded version of the Empathy app to their patients and families. The Empathy application is designed to help families navigate the logistical aspects of bereavement, […]

Former Meridian COO Kang Named President of Amedisys Hospice

Kacy Kang, former chief operations officer for Meridian Senior Living, has been tapped as the new president of hospice at Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED). While Amedisys has not yet announced Kang’s new role, updates to his LinkedIn page reflect his new title.  Kang left Meridian amid a shake up of the company’s leadership team in which […]

Kidney Dialysis Palliative Care Program Bridging a Gap to Hospice

Washington-based Providence Hospice of Seattle and the Northwest Kidney Center recently partnered to develop a palliative care program that allows patients with renal diseases to continue receiving dialysis after they transition to hospice. With most of these patients having to forgo dialysis in order to be eligible for the Medicare Hospice Benefit, the program could […]

Hospice, Home Health CEOs: Mission-Driven Culture Key to Staff Retention

As health care providers face staffing shortages in nearly all disciplines, home-based care providers are leveraging their mission of service to help employees remain engaged and fulfilled in their work. In addition to the dearth of clinicians who have hospice or palliative care training, those providers find themselves in tight competition with other care settings […]

Only 10% of Patients in Need of Palliative Care Receive It Worldwide

Globally, about 1 in 10 of individuals in need of palliative care actually receive it even as demand rises, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization expects the need for palliative care to double by 2060.   WHO released the data in advance of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, observed on Oct. 9. WHO […]

Hospice Providers Leverage EHR Interoperability for Palliative Care Referral Management

Technology is becoming a critical point of access and growth when it comes to fueling palliative care referrals. Electronic health record (EHR) interoperability will be key to building a sustainable palliative care patient census, as more providers re-examine the ways they collaborate with other health care organizations throughout the continuum. The complexity of referral management […]

SCAN Health Plan Rolls Out Home-Based Integrated Care Model

SCAN Health Plan, subsidiary of SCAN Group, recently launched a new integrated care delivery model focused on seniors who are home-bound or reside in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Members of the company’s Embrace Medicare Advantage plan are eligible to participate in the model, which integrates primary care, geriatric and palliative care medicine. Through […]

Gilchrist Center Baltimore Opens $15.3 Million Residential Hospice Center

Maryland-based Gilchrist Hospice Care will soon open doors to a new $15.3 million residential inpatient hospice facility in Baltimore. The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Gilchrist Center Baltimore will provide inpatient and respite care to the area’s most underprivileged and underserved patients approaching the end of life. The center’s construction was supported by philanthropic […]

Advance Care Planning Education an Avenue to Hospice Access

Efforts have been growing to push forward education and awareness about the importance of advance care planning. In addition to expanding public knowledge, more training and education is needed among health care professionals of all walks to facilitate and encourage conversations involving goals of care at the end of life. Advance care planning is an […]