Frontline Honors: Leigh Jenks, Blue Ridge Hospice

Leigh Jenks, hospice and palliative care music therapist for Blue Ridge Hospice, has been named a 2023 Frontline Honors honoree by Hospice News. To become a Frontline Honoree, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a dedicated, high-performing frontline worker who delivers exceptional experiences and outcomes; a passionate worker who knows […]

Hospices Welcome VBID’s Demise, But Questions Remain

In case you missed it, Hospice News has launched a new specialty publication for palliative care professionals. You can subscribe to Palliative Care News here: Subscribe today! The Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in will be carved back out by the end of this year. Many operators were glad to see it go, but the questions the […]

Blue Ridge CEO: Community Hospices Can Lead the Way to Better US Health Care

Community-based nonprofit hospices can help blaze a trail towards a better future in American health care. This will be a core philosophy underlying Blue Ridge Hospice’s strategic goals for years to come, according to the company’s recently appointed CEO Jason Parsons. Virginia-base Blue Ridge services roughly 340 patients through its 2,200 square-mile service region, which […]

New Executives Take the Helm at AccentCare, Blue Ridge, Androscoggin, Good Samaritan

AccentCare Appoints New EVP, CMO Dr. Balu Natarajan has become AccentCare’s new executive vice president and chief medical officer. Natarajan’s role expanded after previously serving as the post-acute company’s chief medical officer for hospice since 2005. In addition to oversee AccentCare’s hospice and palliative care programs, he will also support its clinical care operations and […]

To Affiliate or Acquire: Trends in Nonprofit Hospice Consolidation

Recent years have seen an uptick in consolidation activity among nonprofits in the hospice space. Increasingly, nonprofits are pursuing acquisitions and affiliations, as well as forming regional collaboratives. To achieve these kinds of growth, hospices must consider whether they should affiliate or buy another company outright. Each approach comes with benefits and risks. Rising operating […]

2023’s Most Impactful Hospice Deals

A rich mix of hospice merger and acquisition (M&A) activity at the end of 2023 is fueling trends into next year. Hospice M&A activity has diverged from the frenzied pace set in recent years. The hospice space in the last five years has seen record-breaking multiples, a prevalence of private equity-backed platform transactions and large-scale […]

Program Integrity, Health Equity, Workforce Pressures Top of Mind for Hospice Leaders in 2024

This year has brought both tumultuous challenges and evolving opportunities for hospices that will steer hospice leadership during 2024. Hospice News spoke with a group of industry leaders about the most impactful forces that will shape the space in the coming year. Some themes from last year have carried over as far as their biggest […]

Hospices Leverage Technology to Improve Patient, Employee Satisfaction, Reduce Turnover 

With burnout as a major cause of turnover, hospices are applying technology to take some of the pressure off of staff in hopes of boosting retention. A frequent goal is reducing the amount of time spent on documentation. Though complete and accurate documentation is essential to regulatory compliance, patient safety and securing payment, the sheer […]

Blue Ridge to Affiliate with Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice 

Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice has signed a memorandum of understanding to affiliate with Virginia-based Blue Ridge Hospice. The move could signal the start of a new hospice collaborative in the mid-Atlantic region. Combined, the two hospices would care for an average daily census of more than 900 patients in eight Virginia counties and […]

Hospice Leaders: Change Must Come to the Medicare Benefit

Calls have grown louder for an overhauled design of the Medicare Hospice Benefit, but the path towards change is riddled with contrasting views over regulation, policy and payment structures. Hospice providers are hitting financial and regulatory walls when it comes to sufficiently covering the spectrum of services necessary to care for patients and families, according […]