Hospices Gear Up to Reach More Heart Failure Patients, Enhance Quality 

The incidence of end-stage heart failure is expected to rise throughout the next decade, and hospices are preparing to serve those patients when they become eligible. The number of people who suffer from heart failure is expected to rise by 46% between 2012 and 2023, the American Heart Association (AHA) reported. However, hospice utilization remains […]

Hospices Develop Nurse Residencies to Stem Labor Pressures

As hospice providers contend with industry-wide nursing shortages, some are taking matters into their own hands with in-house residency programs. A lack of hospice-specific clinical training is a significant recruitment barrier. Few nursing students receive exposure to hospice or palliative care during their education, and most do not feel prepared to provide end-of-life care to […]

Care Dimensions CEO: New Hospice Clinicians Seek Mentorship

Hospice provider Care Dimensions has tapped Dr. Stephanie Patel as its new CEO, upon the retirement of previous top executive Patricia Ahern. Patel has been chief medical officer for the organization since 2006. Care Dimensions is the largest hospice provider in Massachusetts. As CMO, Patel worked to develop specialized patient programs, recruited and mentored clinical […]

Gaps in Hospice, Palliative Care Clinical Training Impede Provider Recruitment

A lack of nursing and medical education in hospice and palliative care creates an additional obstacle for providers trying to push back against industry-wide labor shortages. Not only are hospices competing with other health care sectors for new hires, but the vast majority of clinicians entering the workforce are unprepared to provide those services. Most […]

CMS Crafting COVID Vaccine Rule for All Health Care Staff

Federal health care agencies are developing new Conditions of Participation that would require all staff of Medicare- and Medicaid-certified health care providers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Though the White House used the term “health care facilities” in its announcement, the forthcoming rule would apply to hospice and home health care workers. The U.S. Centers […]

Massachusetts Proposes COVID Vaccine Mandate for Hospice, Home Care Workers

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has proposed a vaccine mandate for health care workers in the commonwealth that would include hospice and home health staff. The requirement would also apply to employees at rest homes, assisted living facilities. Massachusetts announced a similar rule for skilled nursing facility staff last month.  The state’s Public Health Council […]

Hospice Providers: Staffing is Our Top 2020 Challenge

Concerns about staffing outweigh worries about growing competition in the hospice space as well as emerging payment models that stand to transform aspects of the industry such as the Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in and the Primary Care First initiatives. Hospice News in collaboration with Dallas-based tech company Homecare Homebase surveyed more than 300 industry professionals, […]

Hospice Nurse Building Nationwide Model for End-of-Life Clinician Training

As hospices contend with industry-wide staff shortages, Susan Lysaght Hurley, director of research at Massachusetts-based hospice provider Care Dimensions, is working to transform her organization’s nurse residency program into a national model.  The number of hospice and palliative care clinicians will drop precipitously during the next two decades, largely due to retirements and staff leaving […]

Hospice Provider Care Dimensions Launches Learning Institute

Massachusetts-based hospice and palliative care provider Care Dimensions has created a Learning Institute to educate the public, clinicians nationwide, and their own staff about hospice and palliative care. The organization has provided public education since its inception nearly 40 years ago, but recently decided to formalize their disparate programs under a single brand. Among their […]