Amorem Consolidates Inpatient Units Due to Labor Pressures

The workforce shortage plaguing the health care sector is continuing to interfere with hospices’ ability to grow. Most recently, North Carolina-based provider Amorem has temporarily consolidated its inpatient care services to a single facility, temporarily closing its two other units. Amorem was born through the merger of Burke Hospice & Palliative Care and Caldwell Hospice […]

House Passes Medicare Sequestration Relief as Stakeholders Call for Lasting Reform

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that, if enacted, may reduce cuts to hospice Medicare payments in 2022. Dubbed the “Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act,” the bill would extend a temporary halt of Medicare sequestration implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The moratorium would have been sunsetted by Dec. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Hospices Work to Engage LGBTQ+ Communities

LGBTQ+ individuals face an array of challenges in accessing end-of-life and serious illness care, with some reporting discrimination from health care providers. A better understanding of sexual orientation, gender identity and family roles will aid hospices in as they work to reach these underserved communities. Demographic trends indicate a rising need for end-of-life and serious […]

Joining Payer Networks Key to Success for Hospices in Medicare Advantage

The journey toward value-based care remains uncertain, yet impactful for hospice. Providers and payers of all walks are taking a sharper look at hospice as the value-based insurance design (VBID) demonstration project approaches its second year. Hospices need a seat at the bargaining table in order to maintain control of their financial destiny, according to […]

CC Young Senior Living Set to Open Inpatient Hospice Unit

Dallas-based CC Young Senior Living next month will open its new hospice general inpatient care (GIP) unit. The move comes at a time when demand for hospice is on the rise as the aging population burgeons across the country. Set to open doors to hospice patients in September, the new 16-bed unit will be housed […]

NAHC Joins Partnership to Promote Vaccines for Home Health and Hospice Workers

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Minority Health Association (NMHA) are partnering to increase vaccination rates among the home health and hospice workforce. The combined $11.1 million effort, part of NMHA’s Flex for Checks program, aims to break down barriers preventing vaccination and curb the rising tide of COVID-19. […]

Delta Variant Has Hospices Increasingly Concerned About Operations, Finances

A year and half into the novel coronavirus pandemic, hospices are growing increasingly concerned that emerging variants of the virus will severely impact their operations, workforce and finances. As infections surge, particularly among the unvaccinated, many communities are reinstating precautions that have been relaxed as more people get their shots. More than 610,000 lives have […]