Hospice News

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

A systematic overhaul of the nation’s health care education programs is needed to ensure that future clinicians are prepared to provide palliative and hospice care amid rising demand, according to Dr. Leah McDonald of HopeHealth. McDonald is a hospice and palliative care physician at HopeHealth.

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Hospice News

JUNE 1, 2022

Croix Hospice has acquired Lombard, Ill.-based based Lexington Hospice Care. In addition to a spate of acquisitions, the Minnesota-based hospice provider has launched three de novos thus far in 2022. This follows six new locations they opened in 2021 and seven during 2020. . Financial terms were undisclosed.

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Hospice News

MAY 6, 2024

Hospices may be under-prepared to navigate the complexities in end-of-life decisions among terminally ill children, as the ethical and moral considerations related to patient autonomy are vastly different for pediatric populations compared to adults.

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Hospice News

JULY 14, 2022

Margin pressures from the proposed cuts to Medicare home health rates could impact palliative care and hospice. The agency cited budget neutrality requirements to explain the cuts, as well as adjustments related to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), a new payment system introduced in 2020. CMS proposed a 2.7%

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Hospice News

JANUARY 26, 2024

Already, 2024 has brought a growing body of research in palliative care covering more ground on challenges linked to utilization and access, health disparities, lagging clinical awareness, and other aspects impacting quality and care delivery. Hospice significantly reduced end-of-life HU.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 30, 2023

A rising number of hospices have undergone name changes in recent years, prompting many to consider the elements of an effective rebranding strategy. Hospices should avoid brand names that are too generic or that focus on one particular service line or portion of their geographic footprint.

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Hospice News

JULY 26, 2022

Kathy Hochul has signed a bill designed to expand awareness of advance care planning, hospice, and palliative care. The new law requires the New York State Department of Health to develop a public awareness campaign to promote advance care planning. That must change.”. About 17.4%

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Hospice News

AUGUST 15, 2022

The unique needs of families and children facing life-limiting can wear pediatric palliative and hospice care clinicians especially thin, and the potential for burnout can leave providers even more short-staffed than many already are. Even outside of hospice, caring for seriously ill children can take a mental and emotional toll.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 9, 2023

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. One part of the issue is that hospice reimbursement has not kept pace with evolving patient needs, Grant said.

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Hospice News

MAY 8, 2024

A bill currently before Congress would extend through 2026 regulatory flexibilities related to telehealth, including the ability to recertify patients for hospice care. If a hospice is undergoing a period of enhanced oversight by the U.S. It also includes some exceptions. Congress later extended that flexibility through Dec.

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Hospice News

APRIL 23, 2024

A huge need exists for neuropalliative care, Dr. Claire J. Creutzfeldt at the Harborview Medical Center’s Department of Neurology told Palliative Care News. Palliative care offers support for a variety of symptoms through interdisciplinary care. But, in addition, stroke leaves people with huge changes in identity.

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Hospice News

MARCH 14, 2024

Hospices, in aggregate, are showing improvement on the quality measure for visits in the last days of life. In Calendar Year 2021, the share of hospice care days with nurse visits in the last seven days of life rose to 63%, up from 62% year over year, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 17, 2023

New hospice leaders have indicated that workforce development, efficient technologies and growth in home-based services represent key focus areas for providers during the next few years. Earlier in the year, Yonah Klein was appointed director of strategy at Unity Hospice and Palliative Care. It’s the ideal place for one to pass.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Reimbursement pressures, workforce strains and lagging awareness represent pain points preventing greater utilization of palliative care. There are so many things that need to be addressed to improve quality and access to pediatric palliative and hospice care,” Leonard told Palliative Care News in an email.

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Hospice News

JUNE 14, 2023

Recent research has found that varying state laws around palliative care can impact cancer patients’ place of death. Researchers compared trends among states that had palliative care lows on their books against those that did not. More than half (50.1%) of cancer decedents in the study died at home or in hospice, the JAMA study found.

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Hospice News

MAY 1, 2023

On June 1, LifeTouch Hospice will merge with Arkansas Hospice. Both hospices are owned and operated by the SHARE Foundation, a nonprofit, faith-based organization. The hospice last year served 430 patients in a five-county region of Arkansas. Meanwhile, Arkansas Hospice has fared better.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Hospice providers will be looking to Congress in 2024 to address issues related to program integrity, quality improvement and industry-wide workforce pressures. As legislative efforts develop, hospices may want to focus their attention on a few key legislators. We don’t have confidence in the algorithm that they proposed.

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Hospice News

MARCH 13, 2024

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! d/b/a/ Covenant Care, provides hospice across six cities in the panhandle and northwest region of Florida and in three markets across southeast Alabama.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Hospices tend to see an increase in dementia patient admissions as well as home-based utilization following an acquisition by a private equity firm or a publicly traded company. After an acquisition by a public company, hospices saw a 1.4% HCC scores are designed to predict the costs associated with a patient’s care.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

The organizations had a prior connection through the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care Association, as well as a joint venture with several other providers, the Responsive Care Solutions Accountable Care Organization (ACO). After closing with Trustbridge, the organization will operate seven hospice brands.

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Hospice News

MAY 31, 2023

Penn Bay Medical Center is moving forward with plans to evolve its palliative care program. The medical center is an affiliate of the MaineHealth system and began providing hospital-based palliative care two years ago. It has since expanded into community-based serious illness care. Census Bureau.

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Hospice News

APRIL 29, 2022

The Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in has been the focus of much attention among providers, and many are watching closely for the demonstration’s outcomes. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the MCCM in 2016 to explore the idea of allowing hospice patients to receive concurrent curative care.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 24, 2023

Revocations of the hospice benefit can have serious adverse effects on patients and families, as well as providers. Live discharges can occur for a number of reasons, including the patient or family changing their minds about receiving hospice care, or the patient improves and no longer needs those services. About 15.4%

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

As hospices prepare for Medicare Advantage, more nonprofits are finding that creating partnerships or entering affiliations will better position themselves for payer negotiations. Nonprofit hospice affiliations have surged in 2022 and 2023. The program also includes components designed to expand access to palliative care.

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Hospice News

MARCH 1, 2023

Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice (KHCH) has merged with Stillwater Hospice amid mounting financial pressures. The two Indiana-based nonprofit hospices joined forces to ensure continued access to end-of-life care in the Kosciusko County area. This brings Stillwater’s staffing ranks to roughly 195 employees.

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Hospice News

JUNE 20, 2023

NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired Idaho-based Bluebird Home Health, Bluebird Hospice and Bluebird Home Care for an undisclosed sum. Pennant has its sights on multiple potential transactions across its hospice, home health and senior living business lines, the company has indicated in earnings calls. And in 2020, about 54.1%

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Hospice News

MAY 19, 2023

Hospice of the Panhandle Promotes New CEO from Within West Virginia-based Hospice of the Panhandle has appointed Chief Clinical Officer Nikki Bigiarelli as its new CEO. The hospice world is constantly changing,” Bigiarelli said. Palliative care will be expanded. Cogswell has led the organization for the past 36 years.

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Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2023

As the demand for palliative care continues to grow, so too has the way businesses have bolstered their programs to better serve patients. Hospice News spoke with three palliative care providers that have risen to these challenges. Hospice News spoke with three palliative care providers that have risen to these challenges.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 3, 2023

Kathy Hochul (D) has vetoed legislation that would have effectively banned new, for-profit hospices in the state. It would have prohibited the establishment of for-profit hospices in New York state and forbid current for-profit operators from increasing capacity. . Utah had the highest rate at 60.7%.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Many seniors have experienced some form of trauma or abuse in their lifetime, which can carry impacts for those both delivering and receiving hospice care. This is the first of a two-part series that will examine the challenges that hospice patients and employees face related to abuse and trauma experiences and how providers respond.

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Hospice News

JUNE 16, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) is seeking answers about hospice patients’ access to certain high-cost services. CMS included a series of requests for information (RFIs) in its proposed 2024 hospice payment rule. CMS is getting on board with thinking through this problem,” Hoover told Hospice News. “We

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Given the critical role of family caregivers in home-based care, hospices have a vested interest in expanding their access to support. Families caring for seriously ill loved ones face systemic barriers that could threaten patients’ ability to receive care at home, including at the end of life.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

The home health and hospice provider recently announced the leadership changes in a filing with the U.S. The company in June announced plans to acquire the massive home health and hospice provider Amedisys for $3.3 McLeod was most recently a health care consultant at CD&M Consulting.

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Hospice News

APRIL 21, 2022

Partners In Care has formed a strategic partnership with the primary and urgent care provider Summit Health aimed at increasing access to palliative care in Central Oregon. Beginning this July, Summit Health patients will have access to palliative care consultations and expanded services through the partnership. .

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Hospice News

MARCH 29, 2023

Though evidence shows that longer hospice stays reduce costs, providers are still walking a regulatory tightrope. On one hand, longer hospice stays can lead to improved patient and family satisfaction and greater cost saving opportunities. Young told Hospice News. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S.

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Hospice News

JULY 14, 2023

Palliative care providers have a limited window into the disparities plaguing underserved populations when it comes to access and awareness of their serious illness care options, according to Nicole McCann-Davis, vice president of communications and chief health equity officer at Empassion Health.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Hospice providers have increasingly turned to technology to connect with hard-to-reach patients, streamline back-office functions and stay ahead of the curve on worsening health conditions. The year ahead is likely to bring significantly more technology investment as well, the 2023 Hospice News Outlook Survey and Report suggests.

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