VITAS Opens New, Permanent Inpatient Unit at Florida Hospital

VITAS Healthcare, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHEM), has expanded one of its inpatient hospice units in Florida.

VITAS’ new hospice facility at Broward Health Coral Springs features 12 patient beds, a kitchen and a family room. The facility replaces a temporary unit with eight inpatient beds that VITAS began operating at the hospital in 2021.

With the expanded patient capacity at the hospital, the company anticipates serving more than 350 patients annually at the location.

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“The additional space enhances our ability to provide more patients with easier transitions to the specialized care they deserve,” Broward Health Coral Springs COO Michael Leopold said in a statement.

Construction completed in January 2023, and the facility recently began admitting patients. The inpatient unit features amenities aimed at providing home-like comfort in a clinical care setting, including overnight accommodations for friends and family, a kitchen and gathering area.

VITAS Healthcare inpatient unit at Broward Health Coral Springs. Photo courtesy of VITAS Healthcare.
VITAS Healthcare inpatient unit at Broward Health Coral Springs. Photo courtesy of VITAS Healthcare.

“VITAS is proud to continue our partnership with Broward Health to offer compassionate, comfort-focused care to more patients in Coral Springs and throughout the county,” Kathleen Coronado, VITAS senior general manager, said in a press release. “This expansion allows our team to attend to a greater number of patients and their families by providing the expert medical support they need in a space that feels more like home.”

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Miami-headquartered VITAS has been expanding its inpatient services in Florida. The company in 2022 opened two inpatient centers in the state. One of those is also housed at the Broward Health Medical Center, whereas the second is based in a hospital in Deerfield, Florida.

VITAS has served patients in the Broward county area since 1980. The company operates 50 hospice programs across 14 states and in the District of Columbia, with 26 inpatient hospice units nationwide. More than 9,743 staff provide advanced illness care, with VITAS reporting an average daily census ticking past 17,555 patients at the close of Q4 last year.

Adults 65 and older represent 17.5% of the population in Broward County, Florida, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Statewide, 6.7 million Floridians will fall into this age group by 2030, a 52.1% spike from 4.4 million currently, a report from Florida TaxWatch projected.

Hospice utilization in the Sunshine State runs high. More than 154,500 people received hospice in Florida in 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The state fell second only to California that year, where around 156,000 individuals utilized hospice, CMS reported

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