The hospice and senior care provider Helios Care is partnering with the integrated health system Bassett Healthcare Network to bring more extensive access to hospice and palliative care to patients in central New York.
The two providers are collaborating to establish a “more cohesive and seamless continuum of care” across Bassett’s eight-county service region. As a result of the partnership, the New York State Department of Health issued certificates of need allowing Helios to expand into additional counties.
“Expanded collaboration between Bassett and Helios Care is a natural cooperative effort that will greatly benefit patients and their families in our rural communities,” Staci Thompson, executive vice president and COO at Bassett Healthcare Network, said in a statement. “We work closely with Helios Care every day. Our shared approaches to serving patients advocate for care with the highest quality of life possible, including in-home services for patients with chronic illnesses and home-based end-of-life care.”
Last year, Helios Care served more than 580 hospice patients across four New York counties in addition to 90 palliative care patients and more than 550 bereavement care clients. Formerly known as Catskills Area Hospice and Palliative Care, the organization rebranded as Helios in 2019.
Bassett Healthcare Network is an integrated health system that includes five hospitals, a home health agency and two skilled nursing facilities, as well as dozens of community-based health centers and school-based health centers.
With their expanded partnership, the two providers have adopted an electronic referral process designed to facilitate timely and effective transitions of care.
The partners are also implementing value-based contracting for hospice and palliative care services to be delivered in the hospital, in outpatient settings and in the home. Helios and Basset are also collaborating on the development of a transitional care program for patients with serious or chronic illnesses.
In 2021, 48,644 Medicare beneficiaries in New York state elected the hospice benefit, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“Helios Care is thrilled to work with Bassett Healthcare Network on this innovative initiative,” Dan Ayres, president and CEO of Helios Care, said in a press release. “Helios Care continues to expand our mission, serving patients earlier in their care journeys and fusing palliative care into more holistic approaches to patient care across the lifetime.”
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