Executive Changes at Niagara Hospice, Transcend Strategy Group, AMOREM, HomeCare & Hospice

Niagara Hospice CEO Retires

Lockport, N.Y.-based Niagara Hospice will soon have a new president and CEO with the upcoming retirement of John Lomeo, who has led the organization since 2000.

Niagara Hospice is part of The Hospice and Palliative Care Group (HPCG), an organization that provides administrative services. Other providers in the group include Kalos Health, Liberty Home Care, Hospice of Orleans and The Niagara Hospice Alliance.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve this organization and the community,” Lomeo said in a press release. “Throughout my career, I have tried to make a difference in people’s lives. I hope that will be my legacy. I would like to personally thank every employee, past and present for taking this journey with me. To my board members, thank you for supporting me and our vision to improve health care throughout [western New York]. Together we answered the call of duty.”

Carlo Figliomeni will ascend into the role effective Aug. 1. Figliomeni currently serves as CFO and COO at Niagara Hospice and also manages other providers in the HPCG group, as well as The HomeCare Partners.

Niagara Hospice has an average daily census of roughly 40 patients and an annual census of more than 1,200 patients. The hospice provider serves communities across western New York and also offers veterans programs, durable medical equipment (DME) services and ambulette transportation.

The hospice has seen growth in recent years, marked in part by the expansion of its inpatient hospice facility in 2021. This followed the launch of its dementia care and family support program in 2019.

HomeCare & Hospice Appoints New Director

HomeCare & Hospice has named Meme Yanetsko as its new director of advancement.

Established in 1971, the organization provides hospice, palliative, nursing and home care services across four counties in western New York. HomeCare & Hospice also operates a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), dubbed Total Senior Care, Community Care of Western New York.

“We are very excited to begin working with Meme and having her join HomeCare & Hospice and Total Senior Care,” HomeCare & Hospice CEO Melissa Sullivan told local news. “She has years of experience, and we look forward to the growth she will bring to our organizations.”

Yanetsko has been a lifelong resident of the hospice’s service region in New York, serving as COO of the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce since 1991. She has helped establish relationships with more than 300 local businesses and managed marketing, advertising and new event development.

“My years with the chamber have been richly rewarding, and the chamber will always have a special place in my heart,” Yanetsko said. “At the same time, I’m honored to be assuming my new position at HomeCare & Hospice and Total Senior Care and am looking forward to helping these tremendous organizations to continue their mission.”

AMOREM Names New Director of Faith Outreach

AMOREM has appointed William Williamson as its new director of faith outreach.

Williamson was most recently the chaplain and volunteer coordinator at Suncrest Home Health & Hospice since 2021. He has also held chaplain roles at VCU Health and Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care of Tidewater.

“This position is an excellent opportunity to show how much we at AMOREM deeply appreciate the support that people of faith provide us,” Williamson told local news.

AMOREM has locations across 12 counties in northwest North Carolina, which include four inpatient care units. The nonprofit hospice provider also offers palliative, grief support and advanced care planning services.

The North Carolina-based organization in 2021 rebranded as AMOREM following the merger of Burke Hospice & Palliative Care and Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care.

The integration of the hospice organizations helped identify a growing need for spiritual leadership that could engage a diverse faith community, according to Kerri McFalls, vice president of community engagement at AMOREM.

“A director of faith outreach is not a common position in the hospice industry,” McFalls said. “But AMOREM wants to ensure its faith communities that they are a priority for the organization and that they feel supported when any of their congregants need end-of-life care.”

Transcend Strategy Group’s Executive Moves

Transcend Strategy Group recently announced executive changes aimed at expanding its capabilities to support hospice and home health care providers.

Tony Kudner recently became chief strategy officer of the home health care consulting company. 

Kudner joins Transcend after serving as senior vice president of marketing and communications at AccentCare. He previously served in similar roles at Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care since 2016 prior to its merger in 2020 with AccentCare. Prior to that, Kudner was director of advocacy and digital strategy for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

Transcend is largely focused on helping hospice and home health providers navigate a sea of changes impacting sustainable growth in the industry, according to Kudner.

“We can be that capacity and convener for legacy programs or smaller hospice programs,” Kudner told Hospice News. “We’re seeing a big need this year for education and research and alignment of value-based care, specifically in the hospice community. We see operational gaps [in] providing excellent care as hospices are trying to do more with less resources. Reimbursement rates aren’t keeping up with the rate of inflation. And it’s not easy to also focus on growth in value-based care.

The company helps health care providers with change management and strategic growth plans, sales and marketing performance and staffing retention. Transcend Strategy Group also focuses on research on the varied outreach strategies among hospice and home-based care providers seeking to improve outcomes and grow their census.

Transcend is in the process of conducting research around value-based care opportunities and challenges in the hospice space, according to Kudner. Many misperceptions exist around value-based contracting processes on both the payer and provider sides, and research into these payment structures could improve understanding around the reimbursement pathways taking shape in hospice, he stated.

Meanwhile, Nicole McCann-Davis was named senior client advisor and research director at Transcend. She was previously chief health equity officer and vice president of communications at Empassion Health.

McCann-Davis also hails from AccentCare, joining the hospice organization in 2016 and most recently serving as its associate vice president of health equity and access before stepping down from the role in 2022. Part of her new role will be focused on expanded research in data-driven processes and strategies among hospice and home health care providers.

“Utilizing my research background and all the resources we have here is going to help enable really gathering insights that help us develop some strong data-driven processes and strategies for providers,” McCann-Davis said. “Whether that is in the health equity space, aimed at growth or just diving deeper into different communities and what the needs are. It’s about how to touch the most lives possible and make the greatest impact.”

Among others moving up the ranks at Transcend was Courtney Penn, senior client advisor. She joined the company two years ago as vice president of marketing and communications for the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina and served as operations director at BAYADA Home Health Care.

The ability to be adaptive and flexible is important for hospices exploring a rebranding, merger, acquisition, affiliation, joint venture or other strategic partnership, according to Penn.

“What we’ve noticed in change management is that there’s this dichotomy of management versus leadership at organizations,” Penn said. “It’s guiding organizations and adapting to internal and external circumstances [and] helping ensure that change lasts and that they have higher retention rates.”