Homeland at Home Launches Community-Based Palliative Care Program

Pennsylvania-based Homeland at Home recently added community-based palliative care to its repertoire of services in response to rising demand for this care.

Homeland previously provided facility-based palliative services and is now stepping into the home. The provider’s palliative care team includes a physician medical director, social worker and nurse practitioners who now offer in-home palliative care to adult patients 18 and older facing a serious illness.

“As our population ages and the demand for home-based services increases exponentially, we want to be there for the families who have always trusted us to care for their loved ones,” Homeland President and CEO Barry Ramper II told a local news source.

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In addition to palliative, Homeland at Home provides facility- and home-based hospice, home health, personal and skilled nursing care, along with bereavement support. Homeland began providing services more than 155 years ago from a location in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and now operates across 14 counties in the state’s central region.

Demographics are driving up demand for serious illness care in the Keystone State. Seniors are projected to make up 27.5% of the state’s overall population by 2030, a rise from 19% currently, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

At least 49 programs statewide provided community-based palliative care during 2019, reported the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). Additionally, a little more than three-quarters (76.6%) of larger hospitals in the state reported offering some type of palliative care that year, according to CAPC.

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A lack of awareness and understanding about palliative among the public and practitioners alike serves as a barrier to growing utilization. Though the pandemic has led to rising awareness of the nature and availability of palliative care, many mistakenly conflate these services with hospice care.

Launching community-based palliative services is an aim not just to dispel myths, but also increase awareness that these services exist for those in need, according to Homeland officials.

“Palliative care is based on the patient’s needs, not on a specific diagnosis. It is appropriate at any stage in an illness and can be provided along with curative treatment,” said Dr. David Wenner, medical director of Homeland’s palliative care program, in local news. “Palliative care may be appropriate if a patient suffers from pain, stress or other symptoms due to a serious illness.”

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