Celebrating 40 Years of Hospice Care

Hospice of Southern Illinois, The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), and hospices across the United States are celebrating 40 years of hard work to make hospice care a success in the United States! The word hospice is derived from the word “hospitality,” which is a place of shelter for weary or ill travelers on a long journey. The development of hospice care has been its own journey, one that strong leadership, determination and volunteerism has allowed end-of-life care to flourish.

Physician Dame Cicely Saunders began her work with the terminally ill in 1948, and later established the first modern hospice in London, St. Christopher’s Hospice. In 1963, she brought the idea of hospice to the United States as a request from Florence Wald, the dean of the Yale School of Nursing. Wald became inspired to travel and learn the benefits of hospice care, eventually starting the first U.S program, Connecticut Hospice, in Bradford in 1974. Her work began a revolution of end-of-life care with facilities spreading throughout the United States.

After talking to two employees at Hospice of Southern Illinois, they expressed, “Hospice is important because it brings opportunities for closure for spiritual, emotional, and

physical comfort for patients and their families,” explains Roberta Baldwin, Intake Nurse. Lisa Phillipson, Community Education Manager, added, “Hospice education is important because it spreads awareness. You may not have a lot of knowledge about hospice care. We are helping with emotional and physical pain of our patients and families and educating the community on what comes next with end-of-life care. When you know what is next, things don’t seem quite as scary. At the end of the day when we have done our job right, the patients and families can breathe a sigh of relief and worry about being a family or friend, while we take care of their loved one.”

November is National Hospice Month

Hospice of Southern Illinois Helps Community Learn About Special Care Hospice Provides

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and hospices across the country are reaching out to raise awareness about important care issues for people coping with life-limiting illness. Throughout the month of November, organizations across the nation are hosting activities that focus on celebrating this unique system of support and the benefits provided by the loving care of hospice. Hospice of Southern Illinois is committed to bringing important information to the communities we serve, so we are encouraging everyone to participate in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organizations’ social media campaign to raise awareness about what hospice is and what hospice is to them. To participate, employees, community leaders, and general public should take a photo of themselves holding a sheet of paper that says, “Hospice is… ________” and fill in the blank with a word that describes what hospice is to them. After taking the photo, post it on their personal Facebook Page and tag Hospice of Southern Illinois in the post or comment section so we can see it on the Hospice of Southern Illinois’ Facebook Page. Don’t forget to use the hash tag #hospicemonth to take part in being a hospice advocate for National Hospice and Palliative Care Month 2013!

“Every year, more than 1.65 million people living with a life-limiting illness receive care from hospice and palliative care providers in this country,” said J. Donald Schumacher, President and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “These highly-trained professionals don’t only provide quality medical care. They work to make sure patients and families find dignity, respect, and love during life’s most difficult journey.”

Hospice is more than traditional healthcare. Hospice and palliative care programs provide pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible. Hospice and palliative care combines the highest level of quality medical care with the emotional and spiritual support that families need most when facing the end of life.

“After working at Hospice of Southern Illinois for many years, I figured I knew what hospice was. It was not until I saw Hospice of Southern Illinois’ nurses, volunteers, and social workers in action with my own family that I realized what it really stood for. It brought forward a whole new understanding of end-of-life care. As my supervisor always says, ‘You may remember how smart or how pretty someone is, but you will always remember how kind someone is.’ When I saw the special attention and kindness my own co-workers provided my loved one, I fully understood hospice from that point forward.” said Christine Juehne, Print and Social Media Coordinator at Hospice of Southern Illinois.

Additional information about hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is available from Hospice of Southern Illinois, your community not-for-profit hospice, at www.hospice.org. NHPCO’s Caring Connections offers information and resources for professionals and consumers at www.caringinfo.org. 

New Research Validates that Hospice Saves Medicare Dollars

New Research Validates that Hospice Saves Medicare Dollars

NHPCO released an excellent article highlighting a study about the benefits of hospice care and its ability to improve the quality of life. Not only did the article talk about how hospice improves the quality of life, but it also discussed how hospice saves Medicare dollars. Did you know the average person spends about $39,000 on aggressive treatments at the end of life according to CNN Money? Did you know many hospices provide care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay? Sometimes people feel that paying a really high price means they are paying for the best care available when that care may not be what a loved one even wants. How do we decide when aggressive treatment or when quality of life is the route to go?

The NHPCO’s article helps people understand that sometimes less is more in terms of the cost of care. Like previously mentioned, many hospices provide care regardless of patient’s ability to pay and focuses on quality of life rather than length of life. This may strike a question, then how does it save Medicare dollars? Great question! Even when patients are not charged, someone has to cover these services and Medicare is the biggest source of funding for hospice organizations, for-profit and not-for-profits alike. With this said, below are the highlights from the study which can be reviewed in detail, click here.

“Despite its demonstrated potential to both improve quality of care and lower costs, the Medicare hospice benefit has been seen as producing savings only for patients enrolled 53–105 days before death. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, 2002–08, and individual Medicare claims, and overcoming limitations of previous work, we found $2,561 in savings to Medicare for each patient enrolled in hospice 53–105 days before death, compared to a matched, non hospice control. Even higher savings were seen, however, with more common, shorter enrollment periods: $2,650, $5,040, and $6,430 per patient enrolled 1–7, 8–14, and 15–30 days prior to death, respectively. Within all periods examined, hospice patients also had significantly lower rates of hospital service use and in-hospital death than matched controls. Instead of attempting to limit Medicare hospice participation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should focus on ensuring the timely enrollment of qualified patients who desire the benefit." (Health Affairs, 2013)

(NHPCO 2011 Facts & Figures Report)

            What does this all mean? Overall it means to save money and receive the best care available, when desired, patients should enroll at the earliest time possible into hospice care to receive the overall benefit of the best quality of life possible and saving themselves money, as well as saving Medicare dollars. Keep these facts in mind when hospice touches your life. Call 24/7 to get your questions answered, 1-800-233-1708.

Help us share, educate, and reach out by subscribing to our blog and suggesting it to friends who will spread our message: Hospice of Southern Illinois is here to teach you what hospice is, what we are about, and what we can do for you and your loved ones. No one has to go through the dying process alone. Hospice of Southern Illinois can help.

Live well, laugh often, and love much,

Christine Juehne

Hospice of Southern Illinois

Community Education

1-800-233-1708

www.hospice.org