FLORIDA LEGISLATURE CONFIRMS THE IMPORTANCE OF HOSPICE CARE

After meeting earlier this month to decide how to resolve the state’s $2.6 billion budget deficit, the Florida legislature chose not to cut the Medicaid benefit for hospice care.

Each year more than 5 percent of Hospice of Palm Beach County’s 6,000 patients receive Medicaid assistance for hospice care. Had the cut passed, not only would patient care have been affected, but it would also have been more costly to the state. This was proven in a study recently released by healthcare research firm The Moran Company, which showed that the state would incur at least $3.7 million in additional costs if the Medicaid hospice benefit were cut.

Hospice care is a vital service because it focuses on caring for the patient’s needs as a whole, rather than strictly the patient’s physical and medical issues. The patient receives a comprehensive range of medical, spiritual and social services that are administered at home, as opposed to undergoing costly medical treatments in hospitals and emergency rooms.

Also, the Medicaid patient and family often face non-medical crises such as poverty, estrangement, and even homelessness. Hospice of Palm Beach County and other hospice programs provide social service support and professional case management. This helps the patient and family as well as over-burdened social service agencies. Hospice is a proven high-quality, patient-focused, yet low-cost program. It is an indispensable service that is available to all Floridians, and it is essential that it remain so.

IT COSTS MORE TO CUT HOSPICE

The legislature is meeting now to decide how to deal with the state’s $2.3 billion deficit. Many beneficial programs will be cut – the legislature has no other choice.

One of the proposed cuts is to eliminate the Medicaid payment for hospice care. A recently released study by the Moran Company proved that the state would incur at least $3.7 million in additional costs – and possibly more -- if the Medicaid Hospice Benefit were cut.

Each year Hospice of Palm Beach County provides care for more than 6,000 patients, of which over 5% receive Medicaid for this care. Hospice is for patients facing a life threatening illness. They receive a range of medical, spiritual and social services at home instead of costly medical treatments provided in hospitals and emergency rooms.

The real tragedy is the quality of care that our community’s citizens stand to lose. Hospice care is comprehensive and all inclusive. One daily fee covers every home visit by nurses, certified nursing assistants, hospice aides, social workers, chaplains, physicians, music and integrative therapists and community-based volunteers. The fee also includes prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, medical equipment and medical supplies.

Families of dying patients often face non-medical crises as well. The Medicaid patient and family also may face poverty, estrangement, and even homelessness. Hospice of Palm Beach County and other hospice programs provide social service support and professional case management. This helps the patient and family as well as over-burdened social service agencies.

Florida is not the first state to consider cutting Medicaid hospice benefits as a way to save money. Illinois and Connecticut have had to reinstate the Medicaid payment for hospice, because they found it too costly otherwise.

Hospice is the proven high-quality, low-cost, patient-focused approach to caring for those in the last months of life. Hospice care is a benefit that should be available to all Floridians.

David Ralicki Chairman Hospice of Palm Beach County

David Fielding President and CEO Hospice of Palm Beach County

Use this sample letter to send to your Congressman.

To find your elected officials in Florida and email them this message go to: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx

Mother Teresa – Reflections of Her Lifetime

Jim Towey served as legal counsel to Mother Teresa of Calcutta for more than 12 years and lived as a full-time volunteer in her home for AIDS patients in Washington DC. He served as director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives for four years, and is currently the President of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Jim Towey will share his experiences in working with Mother Teresa and in so doing, discuss her life, her philosophy and charitable work to benefit those in need.

Mother Teresa – Reflections of Her Lifetime
by Jim Towey
Friday, February 6, 2009
1:00 - 2:00 pm

Palm Beach Community College
Eissey Campus Theater
11051 Campus Drive, Palm Beach Gardens

Free of charge

For information, call (561) 227-5138
5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33407 • Telephone: (561) 848-5200 • Toll-free: (888) 848-5200 • www.hpbc.com
Accredited by The Joint Commission. 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Brought to you by:
Jim Towey, founder of
Aging with Dignity

Palm Beach Hospice Partners On Call Services

Hospice Partners On Call
Solutions for After-Hours Call Assistance

As a proven and successful component of Hospice of Palm Beach County's span of comprehensive programs, Hospice Partners On Call was created to make it easier for their hospice care partners to meet every need of patients and families around the clock. These needs don't always correspond to 9 to 5 business hours. Hospice Partners On Call assures hospice providers that an after-hours team is available to provide answers, offer clinical instruction, or immediate interventions for patients and families who are in need of acute care or immediate intervention over the phone. A team of professionally trained and skilled customer service representatives and RNs combined with state-of-the-art information tracking technology is dedicated to providing a seamless care experience, 24/7.

“Hospice Partners On Call is a source for continuity of care at a time when every healthcare provider needs a competitive edge to improve the intensity of its operation, its image in the community and the ability to save money – all the while enhancing access to care,” said Jennifer Kast, Chief Operating Officer of Hospice Partners On Call.

As an industry-leading after-hours triage call center, the program is offered as a contracted service to hospice providers around the country that do not have call centers with triage capability (an estimated 90%). Hospice Partners On Call currently provides services to six hospice providers:

Hospice of the Chesapeake
Hospice of Dayton
Valley Hospice
Douglas Gardens
Metropolitan Jewish Hospice and Palliative Care
and Hospice of Palm Beach County.

“Their triage software provided a seamless integration with our patient records. The Hospice Partners On Call program has proven to be top notch, and Hospice of the Chesapeake is confident that our patients and families are receiving the best quality care 'round the clock’,” said Michael McHale, Chief Operating Officer, Hospice of the Chesapeake.