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Hospices Stepping Up Performance on Visits-in-Last-Days-of-Life Measure

Hospice News

The number of registered nurse and social worker visits during a patient’s final week is one of the seven quality measures that CMS uses to evaluate providers. Social worker visits in the last days of life also rose to 9% in 2021, up from 7% in 2020. In 2019, for example, the percentage was 66%.

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Telehealth Effective in Supporting Rural Caregivers

Hospice News

For the study, caregivers of hospitalized patients who dwell in rural areas participated in a randomized, 8-week intervention consisting of video visits conducted by a palliative care-certified registered nurse. These visits were supplemented with phone calls and texts.

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Facility-Bound Hospice Patients Less Likely to Get SIA Visits

Hospice News

It allows hospices to bill on an hourly basis for registered nurse and social worker visits during the last seven days of a patient’s life, in addition to the standard per diem reimbursement. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced SIA in 2016.

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Unionized Hospice Workers Reach Agreement with Providence Health System Amid Growing Trend

Hospice News

The Providence hospice workers include 130 registered nurses, social workers, and other staff who joined the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) in January 2023. Hospices that are affiliated with larger health systems, like Providence, may be more likely to see staff participate in labor unions.

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Hospice Organizations Appoint New Leadership, VPs

Hospice News

Established in 1988, AAHPM is a professional organization for hospice and palliative care clinicians, social workers and other health and spiritual care providers in the space. Smith-Lopez has more than 26 years of experience in hospice and palliative care, beginning her career as a registered nurse before taking on leadership roles.

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The Biggest Barriers to Hospice Recruiting

Hospice News

Strategies revealed in the study include increasing the amount of social workers and re-allocating non-clinical responsibilities, such as scheduling, to other areas of the organization.”. Close to 8-0% claimed that at least 20% of their registered nurse positions are currently unfilled.

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Hospice & Palliative Care of Wood River Valley Works to Reach Underserved Latino Populations

Hospice News

In 2022, Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley performed 2,622 registered nurse visits and assisted 1,638 individuals in its community, according to a recent newsletter. This is a rise from 1,367 individuals served in 2021, 135 of whom were hospice patients and families, according to an annual report.