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ElderCare Update in South Florida...ElderCare Update in South Florida...ElderCare Update in South

It’s Time to Stop Thinking About Hospice as Short-Term

Utilizing data taken from areas in which hospice most practiced and comfortable providing who offer a lifetime of experience, deep
CMS hospice claims, the lat- providers can be of more services in a healthcare setting. In hospice, compassion and the utmost respect to
est Facts and Figures report service to our patients the patients’ comfort level is more impor- patients and their families.
from the National Hospice and their loved ones: tant than our own and we must respect Moving beyond bereavement support:
and Palliative Care Outreach and educa- that we are being invited into their home Offering primary caregivers a respite while
Organization (NHPCO) tion: I doubt that when where they feel safest and in which their their loved one is alive then, afterward,
found that while 1.43 Dr. Elizabeth Kübler- loved ones may continue to reside with providing greeting cards, phone calls, vis-
Medicare beneficiaries were Ross introduced her con- memories of this period. its and support groups is not enough. If we
enrolled in hospice care for cept of the five stages of People managers: Hospice patients and can expand the hospice care window from
one day or more in 2016, grief she thought the their families have access to an interdisci- a week to six months or more, patients and
27.9% were enrolled for process of denial, anger, plinary team (registered nurse, social families will have more time to come to
seven days or fewer. Overall, bargaining, depression worker, home health aide, hospice volun- closure and make meaningful memories.
more than half of the total and acceptance should teer and chaplain) yet, once again, too For those patient whose conditions allow,
number of all beneficiaries BY KEITH A. MYERS be completed in seven often providers stick to a care team hierar- we will be working with them and their
received hospice services for days or less. Families chy and bureaucracy. At Palm Beach families to create lasting tributes.
one month or less. need to better understand the philosophy Hospice and Palliative Care, we have creat- Hospice offers compassionate care to its
Typically, hospice is considered when a behind hospice and the services available ed a model in which registered nurse case patients and has a profound effect on those
physician determines that an individual to them. Outreach can be made through managers serve a small number of patients they leave behind. Hospice providers need
has a life prognosis of six months or less. medical providers, houses of worship, and are an immediate point of contact by to give it their all because there is literally
What kind of true aid and comfort can we community lectures and symposia. phone, email or text. no time to waste.
as medical providers offer in only one Respect the setting: According to the Sustaining caring connections: NHPCO
week’s time? NHPCO report, more days of hospice care found that the majority of volunteer time Keith A. Myers is president and CEO
As a teaching facility, MorseLife has inte- were provided in private residences than was for direct patient care (42.7%) com- MorseLife Health System and is the Not-For-
grated an academic approach throughout acute care hospitals, nursing homes, pared against clinical support (29.9%) and Profit Vice President on the Board of
Palm Beach Hospice and Palliative Care skilled nursing facilities, assisted living non-clinical care (27.4%). That’s on the Directors of the Florida Health Care
with a mission to contribute to best prac- facilities and hospice inpatient facilities right track and medical professionals need Association, Florida’s largest advocacy organi-
tices within the industry. Below, I offer five combined. As medical providers, we are to value those without medical degrees zation for senior care providers.

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Specializing in Medically

Complex Patients

Kindred Hospitals are owned by Kindred
Healthcare, Inc., a national network of Long Term
Acute Care Hospitals (LTACH's).

Kindred Hospitals provide specialized, high quality
care for acutely ill patients. For more than a decade,
we have fine-tuned the art of medically complex care.

Our services range from complex catastrophic
illnesses that require intensive care, post-surgical medical
rehabilitation to patients suffering from chronic diseases requiring respiratory and
rehabilitative therapies. Kindred Hospitals provide outcome-oriented
cost effective care for patients with a wide spectrum of
medical conditions.

Admissions to Kindred Hospitals may be
recommended by physicians, acute-care hospitals,
rehabilitation hospitals, managed care providers, case
management companies or by the patient’s family.
In all cases family tours are encouraged.

Kindred Hospital Kindred Hospital Kindred Hospital Kindred Hospital
Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Coral Gables The Palm Beaches

1516 East Las Olas Blvd. 1859 Van Buren St. 5190 Southwest Eighth St. 5555 West Blue Heron Blvd
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33301 Hollywood, FL 33020 Coral Gables, FL 33134 Riviera Beach, FL 33418
954-764-8900, ext. 5136 954-920-9000 305-448-1585 561-904-8451
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18 June 2019 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News