Page 18 - SF HOSPITAL NEWS NOVEMBER 2020

VIT A ® Healthcaree Steps Up for South Florida During COVID-19

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The VIT A
AS Advantaage ensures patients, families, and hhealthcare partners receive
i t
i
t
c compassionate, unninterrupted hospice care
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t d h
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W ritten byy Betty Bel, V ice President oof Hospice Operations for V AS in South Florida
VIT
The emergennce of CO VID-19 in early 20020 quickly changed and
challenged tthe deliv er y of healthcar e throughout S outh F lorida.
o
D edicated mmembers of VIT AS clinical care teams and suppor t staff
r
A
r esponded too the pandemic beginning in mid-M ar ch b y embracing
a long-held VIT A alue: P atients and families come first.
V AS corporate v
As the natio s leading pr o vider of end-off-life car e, our effor ts ar e
’
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par ticularly wor thy of highlighting during N ational H ospice and
ar
P alliativ eCa eM onth in N v o ember .
Thr ough rappid inno v ation, ongoing training, a shift to telehealth
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platforms foor hospice car e, and the benefifits of The VIT A
d
i D
M
i
h
A A Addvantage, p ipatients and families throughout Miami-Dade,
d
d f
h
ili
Broward, annd Palm Beach counties continnue to experience
compassionate, patient-centered hospice care. VITTAAS embraces
quality of life—even in the midst of challlenging circumstances,
facility quarantines, new health-safety guiidelines, and visitation At VITTAAS, We Call Itt “The VITTAAS Advantage”
limitations in some care facilities. The VITTA
AS AAddvantage is an array of services, solutions, and
care models that exceed d the four levels of hospice care required
While finding new ways to deliver hospicce care, VITTAAS also
by Medicare:
deployed additional resources to help inddividuals, families, our
healthcare colleagues, and entire communnities confront their • Complex modalitie es for patients requiring high-acuity care for
grief and come to terms with ongoing losss. symptoms related t to advanced illness. These modalities include
comfort-focused fluuid management, pain medications,
respirator y therapyy,, and other services, whether patients are
y,
y
facing the challengees of cancer, heart disease, lung disease, or

COVID-19.

• 24/7/365 clinical caare support, meaning no one gets an
answweering machinee when they call VITTAAS. Our care teams are
available after hours, on wweeekends, and during holidays to
provide care, answeer calls, and manage/triage symptoms over the
phone or in person to resolve crises and keep hospice patients out

of the hospital and emergency depar tment.

•A c ccess to specialists s in adv anced illness and end-of-life car e,
outh F
ensuring that the S o lorida community r eceiv es exper t advice
fr om physicians wh e boar d cer tified in hospice and palliativ e
ho ar

medicine, and othe er r elev ant specialties.

p and training on issues that take on ne
• Thought leadership w
tance becauseeo
O
fC
VID-19, including goals-of-care
impor
importance because eofCOVID 19, including go als of car e
adv
conv ersations and a ance car e planning discussions to identify
patients ’ and famili ’ wishes, v alues, and goals foor the car e they
ies

want—and do not want—near the end of life.
e
New COVID-19 Care Pr otocols
O ur hospice car e teamss mobiliz ed quickly to continuue pr o viding
g
p
compassionate hospice car e in alignment with ev er-cchanginggg
p
,
guidelines for patient and worker safety , social distanncing, masks,
and personal pr otectiv e equipment (PP E). Always, oour pr ocesses ar e
18 November 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News