Eli's Hospice Insider

Nursing homes, hospitals make willing partners to hospice facility growth.

As regulations increase and reimbursement dwindles, many hospices are having a hard time making a go of it. But others are expanding in the face of adversity.

In New York: This summer, Southampton-based East End Hospice moved one step closer to completing its inpatient facility that’s been more than a decade in the making. East End Hospice was willed a 5.4-acre property 14 years ago and received permission to build an 11,000-square-foot facility last year, notes The Southampton Press. Construction of the $5.5 million, eight-bed facility in Quiogue may take up to 18 months.

And Niagara Hospice opened a dedicated hospice unit in the nursing home portion of the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center campus. The hospice and Schoellkopf Health Center collaborated on 10 private rooms, reports the Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune. “When Niagara Hospice was looking to expand its footprint in ways to better serve terminally ill residents residing in nursing facilities, we strategically selected facilities that shared a common mission of caring and commitment to the community, the staff and, most importantly, the residents that call their facility home,” a hospice rep said in a statement.

In North Carolina: Two hospices are trying to expand their inpatient capacity under state Certificate of Need limitations. Hospice & Palliative Care of Greensboro and Hospice of the Piedmont in High Point each have a state-approved number of inpatient beds, reports the Triad Business Journal. Piedmont wants to boost its inpatient bed number by five to 15, and Greensboro wants to up its inpatient bed number by three to 11.

Greensboro’s growth is also leading it to build a new 15,000-square-foot office building, reports the News & Record newspaper. The building, which costs $4 million to build, will add to the hospice’s current 20,000-square-foot space.

In Ohio: Hospice of Miami County and Upper Valley Medical Center in Troy plan to open Hospice of Miami County’s Inpatient Unit in the hospital, according to the Sidney Daily News. “Hospice of Miami County and UVMC have had a long-standing cooperative relationship,” said Becky Rice, UVMC president and CEO. “We have had a collaborative, virtual beds agreement with Hospice for the past five years and very much welcome the opportunity for on-site services at a whole new level.”

“It is very important for us to launch an inpatient unit and all that it will allow us to offer,” said Heather Bolton, executive director of Hospice of Miami County.

And in Ohio, Columbus Hospice is opening a new 10-bed inpatient unit at Midtown Medical Center West, the former Doctors Specialty Hospital. Columbus Hospice is leasing the space for the unit from Columbus Regional Health, the hospital’s parent company, reports the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

“The new unit will allow patients from all of our short-term acute care hospital facilities to transition to end-of-life care more quickly and comfortably,” said Columbus Hospice CEO Mike Smajd. Patients will continue to have the option of receiving care at the Hospice House, an inpatient facility with 25 beds that opened in 2000 and expanded in 2010, but now there is a facility closer to hospitals and many doctors’ offices, according to the newspaper.

The cost of renovating the approximately 4,900-square-foot section of the hospital floor was between $700,000 and $750,000, the Ledger-Enquirer reports.

In Maine: Hospice of Southern Maine’s Gosnell House inpatient facility is in the midst of a $250,000 renovation that includes reconfiguring administrative offices to accommodate additional staff members, reports The Portland Press Herald. The 18-bed facility has been limited to a maximum of 14 patients because it didn’t have enough office space to accommodate additional necessary staffing.

The 30-year-old hospice is also planning to build a new, expanded headquarters in Scarborough that will replace its existing one, the newspaper says. The hospice bought the land with an $850,000 anonymous gift, and plans a $5.5 million capital campaign to fund the office construction.

In Kansas: Olathe Medical Center has opened the only inpatient facility on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro area, reports The Kansas City Star. It will start with an eight-patient capacity, and plans to ramp up to 16 patients eventually, the newspaper says.

In Florida: Hospice chain VITAS leases its facilities, but it’s about to take the plunge into ownership in Delray Beach. The Miami-based company plans to build a 14,000-square-foot facility featuring eight private patient rooms, a satellite office and a community event center, reports the South Florida Business Journal.

In Maryland: Hospice of Queen Anne’s has gained permission from the Maryland Health Care Commission to be the sole provider of hospice services in Queen Anne’s, Kent and Caroline Counties, the hospice says on its website. Hospice of Queen Anne’s has “reached an agreement” with University of Maryland Shore Regional Health to take over its hospice services furnished by Shore Home Care and Hospice and Chester River Home Care and Hospice.

The hospice has also changed its name to Compass Regional Hospice, it notes on its website.

In Indiana: Two nurses have opened Dunes Hospice in Valparaiso, reports The Times newspaper. Owners Wendy Warner and Sharon Rigg have more than 50 years combined experience in health care.