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Why Do Nursing Facilities Need Hospice?
Originally publised in Chicago Hospital News, May 2006
By Margi Carlson
I have been a nurse for almost 30 years, and for 10 of those years I was a nursing facility administrator here in Chicago. I routinely would get visits from hospice reps or talk to hospice nurses or admissions managers, all suggesting that our residents would be better served if we worked with their hospice program. And my thought at the time was, why do I need hospice? I have a whole staff taking care of our residents already.
But things change, and smart people use their experiences to get smarter. After several of my own family members died in hospice care (and several died without hospice care), I began to see hospice from the patient and family’s point of view. I got to know the staff at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Chicagoland South. And about three years ago I left the long term care field to work for VITAS, where I serve as general manager and see hospice from the staff’s point of view. I believe I am well qualified today to explain why nursing facilities need hospice.
Facility administrators have said to me, “Why do we refer to VITAS? We care for a resident for 10 years, you care for her for 10 days, and you get mentioned in the obituary.” And I have to admit it’s true, because at the time of death a grateful family can think only about the caregivers who were at the bedside—and continue to support the family—at a difficult and emotional time.
But VITAS cannot take the place of the facility staff; we’re not suggesting that a nursing facility can’t take care of its residents. We’re simply saying let us support you. VITAS brings years of specialized service in end-of-life care. We see ourselves as an adjunct to the nursing facility. As a former nursing facility administrator, I know that most facilities have limited resources. That’s a reality. When your nursing facility turns to hospice, there is a synergistic benefit: Your staff has our staff.
As a patient’s needs increase at the end of life, the demand on the nursing facility staff also increases. With the addition of hospice care, VITAS would collaborate with the facility staff to establish a schedule that includes regular VITAS nurse and home health aide visits.
We bring to our patients pain management expertise, wound care expertise, physician visits as warranted, Continuous Care to avoid repeated hospitalizations and more. The VITAS staff, which also includes a social worker, chaplain and community volunteers, becomes a conduit between the patient and the family, to the benefit of both. If there is no family, VITAS may take the place of family.
But as important as that is, the collaboration between nursing facilities and VITAS goes beyond the bedside. We have created a Long Term Care Advisory Council here in South Chicago that takes patient care to a new level.
For the past two years VITAS has met regularly with the leadership of area nursing homes. We involve the VITAS rep, team manager, nurse and director of market development, as well as representatives from several nursing homes. Typically, six to eight facilities are represented every quarter. We educate one another. And over the past 18 months, we’ve significantly increased not only the number of our patients who reside in nursing homes but also the satisfaction ratings from both surviving family members and our nursing facility partners.
VITAS does more than take care of terminally ill nursing facility residents; sometimes we’re there to fulfill staff educational needs. VITAS offers bereavement programs in the facility that are open to all families, all patients and the community at large. Walk into one of our nursing facilities during one of VITAS’ music therapy sessions and you’ll see a whole group of residents—both VITAS patients and others—sitting in the activities room, all benefiting and each making the experience better for the rest of the group.
That’s how I see the collaboration between hospice and nursing facilities. We are contracted to accomplish different things. We each have unique abilities. But together we offer a better experience than either of us would separately.
Margi Carlson, general manager of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Chicagoland South, can be reached at 1-800-93VITAS.
100 South Biscayne Blvd, Suite 1500 Miami, FL
33131 (305) 374-4143 |
