VITAS Healthcare Expands Inpatient Unit at Hialeah Hospital to Meet Community’s Growing Demand for End-of-Life Care
Pictured from left: VITAS Representative Janel Baez, Hialeah Hospital CEO Michael Bell, general managers Etian Vizoso, Annette Requena, and Kathleen Coronado, Business Manager Ada Hernandez, and National Patient Care Administrator Lazaro Cuervo.
12/05/2019
MIAMI, FL – VITAS® Healthcare, the nation's leading provider of end-of-life care, unveiled its expanded Inpatient Hospice Unit (IPU) at Hialeah Hospital. The new development nearly doubles the facility size to 11,800 square feet. To celebrate the grand opening of the expanded IPU, VITAS staff members and executives hosted an open house event for healthcare professionals on Thursday, November 14, 2019.
Located on the second floor of the Hialeah Hospital at 651 East 25th Street in Hialeah, the VITAS IPU accepts 24-hour direct admissions of high-acuity patients referred by doctors and hospitals throughout Miami. To refer a patient, please call 800.93.VITAS or download the VITAS referral mobile app.
Serving 659 patients over the past year, this IPU is one of three VITAS inpatient facilities in Miami-Dade County and features a modern, home-like environment with overnight amenities, private quiet rooms, shared family rooms and a kitchen. The expansion of the facility allows VITAS to care for up to 28 patients daily.
“VITAS takes seriously its commitment to delivering expert end-of-life care in the Hialeah community, and this expansion reflects that commitment,” said Etian Vizoso, general manager of VITAS in Dade and Monroe counties. “It allows us to grow to meet the needs of local patients who require highly skilled care around the clock to manage their complex symptoms.”
VITAS representatives showcased specialty services available at the IPU during the grand opening, including music, massage and respiratory therapies, bereavement support and veterans’ services.
The IPU is staffed by VITAS’ interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, hospice aides, social workers, chaplains, volunteers and bereavement support staff members that attend to the medical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients and their families.
For more than 40 years, VITAS has provided quality compassionate care to terminally ill patients throughout South Florida. Today the company employs nearly 6,700 healthcare professionals in the Sunshine State, caring for over 10,000 residents each day.