by Joyce Baldrica, President and CEO of the VNA of the Treasure Coast and Nightingale Private Duty Nursing Do you, a loved one, or a neighbor feel unsafe at home due to a medical condition or age-related issues?…
Lifestyle
On Friday, June 28, FHPCA submitted comments to CMS regarding the FY2014 proposed hospice wage index rule. The letter addressed four distinct sections of the proposed rule: Diagnosis reporting on hospice claims; use of nonspecific, symptom diagnoses; proposed updates to…
Joan Byrd grew up in a family of six. She and her siblings were raised to stay connected with one another no matter where they went. Each year, Joan would make the trek from Phoenix to Washington, DC to visit…
On May 23rd, Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association (FHPCA) announced the 2013 winners of the annual Awards of Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Care. The Awards of Excellence program was created to identify, recognize and showcase the outstanding…
An article published on The New York Times’ blog, New Old Age, explores the experience of caregivers of terminally-ill family members and loved ones. The essay examines not only the stresses that are present during the finals days of the…
This is a public forum, once your comment is online, everyone with Internet access can read it. Please make your comment clear to ensure that it is not misunderstood. You can express a strong opinion but please do so remembering…
Despite recent gains in public awareness of the need for advance care planning, studies indicate that most Americans have not exercised their right to make decisions about their healthcare in the event that they cannot speak for themselves. The…
by Roxanne Riley, Executive Director, LifePath Hospice For years, state and federal lawmakers have tried to find an answer to escalating health care costs. At the same time, patients and families want access to quality health care that is both…
Traveling to a destination rarely happens without adventure, mishaps, or detours, and the same goes with one’s life destination. FHPCA’s 28th Annual Forum Conference “Journey: Mapping Our Past, Paving New Roads” is about looking at the past, present, and…
By Joyce Baldrica, President and CEO of the VNA of the Treasure Coast and Nightingale Private Duty Nursing Hospice care offers the services you want. What stands in the way of more people choosing hospice care, is limited awareness of…
Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association (FHPCA) announces the new additions to its Board Leadership and Executive Committee. Linda Ward, President/CEO, Gulfside Regional Hospice, was elected a two two-year terms as President of FHPCA Board of Directors this past November….
Written by: Ebony Faber, Publications Coordinator, Suncoast Hospice Sometimes, in the midst of the darkness of dementia, moments of light shine through – an awakening. While under Suncoast Hospice care before his death, Christopher “Chris” Witt experienced his awakening through…
…When the Only Thing You Want, Is the One Thing You Can’t Have Article courtesy of Avow Hospice, Naples, Florida The sobbing didn’t start until it was time to put the lights on the tree. For years Nancy had…
Hospice is a special kind of care provided for those at the end of life, and Governor Rick Scott has declared this November as Florida Hospice Month. November is an opportunity for hospice providers statewide to raise awareness about hospice…
By: Abby Vandegrift, Communications & Policy Coordinator for Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association This October, Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association (FHPCA) celebrates its 30 year anniversary of dedicated service to hospice care in Florida. Established as Florida Hospices, Inc….
By: Paul A. Ledford, CAE, CHA, Executive Director of Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association When you think of hospice, do you think of life? Chances are probably not. Often people think of hospice as a place you…
By Joyce Baldrica, President and CEO of the VNA of the Treasure Coast and Nightingale Private Duty Nursing In life we prepare for everything… college, marriage, children, and retirement. Despite the conversations we have for these important milestones, rarely…
By: Vicki Arant, RN, BSN, Vice President of Clinical Services, Hospice of the Comforter When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness, where do they and their loved ones turn for support? A hospice cares for patients and families on…
By: Tiffany Campion, Director of Communications, Covenant Hospice It has been said that human beings are the only living beings that have knowledge of and can anticipate their own death. Even if that is true, most of us just…
News
This year’s Forum was a great success! While we are preparing follow-up emails, evaluations, attendee lists, and CEU information to go out this week, don’t forget to mark your calendar for 2025:
Upcoming Events
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12:00 PM - Reimagining Your Patient & Family Experience
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12:00 PM - Top-Notch Volunteer Training & Programming
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Hospice and home care agencies are discovering that superior customer service experiences lead to increased satisfaction, which, in turn, brings greater compliance with treatments and clinical outcomes. And, sometimes important lessons are learned from outside the healthcare industry.
Join us to learn the essential elements needed to strengthen patient and family experiences. It’s critical to understand the importance of handling an inquiry call, the first 24 hours of being on service, and how to innovate your delivery system to drive excellence. In short, there are strong mission and business reasons to focus on creating an improved patient and family experience.
Accurate hospice eligibility documentation is critical to fulfilling the CoPs and payment requirements. The lack of supporting documentation for a terminal prognosis is the number one reason for denial. Reviewers often look for a significant decline in patient condition. Although this is not a requirement of hospice care, a terminal prognosis is.
This webinar will help clinicians document the slightest changes in baseline measures. More importantly, it will explain how to capture the changes that support terminal prognosis – even without a decline in baseline measures. Go beyond the LCDs and common tools for documenting eligibility by drilling down to the details and characteristics that differentiate terminal and chronic patients with the same diagnosis.
WEBINAR DETAILS
Emails, text messages, instant messages, direct messages, social media marketing, online review responses... so much of our daily work is now communicated through the written word rather than the spoken word. Unfortunately, much of it is not well written. Join us to learn how written communication impacts your effectiveness and reputation, and how you can stand out with your team and clients as a great communicator!
How would you respond if a surveyor suddenly walked into your agency for survey today? Would your stress level be off the charts? What if you could have your agency at a state of survey readiness year-round? Is it even possible? This webinar will explain the steps to becoming perennially survey ready by using your QAPI program as an evaluation tool, preparing your staff for survey visits, and learning how to design a mock survey.
What does it take to move from being an adequate volunteer manager to an exceptional volunteer manager? To start with, you need good critical thinking skills and the ability to engage in creative problem-solving. Today’s volunteer manager must be assertive, solution-focused, and possess the ability to anticipate requests before they are received. This webinar will address what it takes to become an exceptional volunteer manager no matter how large or small your program may be.
This webinar will detail how a personal care/private duty service can strengthen and develop your current care continuum and how it adds value to your referral sources and current patient base. Learn what goes into developing a personal care service and the key ingredients for success. This session will provide practical advice, lessons, and tools to start a personal care service. Learn how a personal care service can contribute to an organization’s financial success.
Time to get off the "recruit, train, recruit, train" merry-go-round. If you are losing volunteers as fast as you get them, something is seriously wrong. One major mistake is failing to ensure your program is volunteer friendly and receptive. Volunteers should know that leadership is committed to providing them with the experience they seek. This program will cover everything you need to know about getting and keeping volunteers to meet the needs of patients, families, and your organization.
Do you know the top 10 misunderstood hospice regulations? This webinar will enhance your understanding, ensure compliance, optimize your hospice operations, and improve the quality of care provided to your patients.
Plan of Care and Contents: What is required and moving beyond cookie-cutter plans.
Attending Physician: The importance of understanding CMS intentions and addressing low participation rates. Why is high participation a good thing?
Patient and Family Assessment: Discover best practices for admissions and assessments, including the role of medical records, history, talking with patients and families, physical examinations, and admissions. Who can make a referral and/or request hospice services?
Eligibility: Learn about enhancing admission nurses’ assessment skills, presentation of hospice eligibility to physicians, and the inherent pitfalls.
Eligibility Variability: This section will address variability among hospice physicians. What should be done when you have deemed a patient not eligible, and another hospice immediately admits the patient and says they are eligible?
Eligibility Education: There is a lack of education and training within hospices about what makes a patient legally eligible for hospice. Utilization of change of terminal diagnosis, discharge, and revocation will be covered.
Information: What is really required for hospice informational consent, and election of benefits? How do families feel about the admission process? Why do most hospices give out too much information?
Initial Assessment: Clarifying best practices and common misunderstandings.
Comprehensive Assessment: Who does what, when, and by what deadlines. Explore how to improve thoroughness and accuracy.
Survey Awareness: Best practices for CAHPS survey awareness, including misconceptions and how to increase participation.
Bonus: How to handle a transfer and how long you should wait on the other hospice.
Is your volunteer training just an exercise in jumping through hoops? Is it boring or exciting? Is it short and sweet or comprehensive and based on the principles of adult learning? Are your volunteers so impressed by your training that they tell everyone they know that they have to volunteer with you, if for no other reason than to attend this fabulous education experience?
A high-quality training course followed by ongoing educational opportunities is the first step to building a strong program. Then moving from training to creative programming is essential to ensuring volunteers receive a meaningful experience and patients and families receive the best possible care.
This webinar will delve into the transformative power of recognizing and acknowledging workplace contributions. Attendees will discover actionable strategies for creating a culture of appreciation that not only boosts employee morale, but also significantly enhances team performance. Through examples and practical tips, participants will be empowered to implement meaningful gestures of appreciation and foster a work environment where individuals feel valued and motivated and ultimately contribute to the organization’s overall success.
