Hospice Responses

HomeCare & Hospice

HomeCare & Hospice is committed to providing the best possible care to our patients and their caregivers. There were issues identified six years ago that were not indicative of our long history of compassionate and quality care. We examined policies, tightened procedures and had some staffing changes. The issues have not re-occurred. The most recent caregiver satisfaction survey, calculated by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, put Home Care & Hospice at a greater satisfaction rate than other hospices in New York State and the Nation. We remain committed to providing the best possible care.

St. Vincent Hospice

St.Vincent Hospice has always put the safety and care of our patients and families first. We are proud to share that, since 2008, we have received zero patient care deficiencies. Virtually all of the deficiencies cited in the Huffington Post accounting date back a decade. In fact, as a demonstration of our commitment to providing the highest quality of patient care, St.Vincent Hospice has elected to be surveyed by the Joint Commission every three years, rather than every five years as is federally mandated.

HCI Care Services

HCI Care Services takes the care of our patients and their safety very seriously. Throughout the past 10 years we’ve served more than 12,000 people. Any time state inspectors have identified an area in which we could improve, we have immediately acted upon those recommendations. All but a handful of the noted deficiencies happened four or more years ago, and all of the concerns have long since been addressed. With that said, this number is a bit misleading for many who may not be familiar with these assessments. For example, 27 of the deficiencies noted were part of one report that addressed such items as an office door being improperly propped open. We welcome more transparency and oversight of the hospice industry. That’s why we have participated in national efforts to improve quality hospice care and supported the IMPACT Act. What’s important for people to know is that they can rest assured that their loved ones’ quality of life and comfort have always been and will continue to be our top priority — just as they were nearly 37 years ago, when we were setting the standard for quality hospice care before these requirements were in place.

VITAS Healthcare

VITAS supports the IMPACT Act that mandates that all Medicare-certified hospices be surveyed at least every three years to ensure that they are meeting the necessary conditions to participate in Medicare.

As a hospice leader, VITAS has an industry leading regulatory compliance program that guides our strict adherence to the rules and regulations governing hospice care. VITAS has developed tools and processes to ensure regulatory compliance and employs these resources so that regulations are followed.

Since our founding more than 35 years ago, VITAS has served more than one million patients and has consistently been defined by its commitment to high quality, compassionate care for people facing a life-limiting illness.

Hospice Advantage of Pelham

Hospice Advantage, LLC purchased Hospice Care of Pelham from HC Healthcare, Inc. on April 1, 2012. Two years later, on April 14, 2014, an initial Hospice Accreditation survey with the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) was held. Hospice Advantage of Pelham received 10 deficiencies from the survey administrator. Our administration and staff worked diligently on correcting those deficiencies and I am proud to announce that on May 28, 2014 we were re-surveyed and found in complete compliance with no deficiencies. Hospice Advantage of Pelham received a ”deemed“ status and was cleared of all 10 deficiencies.

Serenity Hospice

Serenity Hospice in Georgia changed hands in 2011, an attorney representing the hospice wrote in an email. “Serenity’s owners acquired a struggling hospice company that had a history of citations and survey challenges,” the email said. “[The new] management team applied Serenity’s proven policies and practices to this new, affiliated hospice company, which has not received any patient care citations since becoming affiliated with Serenity.”

HopeHealth Hospice

We share your concerns for ensuring that hospice services are of the highest quality. While we always seek to have a deficiency free survey, we are appreciative of the Department of Public Health’s thorough review and their identification of areas for improvement. HopeHealth has always been, and continues to be, committed to strengthening and improving our policies and procedures to provide the best care to our patients.

We are a 30-year old, community-based not-for-profit organization with a history of delivering high-quality care. Since we voluntarily joined the Joint Commission accreditation program over 10 years ago, we have undergone multiple surveys, each of which has resulted in our full reaccreditation. As you are aware, the Joint Commission is the most highly regarded national healthcare accreditation body.

As a point of clarification, over 90 percent of the survey deficiencies referred to in your letter were the result of a single survey that took place in January of 2013. We immediately set into action mechanisms to correct those deficiencies. We were re-surveyed in March of 2013 and the conclusion was that all deficiencies were addressed and rectified.

We continue to enhance our quality monitoring and improvement systems. We monitor quality metrics on a monthly basis and report them to our Board of Directors Quality Committee quarterly. Of note, our most recent family satisfaction survey (conducted by the leading, national benchmarking organization) showed an overall satisfaction rate of 99% — well surpassing state and national averages for all hospices.