With an estimated 8,000 Americans reaching retirement age every day from now until 2029, the hospice care industry is ever expanding. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), an estimated 1.5 million patients received hospice services in 2013, up from 1.3 million patients in 2009. The hospice industry has undergone several regulatory and legislative changes in recent years stemming from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With a focus on improving the value of healthcare by increasing quality while reducing escalating costs, more hospice care providers are struggling to comply with ACA-mandated quality reporting measures. Hospice providers who fail to meet these benchmarks are forced to improve quality of care or lose patients.

 

Broward Health Gold Coast Home Health & Hospice is a non-profit agency offering a full spectrum of services to meet the hospice care needs of the community. We strive to meet the highest standards of excellence in patient care and are committed to ensuring patients and their families have peace of mind. Our healthcare delivery model is unique in that we are owned by one of the largest public healthcare systems in the nation, allowing us to provide a full continuum of care from birth until the end of life. We follow our patients through their treatment pathway, using a low ratio of multi-disciplinary, clinical staff who are attuned to the needs of patients and their families, and we closely monitor the status of each patient as they matriculate through the patient experience. We also have a separate Joint Commission-certified palliative care operation, which is distinct from our hospice care services; integrity is built into the way we conduct business every day and we don’t have financial incentives that would influence patient care. This key factor sets Gold Coast Home Health & Hospice apart from other for-profit competitors that obtain financial gain from referral patterns.

 

In addition, Gold Coast Home Health & Hospice is part of an accredited Hospice and Palliative fellowship training program. This partnership ensures that hospice and palliative care physicians meet the highest training standards possible when it comes to rendering hospice care, leading to quality-focused patient care.

 

We must adhere to regulatory guidelines outlined by the ACA yet I believe that we should care for each patient as though they were our own family member. Allowing each patient to become an active participant in their treatment according to their beliefs and values is a hallmark of how we practice medicine. All of these services are conducted in a supportive, patient-centered environment, despite one’s ability to pay.