Are all hospices the same?

A note from Diane Bergeron, VNA Hospice Care Executive Director:

In my last Director’s Corner (winter edition), I wrote about several things that set VNAHC apart from its competitors. Our JCAHO Accreditation, our donors (particularly our Winchester and Woburn Friends) and the longevity of our staff are a few examples of what differentiates VNAHC from our competitors.

In addition to these core attributes VNA Hospice Care also practices an Open Access policy toward patients. This means we accept all patients regardless of cost or acuity of illness. We accept patients that are receiving treatments that are traditionally viewed as curative including patients receiving chemotherapy, radiation, patients on IV’s and ventilators and patients receiving physical or occupational therapy. While this Open Access approach has inherent financial risks, as an agency we continue to be ethically committed to providing hospice care to all who need it.

VNAHC provides hospice care to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Since 2003 VNA Hospice Care has worked with the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to meet MAP requirements and provide coordinated plans of care. VNA Hospice Care staff members have extensive experience working with intellectually disabled individuals, their caregivers, family members and friends.

VNAHC provides bereavement support to children and teens through our Children and Youth Grief Program called “Discovery”. Now in its fifth year, the Discovery program has helped hundreds of children and teens who are coping with the loss of a loved one.

Your donations, large and small, help us to continue to provide comprehensive hospice care to all who need it regardless of cost, acuity or ability to pay.

Thank you so much for your continued generosity and support,

Diane Bergeron

It's easy to think that all hospice programs are alike and that the entirity of the experience relates solely to the competency and compassion of the in home hospice staff.  But in reality, there's more to it than that... as Diane indicates above.  In future posts, we'll point out some of those differences here...