2022 Suburban Hospice Annual Report

Kindness. One person at a time.

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

2022 brought us to the outside edge of the pandemic and to gratifying growth and recognition.

For the first time, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announced star ratings for hospice. We were so proud to learn that we earned a 5 star rating and that we are the only 5 star hospice serving our area. That rating speaks to the great care our nurses, social workers, chaplains, aides, physicians, and NPs provide to our patients and their families. The star rating and other measures of quality are available to the public so that an informed decision can be made when choosing a hospice for a loved one (https://www.medicare.gov/carecompare).

In 2022, we admitted and cared for more patients each day than we ever have before! We honor the trust physicians and families place in us. While it is nice to be recognized for excellence by the healthcare community, the faith that families and physicians place in us is the greatest award we can win.

While staffing is improving, hospice experiences the same pain as any health care entity in finding qualified associates. We are grateful that our team works seamlessly together, supporting one another, and embracing the privilege of caring for patients and families at this most vulnerable time of life. We were excited this year to promote one of our nurses, Lee McKinnon, to an important role that makes the best of her gifts and abilities and enhances the training and professionalism or our team. As Senior Case Manager, Lee is a great resource for our nursing staff and has recently been accepted into Ball State University’s Graduate School to become a certified Family Nurse Practitioner.

Even though we are experiencing a time of great growth, we also need to stay mindful of the increased costs of providing care. Supplies are increasingly expensive, wages continue to climb, and gasoline (which is essential to hospice care) is a hefty and fluctuating expense. Most of hospice reimbursement comes from Medicare, and those rates do not keep pace with the costs. We are good stewards of our finances, and our associates are great at offering cost savings ideas that have no impact on the care we provide. I am confident that we are in great shape for the future.

In 2023, we will have our triennial accreditation survey. We are taking a close look at our charts to be sure we are always following best practices. We invested in new educational resources for every discipline on our team and we make quality improvement a priority every day. I am ever grateful for this fine group of people who have found their calling and their purpose with hospice. Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives.

Best,

Jeannie Crowe Executive Director

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stanley Chairman Treasurer

Osborne Vice Chairman Secretary

Craig Felty

Jennifer

Tammy Strunk

Dianne

202 AT A GLANCE

PATIENTS SERVED

 304 patients and families served

 Average length of stay in hospice: 23 days

 1,218 phone calls made to 375 patients

 10,151 patient visits in all service areas

 282 families served in bereavement care

SIMPLE JOYS

 Family reunions

 New greatgrandbabies held

 Birthdays celebrated

 Gardens tended

 Sharing family times

 Comfort at home

OUR MISSION & PROMISE

At Suburban Hospice our tagline is “Kindness. One Person at a Time,” but kindness is more than our motto it is the heart of our care. Our mission statement is:

“To be a high quality, compassionate provider of end of life care by alleviating suffering and improving quality of life through our kindness, our training and our calling to serve the patients and families we are privileged to know.”

QUALITY MEASURES

We work hard to ensure that we earn the trust of our patients and families every day, and this year we were proud to learn we won a 5 star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. This is a high honor that identifies our hospice as the only 5 star program serving our area.

Hospice Compare

There are measures of care we report to CMS that are reported publicly on the Hospice Compare site (www.medicare.gov/care-compare) so patients and families can find the best care for their loved ones. Our data rates consistently higher than other hospices serving our region, as you see in the tables below.

FAMILY CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE

Every year we follow a Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) plan and work on Performance Improvement Projects (PIPs) to continue to improve our care and practice. Our Performance Improvement Projects for 2022 included:

• Every patient care plan will show individualized care goals, with progress toward goals reported

• Ongoing audit of patient medication lists

• “Right amount” of support provided by social work, spiritual care, and bereavement services

• Collaboration with facilities offering training and bereavement care

In addition to these patient care and documentation measures, we have Performance Improvement Goals related to staff education, community service, ongoing bereavement, and more.

QUALITY OF PATIENT CARE

IMPACTS & CHANGES THIS YEAR

2022 brought a number of unique challenges due to the slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the extra strain that has placed on healthcare workers worldwide. But we’re happy to say that despite the pressures, our program thrived and grew.

ONWARD & UPWARD

Even though there has been a nationwide shortage of nurses, for the first time our teams in both Greenfield and Noblesville/Lebanon have been fully staffed. We appreciate the excellent, heart-led nurses and aides who joined our teams in 2022. This has enabled us to grow in the number of families we serve and increase our coverage in our service areas.

TELEHEALTH BECOMES A REALITY

Because of the nationwide Public Health Emergency (PHE) declared by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, our nurses, social workers, and nurse practitioner can now make visits by phone connecting through audio calls or video chats. This enables our team to stay in touch with patients and families even more closely than before and adds flexibility to our team in terms of contact and scheduling. The PHE is set to expire on May 11, 2023, but we will be continuing our telehealth visits as a team due to the benefits they have added to our practice.

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM ON PAUSE

As part of the PHE in 2022, our volunteer program was on hold (although several key volunteers continued to support us in various ways, which we greatly appreciate!). We look forward to relaunching our volunteer program in 2023 and will begin with an orientation and training in May.

NURTURING LEADERSHIP

Thisyearwiththegrowthinbothstaffandourprogram overall,wehadopportunitiestofosterleadershipwithin ourteam.

LeeMcKinnonhasbeenanursesince 2013andhasbeenwithSuburbanHospice since2016.In2022,shetookonthe leadershiproleofSeniorRNCase Manager,inwhichshesupportsallour nursesthroughtraining,troubleshooting, andprocessimprovement.Leehas recentlybeenacceptedintheNursing FamilyPractitionergraduateprogramat BallStateUniversity,whichwillenableher toaddevenmoretoourteam.

Congratulations,Lee!

DebbieStrausbaughhasbeenanurse since2015andworkedinhospicesince 2016.Herdedicationtopatientsand familiesandsupportofthe Noblesville/Lebanonteammadehera naturalchoiceforarecentTeamLeader promotioninherservicearea.

Congratulations,Debbie!

SOCIAL MEDIA STATS

In 2021:

• 251 people are following our page on Facebook

• We posted 27 posts in 2022 with a mix of team news, updates, and job postings

• 31 people have joined our private Facebook grief group

• We had 4,341 visitors to our website

• 6,320 website pages were viewed

OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Dr. John Hittle, M.D. Medical Director

Jeannie Crowe, MSW, LSW Executive Director

Angela Green, FNP-BC, ACHPN Nurse Practitioner

April Stillinger, RN, CHPN Director of Clinical Services

Kelly Duncan, RN, CHPN Admissions Coordinator

Katherine Murray, M.Div

Supportive Services Coordinator

Jamie Beatty HR/Office Coordinator

MEASURING QUALITY HOSPICE BY THE NUMBERS

We’ve seen great growth throughout all our service areas in 2022, and our average daily census for the total program is 49 patients, which represents a substantial increase over 2021. Our admissions coordinator, Kelly Duncan, works with referrals in both the Greenfield and Noblesville/Lebanon areas, nurturing relationships with physicians’ offices and facilities and working to answer all questions patients and families may have.

Our Interdisciplinary Team

Each patient and family is supported by our full interdisciplinary team and has access to RN case managers, LPNs, hospice aides, social workers, and chaplains. We will be adding volunteer services back into the mix when the Public Health Emergency is lifted in May 2023. We make it a priority to tailor our services and our schedules to the needs and preferences of our patients and families.

Each week we meet as a team and review the cases of our individual patients and their families. We also begin our day with team meetings to review any changes that have occurred overnight. Our team is comprised of the following professionals:

* Medical director

* RN case managers

* Nurse practitioner

* Hospice aides

* Social workers * Chaplains

* Volunteers * Executive director

* Pharmacy

* Dietary

* Clinical manager

* Admissions coordinator

* HR manager * LPN

* Home medical equipment

TEAM BENEFITS: JOY & SUPPORT

People who are drawn to hospice work are often those who deeply want to make a difference in the lives of others, and they have skills, insights, and experience that they want to offer in service to those who need what they can offer. We are blessed to have not only a wonderful group of professionals working with us but caring hearts that share their lives, build friendships, support one another, and pitch in as needed for the good of the team and overall organization. Besides, we really enjoy each other! The blessings of a good team are felt by all, and they shine into the lives and care of those we serve.

April arranged for us to have a puppy therapy day!

Chaplain Josh enjoyed the Christmas breakfast (but changed his sweater before patient visits)

We all got together before IDG to celebrate Jasmine, our social worker in the Greenfield area.

Great minds think alike! Several team members wore their new shirts on the same day.

TOGETHER AGAIN: CIRCLE OF LIFE!

We were so grateful that after a three-year pause, we were able once again to gather in the Bobby Keen classroom at Hancock Health to host our annual Circle of Life Luminary Service. This is a special program for our staff and all the families we support through the years in hospice care. This special memorial program involves a welcome from staff, a message of hope, music from the Greenfield Community Choir, and culminates in the lighting of luminaries in honor of the loved ones we’ve lost. Families come as groups to remember and include their loved ones in their holidays, and we are all so glad to see these families who have been so dear to us during some of the most difficult times of their lives.

OTHER BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT

We offer two memorial services a year the Circle of Life service in early December, and a spring memorial service as well. In 2022, the Noblesville/Lebanon team offered a memorial service for those in their service area, which marked a new milestone in the growth of that team (well done, Chaplain Josh!).

In addition to memorial services, we have a weekly drop-in grief group at the Hancock Wellness Center (every Friday morning at 10am), ongoing supportive phone calls, visits (as desired by families), mailings, and our Yoga for Grief Relief class, which is offered several times a year and began meeting again in person (after a COVID hiatus) in 2022.

OTHER ADDITIONS IN BEREAVEMENT CARE

In 2022 we also did a staff training related to anticipatory grief, which can help all those providing care to understand and support the early stages of loss families experience while their loved ones are nearing the end of life.

We also added the possibility for bereavement visits for families following their loss, in which chaplains or social workers can visit families and take resources or simply listen and provide support. We continue to expand our practice and tailor what we do to the needs of each family we serve.

THE KINDNESS OF HONESTY

Ifwehada“wishlist”wecouldsharewiththeworld,ourlist wouldincludemoreconversationswithlovedones(andthe publicatlarge)aboutthebenefitsofhospicecareforpatients andtheirfamilies.Withtherecentadmissionof PresidentJimmy Cartertohomehospice,anationalconversationisbeginningto happenaboutwhathospiceis,howitcanhelp,andwho qualifies andwhopays forthisexcellent,kind,supportive care.

Wehaveseenfirst-handtherelieffamiliesandpatientsfeelwhen theyhaveateamwhospeakshonestlyandkindlywiththem abouttheirpreferencesatendoflife,andwewishmorepeople couldexperiencethatgiftintheirlastweeksandmonths.Here’s why:

o Hospicenursesaregoodattellingthetruthkindly.

o Itissuchablessingforfamiliestobepreparedandto trustthosewhoaresupportingthem.

o Beinghonestfeelsgoodandenablesustosayimportant thingsthat matter.

o Tellingcaregivers,“itwillonlybeafewmoredays,”helps themprepareandmakeimportantchoices.

o Honestynormalizesfeelingsandhelpsfamiliesdecide howtheywanttospendthetimetheyhavetogether.

o Havingateamthatcareswithhonestyandkindness buildstrustandhelpsfamiliesmovethroughapainful timewithgraceandsupport.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Share the news about what a difference hospice care can make in the lives of patients and their families. Support local hospice organizations (including ours) by suggesting that others reach out to learn more. We also invite you to volunteer with us! Call or email to learn more. And if you’d like to make a donation to Suburban Hospice, you can make your donation easily and securely. You can send a check to Suburban Hospice, Inc., at 801 N. State Street, Greenfield, IN, 46140. You can also make a secure donation online at https://www.hancockregionalhospital.org/hrhdonations/ and in the Designate Your Gift line, choose Suburban Hospice.

You can also help us spread the word by following us online and sharing our posts! Our hospice website is www.suburbanhospice.org and our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/SuburbanHospice-100440221405091. Thank you!