HORIZONS - Hospice of the Valley

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2 F R O M O U R A D M I N I S T R A T I O N Our thanks to all who support care for the neediest among us Hospice of the Valley’s charity care expenses continue to grow—totaling $13 million in 2011, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. We deeply appreciate the generosity of our donors. You ensure we’re able to care for everyone who comes to our door, regardless of ability to pay. Last year, community support totaled $10.1 million. Susan Levine John Jennings To advance our mission to serve all, we have entered into a partnership with Circle the City, which has cared for the homeless population since 2008. Circle the City founder Sister Adele O’Sullivan has long sought a medical respite center for homeless people recently discharged from the hospital who need a safe place to stay. In support of that goal, Hospice of the Valley purchased the building for the 50-bed center—333 W. Indian School Road in Phoenix—and is leasing it to Circle the City. Hospice patients needing respite will have access to beds. The center will be staffed and operated by Circle the City and open to patients in July. We are grateful to those who donated a total of $75,000 to support this partnership at the “Fund a Need” program of AAHA! An Auction of Heirlooms and Art, held March 3 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa. Net revenue for AAHA! totaled $260,000. Thanks to you, the neediest among us will have loving care and a roof over their heads. Susan Levine John R. Jennings Executive Director/CEO President, Board of Directors Awards and recognition The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce awarded HOV the IMPACT award in May in the “Community Champion” category for “giving back to the local community; fostering employee growth and development; promoting a positive work environment or high performance among employees; and (maintaining) community investment and employee engagement in charitable activities.” u Jonathon Etou, LPN, was recognized in March as the Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Practical Nurse of the Year by the National Board of Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses. u HOV was named one of the Valley’s Healthiest Employers in March by the Phoenix Business Journal. u HOV ranked 82 nd in The Arizona Republic 100, an annual survey that ranks companies by workforce size. HOV employs 1,900. u HOV teen volunteer Nhi Van, a junior at Maryvale High School, was given the Youth award in April at the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award luncheon. u HOV volunteer Charlotte Neptune was honored in March with a “Pay It Forward” award from CBS 5 News for creating 80 colorful afghans for patients. u Susan Levine, executive director/CEO, is among the selected honorees for the Arizona Centennial Legacy Project: Arizona’s 48 Most Intriguing Women. u More than 300 HOV nurses and certified nursing assistants have attained national certification in hospice and palliative care.
L I V I N G A N D L E A R N I N G Excellent end-of-life care critical to individuals’ and nation’s well being Dying well—pain-free, at home, with dignity and loving support—is what most of us want, said Ira Byock, MD, one of the nation’s foremost experts on end-of-life care. But even now—35 years after the modern-day hospice movement began, with 5,000 hospice programs Ira Byock, MD nationwide—it’s still not what most of us get. While surveys show most people would prefer to die comfortably at home, about 70 percent die in institutions, with 20 percent of those dying in intensive care units, Byock said. America has reached a fork in the road about end-oflife care. Either the nation continues escalating the expensive “disease-treatment system” that imposes increasing burdens of illness on people with life-limiting diseases—threatening to bankrupt Medicare—or patients should be routinely given the option to die a natural death at home surrounded by people they love, Byock said. “We Baby Boomers need to get back in our game,” he said. “We transformed the birth process, making it a personal experience, not a medical event…The same transformation needs to take place at end of life. It’s time to take it back.” Byock spoke May 1 to 225 community physicians and healthcare leaders at a dinner at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa sponsored by Hospice of the Valley. Byock is the author of the recently-released book The Best Care Possible. He is director of palliative medicine at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, and professor, Dartmouth Medical Center. Most Medicare spending goes to beneficiaries in their last year of life, typically for acute care in hospital settings. Increased utilization of hospice and palliative care would bring medical practice into alignment with many patients’ goals; it also would reign in healthcare costs. Byock cited the following barriers: § Reluctance to think and talk about death. Patients, families and doctors don’t want to address the inevitable, so they continue pursuing treatment. § Polarized politics: death squads; “pro-life;” assisted suicide; rationed healthcare. Political and healthcare leaders shy from end-of-life issues for fear of igniting opposition. § Either/or choices for Medicare. Currently people with late-stage chronic illnesses must make a choice between Medicare coverage for hospice or curative treatment. The better option would be Medicare coverage for a continuum of care involving both. § Ill-prepared physicians. Most medical schools don’t prepare physicians for having compassionate conversations with patients about end-of-life. The nation’s policy makers need to make macro system changes, starting with the current reimbursement system that rewards treatment. Hospices need to offer more programs such as HOV’s Arizona Palliative Home Care. Community and political leaders should address end-of-life care rather than hide from it. Physicians should love their patients, treating them with the same TLC that they would a family member, Byock said. For individuals, Byock offered this poignant advice: “Get a family.” The family could be neighbors, a faith community, friends who watch out for each another or the traditional model. “The best assisted living arrangement I’ve seen is an old married couple,” he said. 3
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