MANCHESTER, NH: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently launched its highly-anticipated Hospice COMPARE website, giving patients, family members, health care providers and others access to an initial set of seven quality measures for hospice programs across the nation. Hospice Compare reports information on hospices across the nation and allows patients, family members, and healthcare providers to get a snapshot of the quality of care provided by hospice care teams (Medicare.gov).
According to the site, hospice services provided by Elliot Health System’s VNA of Manchester and Southern New Hampshire have exceeded the national average in all domains of care. The VNA Hospice team practices caring not as an exclusively emotional or feeling response, but rather as a total way of being, of relating, and of acting to provide quality care for the patients, their families and each other, says Hospice program manager Jackie LaRochelle, RN, CDP.
“Excellence is derived from skilled communication which is indispensable for our patients and their families,” said LaRochelle of Elliot Health System’s VNA Hospice team approach to providing services.
The categories of care ranked on the Hospice COMPARE site include communication around treatment preference, resuscitation, beliefs and values, pain assessments, shortness of breath, and more. The CMS site makes it easy to compare various providers, with a simple “click and compare” system.
To be ranked among the best of the best when it comes to providing compassionate care to families in need is a point of pride – as well as an underpinning of the Elliot’s overall health care philosophy, according to Elliot Health System President & CEO Doug Dean.
“Exceeding the national average for each and every category for hospice care is really astounding, and a tribute to the dedication that our visiting nurses and hospice care teams have for the needs of the community at end of life,” said Doug Dean, President & CEO. “We are very proud of our VNA services and the hospice care provided at the most vulnerable time in an individual’s life,” Dean added.
About Elliot Health System
Elliot Health System is a non-profit organization serving the healthcare needs of the community since 1890. The largest provider of comprehensive healthcare services in Southern New Hampshire, Elliot Hospital, a 296-bed acute care facility and the first community hospital in the state, serves as the cornerstone of the health system. Elliot is home to Manchester’s designated Regional Trauma Center, Elliot Behavioral Health Services, Elliot Breast Health Center, Elliot Urgent Care, a Level 3 Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Elliot Physician Network, Elliot Regional Cancer Center, Elliot Senior Health Center, Visiting Nurse Association of Manchester and Southern New Hampshire, Elliot 1-Day Surgery Center, Elliot Memory & Mobility Center, NH Arthritis Center, Elliot Retail Pharmacy, Elliot Medical Centers in Londonderry and Hooksett, and The Elliot at River’s Edge. For more information about any of Elliot’s services visit www.elliothospital.org.
