VNSNY Hospice Reports Record­-Setting Growth

While New York State as a whole continues to lag the nation in utilizing end­-of-­life hospice services, VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care is bucking that trend: Last June, the division’s average monthly census topped 1,100 patients for the first time—and since then, its average patient census has continued to show a month-over-month rise.

This trajectory builds on the division’s steady growth in recent years: Overall, VNSNY Hospice has seen an increase of 28% in its average patient census from 2015 to the present. “As the only hospice provider serving all five boroughs of New York City, this trend is great news for VNSNY Hospice and for the populations we serve,” says Rosemary Baughn, VNSNY’s Senior Vice President for Hospice and Palliative Care.

VNSNY Hospice’s growth has been spurred by recent census gains in its Bronx and Staten Island regions as well as excellent customer satisfaction ratings in all its regions.

VNSNY Hospice’s continuing uptick in its census numbers reflects a multifaceted strategy, adds Rosemary, including the division’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness among New York City residents and medical professionals of the benefits of hospice care. She also credits initiatives such as VNSNY’s dedicated program for U.S. military veterans and its specialized protocols for hospice patients with congestive heart failure and chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder— developed in collaboration with its referring partners—as well as the overall quality of VNSNY’s interdisciplinary hospice care teams and non­clinical staff, and the strong support the division is receiving from VNSNY’s leadership.

VNSNY Hospice’s latest growth has been spurred by recent census gains in its Bronx and Staten Island regions. “Our staff in both regions have been doing outstanding work,” says Rosemary. “We’ve launched a second interdisciplinary care team in the Bronx, where we currently have 145 patients in our care, and are also adding staff in Staten Island, where our census recently went above 100 for the first time.” The division has also been achieving excellent customer satisfaction ratings in all of its regions, she notes, with seven of its interdisciplinary care teams receiving perfect scores on their June 2018 surveys.

For 2019, Rosemary sees significant additional growth opportunities in the assisted living market. VNSNY Hospice has been teaming with industry colleagues to lobby for the elimination of regulatory red tape hindering the use of hospice in Medicaid ­funded assisted living facilities, and has also been reaching out to private ­pay facilities.

“These facilities represent an area where better access to hospice care could really benefit residents at the end of life,” says Rosemary. “Our effort to improve access at the state level is just getting started, but we’re already beginning to get some traction there. Ultimately, a lot of this is about education and messaging.”