The Hillsboro County Home Health Agency, Inc.
Florida International University
January 31, 2012
Overview
Effective June 1, 2012, Hillsboro County Home Health Agency (HCHHA) will be launching a new division offering Hospice services to Middleboro and surrounding community residents. This hospice center will provide end-of-life care in the form of medical, psychological, social and spiritual support for the terminally ill and their families. Hospice care services are typically structured according to the needs and wishes of each patient and their family. These may change over time and during the different stages of care (the last phases of an illness, the dying process and the bereavement period). Please refer to Appendix D for a complete listing of Hospice Services HCHHA plans to offer.
HCHHA will also be closing its offices in Jasper, and supporting all current and future services/products currently provided under their 3 divisions from their Middleboro location.
Problem
Currently, Hillsboro County has no Medicare Certified Hospice care provider. The only provider of hospice services is Valley Hospice, Inc., in Middleboro, and they mostly provide emotional support to adult cancer patients and their families. They do not provide the full array of hospice services needed throughout the Middleboro community. Recently, there has been a public outcry for providing this very valuable benefit and historically, it has not been available through any other local health agencies. The lack of Medicare certified or accredited hospice services in Hillsboro is a problem to the residents in need of these services, as they are having to go out of area, and this creates a greater burden for them at a time when they should be focusing their energies on their current situation.
Solution
HCHHA will provide certified hospice care services in Middleboro and its surrounding communities. Hospice services are
References: 1. L. Seidel, 2009-2010. Middleboro A Case for Health Services Managers 2. Lawrence Robinson and Jeanne Segal, June, 2011. Quality of Life at the End of Life: HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE AT HOME OR IN A HOSPICE FACILITY