There are many misconceptions about hospice care, not the least of which being that quality of care does not differ between for-profit and not-for-profit hospice organizations. Hospices in the United States care for over a million patients per year—That is one million people who seek comfort, care, and companionship at the end of their lives and millions more of family members who seek, and rightfully expect, the best level of care, highest level of respect, and most resolute level of dedication for their loved ones. When family members embark on the painful and uncertain search for a trustworthy hospice they should be aware of some crucial differences between for-profit and not-for-profit hospices.
As the name implies, for-profit hospices exist and function primarily as businesses. It is the mission, duty, and responsibility of a for-profit hospice to make money, and in order to make money, they utilize the same tactics of any smart business, especially cost cutting. The only way for a for-profit to cut costs is to cut care.
A study released by Medical Care in 2005 found that “terminally ill patients who receive end-of-life care from for-profit hospice providers receive a full range of services only half the time compared with patients treated by nonprofit hospice organizations.” (read more details)
The disparity in care between for-profit and not-for-profit hospices is directly attributable to the profit motivation in for-profit hospices. Medicare reimbursement for hospice care reached $8.3 billion in 2005. With their eyes fixed on dollar signs and turned away from patients and their families, for profit hospices are likely to cut pain-reducing medications, personal visits, counseling services, and radiation therapy, according to the Medical Care study.
The senior author of the study, Dr. Elizabeth Bradley of Yale Medical School, summarized the results with the following statement: “For-profit hospices might not be as strongly rooted in the traditional hospice philosophy” of “psychosocial support, spiritual care, the use of volunteers and family, and symptom management.”
Blue Skies Hospice, a service oriented not-for-profit, is rooted in and dedicated to the traditional hospice philosophy, as defined by Dr. Bradley. It is a reliable palliative caregiver in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago suburbs, and its team of nurses, social workers, faith leaders, and volunteers are committed to giving patients and families physical, social, and spiritual comfort in their time of pain, agony, and worry.
Unlike many other hospices, Blue Skies is not driven by bottom-line accounting and pecuniary gain. It is driven solely by love and service for patients and their families.
