2014 Annual Report

A Letter to the Communities We Serve...

2 014 was a challenging and rewarding year for Hospice of the Calumet Area. After almost a full year of planning and training, we launched our first point-of-care Electronic Medical Record (EMR) on

January 1, 2014. One year later, we are still adjusting on the administrative side of the program, but re-main very excited about the many benefits it has for our patients and families. It provides quick access to the patient’s medical record whether they are at home, a nursing facility or our hospice house, and it improves team communication regarding patient care needs. It was a costly investment in computer hardware and staff education, but an important one that keeps the focus on continually improving the quality of our patient and family care.

We also faced numerous changes to hospice regulations imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medi-caid Services (CMS). These changes brought new challenges for patients, who in some cases struggled to obtain their non-hospice medication; and certainly for our staff, who had to learn new processes while still trying to master the new EMR. The regulations brought an increase in CMS reporting requirements and regulatory scrutiny, while limiting or decreasing reimbursement. Hospice of the Calumet Area has met all of these challenges head-on, while continuing to provide the highest quality hospice care in the Calumet Region.

One of the ways Hospice of the Calumet Area evaluates our quality is from the patient’s family perspective. We partici-pate with 1,700 other hospices across the country in a na-tional survey. Hospice of the Calumet Area’s results are consistently above the national averages in all key satisfaction areas. Of the 99% of families satisfied with the quality of the care we provided, 83% stated the care was excellent!

We are proud to announce that Hospice of the Calumet Area has been named a 2015 Hospice Honors recipient by Deyta, an industry leader in data-driven management. Hospice Honors is a prestigious program that recognizes hospices providing the highest level of satisfaction from the caregiver’s point of view. This notable recognition is based on results from October 2013 to September 2014. Hospice Honors recipients scored higher than the national average on at least sixteen of eighteen satisfaction questions. We are honored to be a national Hospice Honors recipient and are proud of all our staff and volunteers who live our Mission each and every day.

HCA received the prestigious Hospice Honors Award which recognizes hospices that continuously provide the highest level of satisfaction as measured by caregivers.

Adrianne May, Executive Director David Nellans, Board President

Hospice of the Calumet Area staff and volunteers cared for over 1,000 individuals and families during 2014 in our Hospice and Transitions programs. Transitions is a free program in which practical support and education is provided for those with a serious illness who are not yet hospice ready. It is the only program of its type in Northwest Indiana. While the majority of our hospice patients are age 65 and older, 14% of those cared for in 2014 were less than 65 years old. Patients ranged in age from 2 months to 102 years old, with the average age of 79 years. This past year 48% of our hospice patients had non-cancer illnesses, refuting the myth that hospice is just for cancer patients.

Excellence and Cherishing Life are two of our core values, along with our commitment to provide the same level of care regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. The 2014 value of our charity care, sequestration reductions and other adjustments totaled nearly $2 million in uncompensated care.

Hospice of the Calumet Area was founded by caring, forward thinking volunteers and we have been blessed throughout our 34 year history to have community members who support every aspect of our diverse program.

We are grateful for your kindness and generosity.

“I must say, we were all impressed by the care my father received. He was able to live his final days in his home, surrounded by extended family and with minimal pain and discomfort. We are grateful to HCA for providing optimal, professional and compassionate care” -A.G.

Courtesy of Royce Photography

A Patient’s Mission... “They come and help you through the days,” is how hospice patient, Diana Dennis, describes what Hospice of the Calumet Area staff provides when they visit her each week. Diana was once a vibrant active woman, working as a travel agent with an agency located in the bustling Greek Town area of Chicago. She loved her work and boasts that she was one of the best. Her job afforded her with the opportunity to travel and meet many different people. Helping people plan their dream vacation was an aspect of the job she treasured.

Diana was very active with her church always helping those needing a hand up and she could be counted on to be there for her children and grandchildren whenever they needed a mother’s love and support. Unfortunately, Diana developed congestive heart failure and her world changed, everything slowed down. As her condition grew worse, she was transferred to several different hospitals and was given no hope for recovery. It was suggested that she seek out hospice care. Prior to hospice her mind was clouded with confusion and she had developed a fear of doctors and nurses. However, when she met her hospice nurse, “she felt a warm light.” Her nurse explained to her what hospice could provide step by step, helping to clear her mind of her confusion. Diana was also assigned a social worker to help her work through her emotional pain and the anxiety that she was experiencing. She now refers to hospice as the best kept secret.

Diana believes that she has a new goal in life and that is to be as pain free as possible so she can help others learn about the benefits of hospice care, especially through Hospice of the Calumet Area. After calling into a local radio station to thank a show host for his inspiring words, she was invited to be a guest on the show and speak about how hospice care is providing her with comfort and compassion as she works through her life-limiting illness. The AC Green Show 106.3 Chicago sent a limousine to her home and brought her to the station. There Diana spoke about the misconceptions of hospice care and how Hospice of the Calumet Area is helping her with pain management and guiding her through the progression of her illness. She also explained that she finds extreme comfort knowing that the hospice that is taking care of her will provide support to her family after she passes. “They will be there to counsel and pray with them, take care of my loved ones when I am gone,” Diana explains.

Diana is no longer fearful of her situation; she prays each day and is thankful that she has been given this opportunity to help others learn about the services provided by Hospice of the Calumet Area. She may no longer be advising people on their dream vacations, but she is definitely serving as an agent guiding others on the best path of what could be a difficult journey.

HCA Patient Diana Dennis speaks on The AC Green

Show about how her opinion of

Hospice by the numbers...

Program Service 80%

Management & General

11%

Development 4%

Expenses by Category

Medicare 65%

Medicaid 3%

Insurance 9%

Private Support 20%

Self Pay 3%

Revenue by Category

85+ 38.0%

60-64 5.5%

40-59 7.8%

0-39 0.6%

Patients by Age

Circulatory 20.1%

Patients by Diagnosis

Cancer 51.6% Dementia

4.6%

Respiratory 6.3%

Central Urinary 3.6%

Nervous 6.8%

Digestive 3.1%

Other 3.9%

80-84 17.9%

75-79 12.4%

65-74 17.8%

Community Awareness/Education

5%

W hen Veteran Volunteer Tom Evans was making his first patient companion visit, he was nervous enough to circle the block a couple of times. Then he said to himself, “It can’t be worse than Khe

Sanh in ’67!”

Tom is one of Hospice of the Calumet Area’s Vet-to-Vet volunteers. Last year HCA cared for nearly 200 area patients who served in the US military. Many of these patients often struggle with end-of-life issues that can only be understood by a fellow veteran.

When Tom enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1963 after college, his biggest influence to join was John Wayne and the fact that “All four of my siblings served; I come from a very patriotic family.” After officer

training and flight school in Pensacola, FL, Tom decided to change from fixed wing to rotary wing aircraft. Further training in El Toro, CA led to a presidential assignment in Hawaii in June of 1965. But that assignment eventually ended and he found himself in Vietnam in 1967 as part of HMH-363 Red Lions. Much of his responsibility was the insertion / extraction of American troops in hostile territory. Tom flew 369 missions, was shot down 3 times and even once was reported killed in action. Due to his superb airmanship and steadfast devotion to duty at great personal risk, Tom was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After his service and time in the reserves, Tom and his wife found themselves caring for her father who lived

with them. “He just wanted to be home and enjoy the yard and garden.” They brought in Hospice of the Calumet Area which proved to be a “Godsend” to them.

Tom looks at his experience with hospice differently than most. “I imagine what our lives would have been without hospice. Kathy and I were alone, trying to balance caregiving with our marriage and family. I’m sure one or more would have suffered.”

When Tom began looking at organizations to volunteer with, Hospice “wasn’t even on the radar,” he explained. It wasn’t until he met another Hospice of the Calumet Area patient companion volunteer at a local dog park that he thought about it. The volunteer told him about the We Honor Veterans program and he thought that would be a good fit. “I went through the training and was fired up!”

Now Tom says he gains more out of visiting Veterans who are at the end of life, than he gives, and encour-ages other Vets to also volunteer. He wants others to understand that, “All Vets have a deep belief in service to others and community. Hospice allows patients to maintain a quality of life we all aspire to.”

Veteran to Veteran Volunteer...

WWII Air Force Veteran Maury Basil (left) talks about his

B26 experience with HCA Vet-to-Vet

H ospice Aides are an integral part of patient care and perform one of the most important jobs in Hospice of the Calumet Area’s hospice care program. All of our Hospice Aides are Certified

Nursing Assistants who participate in monthly continuing education with a strong focus on the unique needs of hospice patients and families. Like the rest of our clinical team, our Hospice Aides are chosen for their knowledge, skills and experience, but equally important is their ability to provide tender, compassionate care.

Hospice Aides assist with the personal hygiene needs of our patients. They also may assist with prescribed exercises, light housekeeping and meal preparation, as well as providing compan-ionship. These services are provided to patients wherever they live, be it their own home, an assisted living facility or a nursing home.

Have you ever had to give someone a bath in bed or wash their hair in bed? Most have no idea where to start. Personal caregiving can be an overwhelming task, especially for spouses with their own health problems or sons and daughters taking care of a parent. That’s where our professional Hospice Aides are essential to the team. Their support gives those close to the patient the opportunity to simply be “family” by taking away some of the stress of the caregiver role. Patients are also grateful for the support it provides their family.

In addition to the relief the Hospice Aide provides, they are also excellent educators. They work alongside family members teaching them how to provide care when no one is there to help. Practical tips on how to move a bedbound patient or change a bed with someone it in are invaluable and help families feel confident in providing care.

The Hospice Aide visit schedule and patient care duties follow a special plan of care designed for each patient by a Registered Nurse in collaboration with the patient and their family. Based on the patient’s unique needs, the Hospice Aide may be visiting more frequently than the Nurse. The soothing comfort and support they provide forges a special, trust relationship. The observational and listening skills of the Hospice Aide are an important set of “eyes and ears” for monitoring the patient’s condition and reporting early changes to the rest of the clinical team.

It truly takes a special person to care for hospice patients, and Hospice of the Calumet Area Hospice Aides are committed to providing compassion with a gentle touch that makes each moment count.

Hospice Aides...

Hospice Aide Gina T. visits with patient Anabell Max at the Wil-

liam J. Riley Memorial Residence.

600 Superior Ave, Munster, IN 46321 3224 Ridge Rd, Lansing, IL 60438 P 219.922.2732/708.895.8332, F 219.922.1947

HospiceCalumet.org Facebook/HospiceCalumet @HospiceCalumet

2014 Board of Directors

Adrianne May, Executive Director

Emeritus Members Nate Carras

Monsignor Joseph Semancik

Ruthellyn Bobak

Rev. Steven Conger

Linda Delunas, PhD

Gene Diamond

Janice Dobrinich

Linda Eisenhauer

Donald Fesko

M. “Red” Fulte

Mitchell Gaffigan

R. Louie Gonzalez

Rebecca Grove

William Hasse, III

Rev. Alfred Johnson

Eleanor Kay-Mirich

Patricia Kish

Patty Lazzaro

Joanne Markiewicz

Jeffrey Monberg

Cheryl Morgan-Ihrig, MD

Rocharda Moore Morris

Lyle Munn, MD

Paula Neff

Ralph Neff

David Nellans, President

Terry Quinn

Linda Randolph

Richard Reffkin, DDS

David Schneider

Gloria Smokvina, PhD

John Stephens

Rabbi Leonard Zukrow

Katy Dowling, ex-officio