Founded in 1908, Presbyterian Healthcare Services<\/a>, a private, nonprofit integrated healthcare system and provider in New Mexico, began providing hospice care more than 40 years ago as part of a pilot program with Medicare.<\/p>\n Over the years, its services have evolved to include a 10-bed inpatient unit at Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital<\/a>, while most of its hospice care is delivered through outpatient services, mainly training and supporting family members to care for a patient at home.<\/p>\n \u201cAt any given time, we have about 300 or so people around the state that we\u2019re caring for in their home environment,\u201d says Doyle Boykin, vice president of home health hospice and palliative services at Presbyterian Healthcare.<\/p>\n Not everyone has access to a supportive home environment, however, and as Boykin explains, \u201cNew Mexico is a very impoverished state \u2026 we have a lot of Medicaid-dependent people.\u201d<\/p>\n So various Presbyterian Healthcare Services leaders and medical directors began envisioning how the organization could also serve those who didn\u2019t have stable housing or the right home environment for at-home services, yet weren\u2019t sick enough for hospital-based end-of-life care.<\/p>\n Originally, the idea was to build or modify a home in the community into a residential care setting for hospice services.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we quickly realized that the type of care and volume of patients we would see wouldn\u2019t render that feasible in the long run,\u201d Boykin says. Instead, planners set their sights on building a hybrid concept. The new facility would be designed to residential standards with some clinical features, such as wider hallways and doorways to accommodate a hospital bed and equipment.<\/p>\n An onstage\/offstage configuration would keep staff spaces separate from public and patient care areas. \u201cWorking from the heart, we wanted to make it more of a special place for people to spend their last bit of time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n But first, the organization needed to get funding. Presbyterian Healthcare Services receives a hospice reimbursement from Medicare, while room and board costs are covered by the organization\u2019s foundation.<\/p>\n Looking to fund its new concept, the organization reached out to the community, with donations from two local families, including former board chair Robert Wertheim, covering the bulk of the $3.2 million dollar build. In-kind donations and services supported it, as well.<\/p>\n The healthcare organization then donated an approximately 10-acre site on Presbyterian\u2019s Northside campus for the Robert Wertheim Hospice House<\/a>, which opened in January.<\/p>\nExpanding access to hospice services<\/h2>\n
Funding a new hospice program<\/h2>\n
Homelike design features<\/h2>\n