Bronx hospital offers hospice services in Rockland
The Journal News
Jane Lerner
August 20, 2008
Bronx hospital that specializes in end-of-life care is now offering hospice services to terminally ill patients at three more Rockland County nursing homes.
Calvary Hospital will offer its hospice program at three nursing homes operated by Northern Services Group:
- Northern Manor Multicare Center in Nanuet
- Northern Metropolitan Residential Health Care Facility in Monsey
- Northern Riverview Health Care Center in Haverstraw
The goal of the program is to offer hospice care to patients in the nursing home in the hopes of enabling them to avoid dying in a hospital, said Tony Susi, director of supportive services for Calvary Hospice and home care."We work with staff to make sure that nursing home residents who are terminally ill are able to live out their lives in the nursing home where they may have been living for years," he said.
Seriously ill nursing home residents are often bounced back and forth between the nursing home and a hospital in the last weeks or months of their lives, he said. But with the proper training, nursing home staff can learn how to care for such residents and keep them comfortable in their last days, Susi said. "We want to give families an option so that their loved ones don't have to die in an unfamiliar, sterile environment of the hospital," he said.
Gedalia Klein, director of revenue operations for Northern Services Group, said in a statement that the nursing homes were glad to be able to expand the services provided to patients.
Calvary home care program has already served nearly 2,000 people at nursing homes and private residences throughout New York City and the surrounding region, Susi said. The nursing home program is already offered, he said, at two Rockland nursing facilities:- Nyack Manor- Friedwald House in New City. Calvary also offers its programs at several Westchester nursing homes, including St. Joseph's in Yonkers and the Hebrew Hospital Home in Valhalla.
The total number of patients served in Rockland remains small, Susi said.
United Hospice of Rockland has been offering hospice care to Rockland residents for 20 years, director Amy Stern said. The New City-based organization serves an average of 135 patients every day in private homes, hospitals and nursing homes throughout the county -including the facilities also served by Calvary, she said."We are the hospice program that is based in this community and we have been serving the community with distinction for more than 20 years," she said.
United Hospice has long-standing relationships with both Nyack and Good Samaritan hospitals as well as almost all nursing homes in Rockland, Stern said. "Anyone in Rockland can use our services," she said. Patients at facilities served by more than one hospice organization can chose which one they want to use, the groups said.
Hospice groups generally bill their services to insurance companies or government health providers, including Medicare and Medicaid. Hospice care usually costs much less than hospital care, particularly in the last weeks or months of life, experts said."At the end of life, focus should shift to care and comfort," Susi said. "We should be making sure that people don't suffer and don't go through needless medical procedures."
Guest Hospitality
June 2008
Northern is proud to announce a new approach to Guest Hospitality
Northern employees pose outside the Ritz Carlton in NYC.
Introducing "Northern Hospitality"!
Northern has been working on a program designed to enhance the experience of every resident, family member, visitor and employee. The goal of this program is that anyone who enters one of our doors is treated as a guest in a 5-star hotel.
Key staff members attended a seminar at the Ritz Carlton in New York City in an effort to learn the principals of hospitality from their legendary service professionals. The strategy is being rolled out to all of Northern's 1,100 employees through on going kick-off events and training.
There is a major shift beginning in the healthcare industry from traditional "Customer Service" to "Guest Hospitality" and Northern is proud to be at the forefront! As always, we look forward to providing the best possible care and invite you to experience Northern Hospitality!