VITAS® Healthcare Is Recognized as "Hospice Honors Elite" in Fairview Heights

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill., May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As a 2022 "Hospice Honors Elite" recipient, the Fairview Heights service area of VITAS Healthcare is among the best hospice programs in the nation. This honor indicates that VITAS' compassionate care teams offer an exceptional experience for hospice patients and their families throughout southwestern Illinois.

Hospice Honors is a prestigious program by HEALTHCAREfirst that recognizes hospices providing the highest level of quality as measured from the caregiver's point of view. Because caregivers choose hospice providers for their loved ones, they rely on the quality-of-care measures captured by surveys and reported by survey partners such as HEALTHCAREfirst.

"We are thrilled to receive this outstanding recognition," said Deborah Wolf, senior general manager in Fairview Heights and a VITAS employee for 15 years. "Our team of dedicated healthcare professionals truly embodies our mission of providing compassionate care. Every day, we put patients and families first as we work together to enhance the quality of life for those who are most vulnerable. It is a privilege to lead such a committed, cohesive team who serve those nearing the end of life with empathy and dignity."

"Hospice Honors recipients are industry leaders in providing quality care and constantly seeking ways to improve," said Ronda Howard, Vice President, Revenue Cycle and CAHPS at HEALTHCAREfirst. "We are honored to be aligned with such high-performing programs as Fairview Heights and VITAS Healthcare. We congratulate them on their success."

The organization bases award criteria on Hospice CAHPS survey results for an evaluation period of October 2020 through September 2021. Selectees for awards receive high scores on a set of 24 quality indicator measures. The hospice survey assesses vital components of care such as communication with family, treating patients with respect, providing help for pain and symptoms, emotional and spiritual support, willingness to recommend this hospice and more.

Since 2010, VITAS has been serving patients and families throughout southwestern Illinois, primarily in their homes and assisted living centers, providing compassionate hospice care, pain and symptom management, and psychosocial support through the end of life.

About VITAS® Healthcare
Established in 1978, VITAS Healthcare is a pioneer and leader in the American hospice movement. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 49 hospice programs in 14 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. VITAS employs 9,537 professionals who care for patients with advanced illness, primarily in the patients' homes, and also in the company's 28 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the first quarter of 2022, VITAS reported an average daily census of 17,241. Visit www.vitas.com.

About HEALTHCAREfirst
HEALTHCAREfirst enables home health and hospice providers to streamline and optimize their business through CAHPS surveys, billing, coding and OASIS review, and advanced analytics services to increase business efficiencies, simplify CMS compliance, expedite reimbursement and improve patient care. HEALTHCAREfirst is a wholly owned subsidiary of ResMed. Visit www.healthcarefirst.com or/and follow @HEALTHCAREfirst on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. https://www.healthcarefirst.com/

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SOURCE VITAS Healthcare