Financial pressures and changes in the long-term care industry are leading one healthcare provider to make plans that might seem counterintuitive on one level but are reflective of a fresher trend on another. It’s closing its hospice center and turning it into a skilled nursing facility.
While the nursing home sector is facing unprecedented challenges, MultiCare Health System in Washington is tying the future success of its 12-year-old hospice building to its ability to fill beds with short-term rehab patients. Some hospice services would still be available.
The system announced that it would temporarily close its Cottage in the Meadow inpatient hospice center by Wednesday (Aug. 21) to make the transition.
“To ensure that Cottage in the Meadow remains a valuable community asset, continues to offer hospice services, and operates sustainably, MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital will temporarily pause services at Cottage in the Meadow, with the goal of reopening in late 2025 as a fully utilized facility specializing in short-term rehabilitation services, while also reserving beds for inpatient hospice care,” according to a statement by MultiCare Health System.
The change reflects mounting financial pressure on inpatient hospice services and a growing desire from the public for more home hospice services. The vast majority of hospice care already happens in patients’ homes, including nursing homes or senior living facilities.
The number of hospice facilities increased between 2020 and 2021, the most recent year for which a comparison was available through the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
But the segment has faced its own staffing crunch since COVID, and anecdotally, has been seen to be shedding in-patient options.
Marcus Perry, a MultiCare corporate communications specialist, said that system’s building was no longer financially sustainable as a stand-alone hospice inpatient center.
“Unfortunately, that building has been underutilized. We have 20 beds for inpatient hospice care and we only averaged about four or five patients a day for about the last five years,” he said.
Perry said MultiCare has submitted plans to the state Department of Public Health with hopes of reopening Cottage in the Meadow as a 32-bed skilled nursing facility specializing in short-term rehabilitation care, while still continuing to provide some beds for hospice patients.
“We had to pause operations as we go through recertification with the state. Many of the staff are being transferred to our home hospice program,” he said.
Perry said that while the change does reflect growing financial pressure on many hospice providers, it also highlights a growing desire from patients to receive care in the home.
“More and more people are wanting to spend their last days at home and there also have been some changes in the way Medicare reimburses hospice care,” he noted. “We are seeing the trend which has been happening in other markets. It’s kind of a national trend.”
