Recognized for Excellence in Care

The Hospice CAHPS Honors and Honors Elite Awards recognize hospice agencies that set the highest standard of excellence in patient care and caregiver experience. Our four clinical offices and nine inpatient care homes are award recipients this year, a prestigious honor that makes Hospice of the Valley one of the best hospices in the country.

Education Director Kathy Roat, who leads our CAPHS Quality Champions Team, explains the significance of this annual achievement.

How does Healthcare First, which created the awards, identify the top performers? They analyze data collected by the Hospice CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Systems) survey, which is part of the national CMS initiative to improve healthcare delivery. Hospice Honors is awarded to hospices scoring above the national performance scale on the “Willingness to Recommend” question. Honors Elite recipients also must score above the national scale on all 24 quality indicator questions.

This is quite an accomplishment! Being recognized with Hospice Honors and as Hospice Elite speaks volumes to the countless hours of care and effort our leaders and teams dedicate to deliver high-quality care that meets the patient and family where they are.

How do we maintain consistency? We never stop focusing on providing excellent care to every patient, every day — supporting families with kindness and being aware of their unique needs. To do this well, it’s imperative that we have a team that provides compassionate communication to patients and families, and to each other. Our priority is always to improve comfort, relieve symptoms and ensure peace of mind.

So teamwork is key? Absolutely. One person alone cannot help with symptoms, provide timely assistance, and offer emotional and spiritual support. It takes a team of highly trained and caring individuals to deliver this care consistently, day in and day out. We continually strive to achieve excellence, because it is the right level of care our patients want and deserve.

Who are HOV’s Quality Champions? We have over 60 employees supporting the hospice initiatives while representing their teams and disciplines. This is a team of passionate nurses, chaplains, social workers, CNAs, home health aides and team assistants who come together with a desire to share what is working and look for opportunities to raise the bar.