Posted on March 1, 2024
Danbury, Conn. – Regional Hospice is the only free-standing hospice facility in the State of Connecticut. Representatives Martin Foncello (R-107), Patrick Callahan (R-108), and Rachel Chaleski (R)-138), all members of the Appropriations Committee, recently visited with center staff as they seek funding to expand pediatric services. Regional Hospice also met with other members of the Danbury delegation and spoke with additional members of the Appropriations Committee. State Senator Julie Kushner (D-24) introduced the proposed bill, cosponsored by the Representatives, for funding services offered by Regional Hospice.
The center cares for about 200 people per year, plus over 100 patients in the community in settings such as skilled nursing homes. Regional Hospice is the only nonprofit that does pediatric hospice care, and they never turn away a pediatric case, whether they can pay or not.
“The staff here recognizes that we are pulled in many different directions and are working with limited resources as the Appropriations Committee meets to recommend budget adjustments to the second year of the two-year budget, but the center provides a unique service that virtually no one else in Connecticut provides,” said Rep. Chaleski.
For longer-term patients, the Milestone Road facility becomes their residence. There are aides, nurses, social workers, and chaplains to provide an array of services. All the supplies and medical equipment are tucked away in a closed-off corridor, so it looks less like a nursing home and more like a home. The length of stay at the center varies greatly, with some people there as little as a few hours while others are there for approximately a year.
“These patients come to Regional Hospice for respite and it’s a relief for families to have this kind of care. You can tell that it’s an honor for the staff members to be with them on this chapter in their lives,” said Rep. Foncello.
What center staff are finding post-COVID is that the length of most stays is shorter because people have ‘doctor-fatigue’ or are coming in sicker because of longer wait times for people to see specialists. They also shared that they’re annual patient census is lower now because many older adults who would have needed hospice care unfortunately did not make it through the pandemic.
“It’s a sacred and spiritual space. Anyone who has lost someone, and knows that the end is nearing, it’s a very hard thing to go though. When I sat with a friend who passed away, it was a very heavy experience but places like Regional Hospice take some of that burden off families,” said Rep. Callahan.
Regional Hospice is currently experiencing a gap in expenses and revenue. They receive money from insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and donations.
Regional Hospice President and CEO ToniAnn Marchione testified before the General Assembly’s Public Health Committee on February 26th about a proposal to require the Department of Public Health to develop a plan to establish a hospice program for children in the state.
There’s a need for pediatric hospice care. Initial thoughts were to build a wing at the facility, but parents want their kids home as long as they are comfortable so Regional Hospice is asking for funding to bring services into the community. It costs more to take care of a pediatric patient because they can have concurrent lifesaving care while on hospice. The organization picks up the cost of that medication, and pediatric nurses are also more expensive than case managers because the kids are usually born with a genetic anomaly. Some have cancers, but most need specialized care compared to adult hospice patients. One pediatric case costs the equivalent of about 15 adult cases. Pediatric nurses only take up to 8 or 10 cases whereas other nurses take on about 14-18 adult cases.
They not only provide care to people with critical illnesses, but also provide grief support for families. After the shooting at Sandy Hook School, their counselors did a lot of grief counseling in Newtown, especially for grandparents. The playground at the center stemmed from the idea of a Newtown student after 12/14.