One of the most difficult parts of caring for an aging loved one is the frequent trips to the hospital. These trips are emotionally draining and they can be expensive. Thankfully, hospice care has proven to be an effective way to reduce trips to the hospital. A study by the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (JAMDA) found that while 44% of nursing home residents are likely to be hospitalized in the final 30 days of their life, that number drops to 22% for nursing home residents who are enrolled in hospice care. As a Tulsa hospice care provider, we are passionate about reducing hospitalizations for our patients an improving their quality of life.

This study involved 505,851 non-hospice residents and 241,790 hospice-enrolled residents living in more than 14,000 facilities across the nation. Of the residents studied, 37.63% of non-hospice and 23.18% of hospice residents were hospitalized in the last 30 days of their life. This means that for every 10% increase in hospice penetration there is a reduction in hospitalization risk of 5.1% for non-hospice residents and 4.8% for hospice-enrolled residents.

After the study was completed, the researchers found that higher facility-level hospice penetration decreases hospitalization risk for both non-hospice and hospice-enrolled residents. Their findings also dealt with nursing home end-of-life care delivery, collaboration among providers, and cost-benefit analysis of hospice care.

Studies like this continue to show the many benefits of hospice care. However, the sad reality is that the majority of hospice-eligible patients will never receive one day of hospice care. At Cura-HPC, we work hard to ensure as many patients as possible receive the Tulsa hospice care they deserve.