Community Impact Report 2022 - 2023 Leading the way in comfort and support since 1987
2150 NC Hwy 65 Reidsville, NC 27320 www.ancoracc.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter From The CEO
3
Headlines & Highlights
4
Program Highlights
8
Quality Assurance
10
Community Connections
11
Volunteer Spotlight
13
Staff Spotlight
14
Leadership
15
Mission Statement: To be a supportive presence for life’s journey.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
We at Ancora Compassionate Care commit to be active listeners, so as to learn about our differences and grow in our appreciation of our fellow humankind, both in the workplace and the communities we serve. We will celebrate each other’s diversity so each person will feel valued and be empowered with a sense of belonging. Although our life experiences and perspectives may change, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion will not waiver, as we carry out our mission to be a supportive presence for life’s journey.
“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient.” – Charles M. Blow, Journalist
Letter from the CEO
Lynn Flanagan, RN, MSN, CLE, President & CEO
In November, 2023, we experienced an exciting change. Hospice of Rockingham County’s name changed to Ancora Compassionate Care. The name change allows us to be more inclusive of the services we provide and the areas that we serve. Our name is the only thing that has changed. The excellent care and support we provide will never change. The name change is not the result of a merger or acquisition as we remain a free-standing, independent, not-for- profit organization dating back to 1987. Our mission is to be a supportive presence for life’s journey. Our support is provided in a myriad of ways by our talented and compassionate team and our goal is to continue to diversify our service lines to meet the ever-changing needs of the community. Our organization has had a tremendously positive impact on our community this past year and it is our privilege to share this information with you. In addition to being named a Hospice Honors Elite Program, we have also been named by Modern Healthcare as a Best Place to Work two years in a row. Our quality scores remain higher than the state and national averages and higher than the scores of other providers in our service area. We are committed to providing excellent care and support for our patients, their families, and our employees. It is our privilege to serve.
Lynn Flanagan, RN, MSN, CLE President & CEO
3
HEADLINES & HIGHLIGHTS
Same Trusted Care, New Name
While this headline actually happened just after the beginning of our new fiscal year, we felt it needed to be featured in this community impact report. On November 15th, 2023, Hospice of Rockingham County officially began doing business as Ancora Compassionate Care. The decision to rename was driven by several factors but the main two were that Hospice of Rockingham County had more than one service line and served patients in other counties across the service area. Thus, “Hospice” of “Rockingham County” no longer accurately described all services offered in the locations served. It is important to note the name change was simply that, a name change, and did not stem from any sort of merger or buyout. Ancora Compassionate Care is still the same independent, community-based, mission-focused organization it has always been. Our name has changed ... but our mission has not ... our local presence has not ... and our response to patient and family needs has not. “Ancora” is Latin for anchor and also means support, hope, and refuge. Given that we have been anchored in the community for 36 years and always strive to offer strength and support to our patients and families, Ancora Compassionate Care truly symbolizes what the organization has always stood for and pledges to always provide.
CEO Lynn Flanagan and board chair, Micky Silvers, along with ANCORA’s leadership team, cut the ribbon to symbolize the official renaming of Ancora Compassionate Care
HRC Recognized by County Commissioners
Hospice of Rockingham County was honored at the January 2023 County Commissioners’ meeting and presented with a resolution “Honoring Hospice of Rockingham County as one of the top ranked places to work in healthcare.” The resolution recognized HRC’s ranking of 10th out of 75 in the provider/insurer category in Modern Healthcare’s 150 Best Places to Work 2022. The resolution further stated that HRC “be honored for this top-ranking recognition and for its focus on its core values of Integrity, Respect, Compassion, Teamwork, Communication, and Innovation.”
On hand for the presentation were (back row, l to r) commissioner Mark Richardson, HRC board chair, Micky Silvers, commissioners Charlie Hall, Houston Barrow, & Kevin Berger; front row (l to r) HRC leadership members Flavel Collins, Lynn Flanagan, Cindy Tuttle, Beth Suggs, & Teressa Townes
4
HEADLINES & HIGHLIGHTS
City of Eden Supports HRC
The City of Eden presented HRC with a check for more than $5,000, which represented the proceeds from a project headed up by the city’s wellness committee. The project saw support from every department in the City of Eden , from administration to police & fire to parks & recreation.
Employees from across City of Eden departments were on hand to present a check to HRC for $5,012.
HRC Awarded Grant to Expand Pilot Program Participation In March of 2023, Hospice of Rockingham County began a pilot program with CareAlly for 24/7 on-call support for our serious illness care patients and families. While 24/7 on-call support has long been a required feature for hospice programs, there is no such care model for palliative care. CareAlly expands our capacity by providing virtual visits with registered nurses and social workers during working hours as well as after-hours on-call support. CareAlly assesses Social Determinants of Health needs as well as triages all patient calls. The Reidsville Area Foundation (RAF) awarded HRC a $102,000 grant to greatly expand its participation with CareAlly. With the Reidsville Area Foundation’s support, HRC could increase coverage from an initial 50 patients to essentially supporting the census as a whole. Participation in this pilot program combined with RAF’s support has enabled HRC to expand the number of patients and families we support and care for.
5
HEADLINES & HIGHLIGHTS
Camp Good Grief 2023 After a three-year hiatus due to Covid-19, Camp Good Grief made a huge comeback in 2023. An expanded two-day format and a new venue - the local Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center - were popular with campers and family members. 2023 saw the largest numbers ever to attend our grief camp. 33 campers and their paired buddies spent time in groups talking about their loved ones and creating memory boxes and sand art pieces. Camp wouldn’t be camp without outdoor activities and campers and buddies enjoyed nature walks and time on the climbing wall. Camp Good Grief culminated in a meaningful closing ceremony involving campers and their families.
Under the watchful eye of Betsy-Jeff staff, the climbing wall was a popular activity for many campers.
Much thought was given to choosing just the right photos and stickers for the memory boxes.
HRC Launches Podcast in 2023 March 2023 saw the launch of HRC’s first-ever podcast. Compassionate Conversations is a monthly series and offers a unique outlet for community education. Compassionate Conversations is one of several ways we endeavor to support and educate our community, not only about the services we offer but also about general topics related to serious illness as well as end-of-life care. Compassionate Conversations can be found on Spotify, Deezer, iHeart Radio, and Google Podcasts or listeners can subscribe to our Youtube channel: youtube.com/@AncoraCC2023.
6
HEADLINES & HIGHLIGHTS
HRC Expands Employee Benefits Hospice of Rockingham County utilized feedback from their employee engagement survey and four “generational meetings” (leadership met with each distinct generation of employees) to enrich its employee benefit package. Among the new benefits are an employee tuition reimbursement program, extended bereavement leave, gym membership reimbursement, AllyHealth (free virtual medical and behavioral health coverage available to all employees and their family members from day one of employment), increase in retirement match (based on years of service), and two additional paid holidays. CEO Lynn Flanagan said, “We now employee team members that belong to four distinct generations. So, the care and support for our team cannot be cookie-cutter care. We strive to be very intentional in the way we listen to our team members and provide a sense of well-being that is important to them individually.”
2022-2023 Proves to be Banner Year for Fundraisers HRC has always been blessed with strong community support and this past fiscal year was no exception. LifeLight, Friends of Hospice, the online auction, and the volunteers’ LifeWalk 2023 raised nearly $50,000. LifeWalk raised more money and garnered more sponsors than any in recent memory.
The funds raised by these events help offset the cost of uninsured and underinsured patient care. HRC provided 224 days of care to patients having no insurance and many more days of care to patients who insurance did not adequately cover the cost of care.
Board members Micky Silvers and Dr. Candace Bradley were all smiles for LifeWalk 2023.
HRC Staff Donates Dress-down Dollars On Fridays, HRC staff members have the option of donating $1.00 in order to wear jeans to work. Recently, staff donated $200 in “Dress- down” money to The Dancing Goat DME. The Dancing Goat DME collects used medical equipment and donates it to whomever needs equipment. HRC has worked with Kathy on several occasions and was proud to support the good work she does in our community.
Present for the check presentation (front, l to r) Kathy Lovelace, Lynn Flanagan; back row (l to r) Cindy Tuttle, Lana Shivley, Amy Stone, Patty Hairson, Susan Kerkstoel
7
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023
TOTAL PATIENTS SERVED
AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY
TOTAL ADMISSIONS
AVERAGE DAILY CENSUS
539
663
60.23 days
112.94 patients
# PATIENTS SERVED > 180 DAYS
TOTAL DAYS OF CARE PROVIDED
# PATIENTS SERVED < 7 DAYS
MEDIAN LENGTH OF STAY
170 (30.5%)
53 (9.5%)
18 days
41,130
PATIENT VISITS BY DISCIPLINE
COMMUNITY REFERRALS
HOSPICE AIDE
SOCIAL WORKER
CHAPLAIN VISITS
BEREAVEMENT CALLS
RN
13,331
8,629
1,917
1,610
2,396
76
ADMISSIONS BY DEMOGRAPHIC
African American (14.00%)
White (85.3%)
American Indian/Alaska Native (<0.1%)
Hispanic(<0.1%)
ADMISSIONS BY TOP DIAGNOSES
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
ALL OTHER DIAGNOSES
CANCER CIRCULATORY
RESPIRATORY
32.3% (174 pts.)
19.3% (104 pts.)
16.7% (90 pts.)
10.4% (56 pts.)
21.3% (115 pts.)
8
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023
Serious Illness Care 2022-2023 saw tremendous growth in our Serious Illness Care program. Over the course of the fiscal year, SIC saw a 52% increase in census, growing from 110 patients to 167 by year’s end. An invaluable support to our Serious Illness Care stems from HRC’s partnership with CareAlly. What began as a 50-patient pilot program in March 2023 has transitioned to CareAlly support for our full census. CareAlly expands HRC’s capacity by providing virtual visits with registered nurses and social workers during working hours as well as after-hours on-call support. CareAlly assesses Social Determinants of Health needs as well as triages all patient calls.
Number of calls taken by CareAlly during regular hours
978
Number of calls made during regular hours (related to patient needs)
3,170
Number of calls answered by CareAlly
160
9
QUALITY ASSURANCE
40,294 days
In August, HRC earned Hospice Honors Elite from HEALTHCARE first, a leading provider of billing and coding services, CAHPS surveys and advanced analytics. Hospice Honors is a prestigious program recognizing hospices providing the highest level of quality as measured from from the caregiver's point of view. To be considered for the Hospice CAHPS Honors Award, the hospice agency must have scored above the HEALTHCAREfirst National Performance Score on the Hospice CAHPS Willingness to Recommend question. If that criteria is met, performance is evaluated utilizing a set of 23 additional quality indicator measures. These scores are then compared on a question-by-question basis to a national performance score calculated from all partnering hospices contained in HEALTHCAREfirst’s Hospice CAHPS database. Special recognition, Honors Elite, is awarded to those hospices that score above the national performance score on all twenty-four of the evaluated questions.
This past fiscal year was HRC's second year in a row being named to Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work . In September 2023, Hospice of Rockingham County learned they had placed 33rd out of 75 in the provider/insurer category. This award program identifies and recognizes outstanding employers in the healthcare industry nationwide. Modern Healthcare partners with the Best Companies Group on the assessment process, which includes an extensive employee survey. “Being named one of Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work for the second year in a row is such an honor,” said Lynn Flanagan, Hospice of Rockingham County’s president & CEO. “At Hospice of Rockingham County, we provide the highest quality holistic care to our community. Our leadership team recognizes that our incredibly talented team needs that same holistic approach to enable them to continue to provide the end-of-life care that our community trusts us to provide.” “Our people are our greatest asset and caring for, supporting, and celebrating them is paramount to our organization fulfilling our mission.”
10
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Partnership with Local Church Helps HRC to Broaden Reach in African American Community
Nationwide, African Americans are underserved by hospice. Hospice of Rockingham County has always exceeded the national average of approximately 8% but we knew there was still work to be done to reach more of our community. Through a staff connection, HRC reached out a couple of years ago to members of Zion Baptist Church in Reidsville, NC (several of whom had been served by HRC in the past) and solicited the group’s input about perceptions and misconceptions in the community that could cause African Americans to be hesitant to seek hospice care in general and, specifically, hesitant to receive hospice care at home. Traditionally, HRC served more African Americans in Gibson House than in their own homes. This past year, we sought their input on a current commercial and used their suggestions in creating a new spot. From the diversity of staff members in the commercial to projecting a home care setting more so than Gibson House, we took their input to heart. We were thrilled to have five church members in the new commercial - with one member even inviting us into her home to shoot several scenes. The new commercial began running at the beginning of July, essentially the last quarter of our fiscal year. Shown in the graph below, we saw a definite increase in the percentage of African American patients served as well as those patients served at home after the new commercial aired.
Oct - June 2023
Jul - Sept 2023
100%
86.36%
73.21%
80%
60%
40%
26.79%
18.64%
20%
12.76%
13.64%
0%
% of African American Pts Served
% of African American Pts. Served at Home
% of African American Pts. Served in Gibson House
11
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
HRC Partners with Local Rescue Squads
In 2023, HRC began a unique partnership with local rescue squads to better meet patient transport needs. With our local EMS services feeling the effects of staffing issues, scarcity of non-emergency transport meant hospice patients being discharged from a hospital often had to wait long hours (sometimes more than 12 hours) before arriving home or to Gibson House. HRC now partners with Madison-Rockingham and Eden Rescue Squads to transport patients from hospitals to home and from home to Gibson House. This new partnership has reduced patients’ waiting time to only one to two hours, resulting in greater patient comfort.
Local Community Colleges & Universities
Hospice of Rockingham County has the privilege of serving as an educational resource for local healthcare programs. Nursing students from Rockingham Community College and UNC-G have gained clinical hours through rotations in Gibson House and in our homecare division in the past year. More recently, we have had opportunities to host students in the respiratory therapy program at RCC and hope to partner with other healthcare programs future. In addition to clinical programs, for several years HRC has hosted interns from A&T State University and UNC-G’s joint Master of Social Work programs. Spending a year with HRC’s support services team and having their own caseload gives interns great experience and insight into medical social work.
Two of HRC’s social workers spent time as interns and transitioned to full-time employees immediately after finishing their degrees.
Local Chamber of Commerce Connections Hospice of Rockingham County has always held membership in all three local chambers of commerce. It is important to be part of the business community that has been so supportive of our mission for decades. This past year we were proud to not only continue our memberships, but to take things a step farther and participate on a sponsorship level with all three chambers.
12
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Hospice of Rockingham County's volunteers are essential to our organization's success. Medicare requires that 5% of patient care be provided by volunteers and among the ways they give back are providing companionship to patients, providing administrative support to Ancora staff, helping grief services follow up with caregivers, and picking up and delivering meals to Gibson House. Our volunteers go above and beyond every day and we are grateful for the many talents they share with our patients and our agency.
# of Hours Provided
# of Visits Made
Type of Support
# of Volunteers
10
87.83
67
Direct Patient Care
10
1312.32
Clinical Support
n/a
Admin Support/ Fundraising
17
180.32
n/a
Cornelia Dalton supports HRC in many ways but one of her favorites is making weekly tuck-in calls to patients & families to check for needs prior to the weekend.
Volunteers create memory pillows for family members using articles of their loved one’s clothing.
Mark McClintock serves as a courier, picking up meals at UNC Health Rockingham for Gibson House patients.
13
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Leadership Members Complete Teleios University
Beth Suggs, RN, Director of Clinical Operations, Homecare Division and Cindy Tuttle, RN, Director of Clinical Operations, Gibson House Division successfully completed Teleios University, earning their Certification in Leadership Excellence. TU is a year-long program offering leaders the opportunity to further develop themselves and focuses on building high performance teams.
Beth Suggs, RN, CLE
Cindy Tuttle, RN, CLE
Team Leader Passes Licensing Exam Kayla O’Boyle, LCSW, Support Services Team Leader, passed her Licensed Clinical Social Worker exam in March 2023. Kayla interned with HRC through the A&T State University/UNC-G joint Master of Social Work program and later joined HRC as a full-time team member.
Kayla O’Boyle, LCSW
Two Staff Members Win “Care As It Should Be” Awards
Kim Pyron, RN case manager and Linwood Carver, chaplain, received Care As It Should Be awards from Teleios Collaborative Network at TCN’s August 2023 board meeting. The purpose of this award is to recognize those individuals who make an extraordinary impact on the patients and families who they serve daily. “We know that each of the staff members who are on the front lines provide excellent care to patients, so these awards are to recognize those who take care to the next level – those who go above and beyond to make a patient’s experience the best that it can be during such vulnerable and challenging times,” said Chris Comeaux, President and CEO of TCN.
Kim Pyron, RN Case Manager
Linwood Carver, DMin Chaplain
14
LEADERSHIP
Board of Trustees Micky Silvers, Board Chairman Robbie Citty, Vice Chair Jodi Hawkins, Secretary/Treasurer Candace Bradley, DO Gini Cardwell Mary Fagan
Romalita Harrison Rev. D.J. Morris Robin Pegram Justin Stewart Vickie Washburn Diane Wilson
Leadership Lynn Flanagan, President & CEO Megan Cole, LCSW, Director of Support Services Flavel Collins, CLE, Director of Marketing Ashley Presnell, AGNP-C, Director of Patient Access Beth Suggs, RN, CLE, Director of Clinical Operations, Home Care Division Teressa Townes, CLE, SHRM-CP, Director of Human Resources Cindy Tuttle, RN, CLE, Director of Clinical Operations, Gibson House Division
Team Leaders Patty Hairston, CNA, Hospice Aide Team Leader, Gibson House Valerie Hairston, CNA-II, Hospice Aide Team Leader, Home Care Ron Harris, RN, Clinical Team Leader, Home Care Division Christin Hunnicutt, MSW, Grief Services Team Leader Rhonda Lucas, AGNP-C, Serious Illness Team Leader Donna Moore, Business Office Team Leader Kayla O’Boyle, LCSW, Support Services Team Leader Jeanne Slayton, Growth Team Leader Samantha Thacker, CMA, Intake Team Leader
Providers Troy Phillips, DO, Medical Director David Hopper, MD, Medical Provider Ken Karb, MD, Medical Provider
Catherine Lunt, APRN, FP-C, Nurse Practitioner James Parsons, MD, Medical Provider
15
QUESTIONS ABOUT HOSPICE OR SERIOUS ILLNESS CARE? CONTACT US:
www.ancoracc.org info@ancoracc.org (336)427-9022
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker