22 Jan, 2020
LB Homes is excited to announce recognition for exemplary hospice care in our region. This care is earning accolades, the most recent coming from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), who awarded LB Hospice with a Level 4 distinction, the highest partner level in the We Honor Veterans program.
Level four partners care for veterans in their community by providing on-going education, conduct evaluations of the military history checklist during admission procedures, provide an annual review of veteran-specific examples for NHPCO’s standards of practice for hopsice programs, continue to evaluate and monitor demographics of Veterans served since joining the We Honor Veterans program, evaluate procedures for assisting veterans and families to access benefits for veterans and their families, develop and implement procedures for transitioning veterans across venues of care, implement veteran specific questions on surveys within the organization, develop and implement performance improvement projects that include Veteran-specific items from the NHPCO to measure and report care services for Veterans, and continue an ongoing relationship with a designated Veterans Affairs contact person and one or more Veterans Service Organizations.
LB Hospice moved from Level Three distinction with the turn of the New Year. This movement is possible through the ongoing staff development by LB Hospice and their administrators, Karrie Ouren and Deb Nelson. Debbie Grimes was integral to the reporting and compliance process set in place by the NHPCO as LB Hospice displayed their care to warrant a level 4 distinction. In addition to the LB Hospice administration, Chaplain Aaron Christenson, an active duty chaplain who is part of the LB Chaplain team, aided and supported the necessary work to achieve this special designation.
LB Homes believes this program is essential to our area community. A 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states that over 40% of the veterans that live in western Minnesota will move out of the area by 2027. Census data from 2017 reports over 300,000 veterans live in Minnesota, with over half of the total population of veterans entering or are already seated in retirement. As LB Homes continues to fulfill their mission to provide Christ-centered care and support, it is natural to engage the NHPCO’s We Honor Veterans program with LB Hospice, taking the training and standards from the program throughout the entire LB Homes community of ministries.
