LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 18, 2018) — Hosparus Health today unveiled the results of a $1.3 million expansion at its Inpatient Care Center (HICC), a specialized hospice unit that serves terminally ill patients and their families, often in the last weeks or days of life.
The renovations added a third wing to the unit, located on the sixth floor of Norton Healthcare Pavilion, 315 East Broadway, and increased square footage to 18,390 from 13,582. The expansion is part of Hosparus Health’s continued overall growth to meet the growing needs for 24-hour, compassionate care of seriously ill patients and families in Kentucky and Indiana.
The renovations focused on expanding and reconfiguring space for the enhanced comfort and privacy of patients and families. Additions include new patient rooms, bringing total capacity to 27 beds, up from 25; a family lounge with kitchenette; two private consultation rooms to allow doctors to meet with families near their loved ones; and additional space designed for enhanced outpatient hospice and palliative care services.
New classroom and event space allows Hosparus Health to offer hospice and palliative care education to its staff, nursing and other healthcare students and the community. A new meditation room gives families of all religions or spiritual traditions a place to seek comfort or hold memorial services for their loved ones. Existing waiting areas were enhanced to allow families to gather in privacy and comfort, and the unit’s nurses’ station was reconfigured to enable better customer service, more privacy and increased workflow efficiencies.
A Louisville-based nonprofit organization, Hosparus Health funded the expansion through private donations from estates, corporations, organizations and individuals. The new wing is named for Al and Pat Fiorini, who contributed $100,000. Other major gifts came from the James Graham Brown Foundation, the Gheens Foundation, the Grainger Foundation, the Etscorn Foundation, The Midland Trail Golf Family and the River Cities Corvette Club.
Hosparus Health cares for over 1,200 seriously ill patients a day, in its 37-county service area in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The HICC provides short-term, inpatient hospice care to address symptoms associated with terminal illnesses that cannot be managed in other settings, or require special treatments such as frequent medication adjustments or monitoring of open wounds.
The HICC interdisciplinary care team includes a medical director, registered nurses, bereavement counselors, certified nursing assistants, chaplains, social workers, volunteers and support staff. Primary care physicians may follow their patients throughout their stay at the HICC and are invited to collaborate with the hospice medical director about their care. In addition to 24-hour care and symptom management, the HICC offers additional specialized services, including music, massage and pet therapy.
“As the aging population grows by leaps and bounds, providers like Hosparus Health have had to pivot in response to an increasing need for specialized care,” said President and CEO Phil Marshall. “We recognized early on that our compassionate care must extend beyond the patient to their family. That’s why we wanted to add more comfort features and privacy for loved ones. These upgrades allow families to make the most of the time they have left, and gives them the space to spend time with their loved ones without feeling pressured to leave. We’re honored to play a small part in making end-of-life journeys a little easier.”
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