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San Diego Hospice Response to Local News Reports
San Diego Hospice has recently been in the news regarding an audit of our organization that is being conducted by Medicare. The focus of the audit relates to reimbursement policies and documentation practices, not patient care. Our organization remains steadfast in its commitment to provide exceptional patient and family care every day, and we want to assure all San Diegans that we are here to serve your needs.
While our organization has recently undergone organizational changes, the vast majority of our services remain the same. What has changed is that we have placed a greater emphasis on compliance and implementing practices that focus our organization even more firmly upon our core mission of providing phenomenal levels of care to patients and their families.
In August, San Diego Hospice announced its Commitment to Excellence in Compliance Project, an aggressive five-point plan to improve clinical documentation, regulatory compliance, and improved service for every facet of our organization. This plan involves additional training for employees, more sophisticated patient documentation software and an expansion of our compliance department.
In November, San Diego Hospice announced an Austerity Plan that involved restructuring staff levels and temporarily closing our 24-bed Inpatient Care Center (ICC) in Hillcrest on January 4, 2013. It is important to note, however, that we treat more than 95 percent of our patients through in-home hospice or at long-term care facilities, so as noted above, the vast majority of our services remain unchanged, as we continue to provide hospice care to adults and children throughout the County.
As we embark upon a new era at San Diego Hospice, our dedicated team of professionals and volunteers remains committed to providing exceptional care to prevent and relieve suffering of our patients and their families during the end-of-life process. As always, this will be accomplished by achieving the highest levels of excellence, innovation and integrity in our programs.
To learn more about our Commitment to Excellence in Compliance, please click here.
To learn how to access San Diego Hospice services for adults and children living with a life-limiting or terminal illness, call (619) 688-1600 or visit our website at www.sdhospice.org.
If you have any questions regarding the news, please contact Melissa DelaCalzada at (619) 278-6139 or mdelacalzada@sdhospice.org.