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Hospice Spotlight |
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Endowed by philanthropist Maggie Allesee, the MACQL is Hospice of the local, state and national level. Its mission is to empower people about Michigan’s center for education, quality improvement and outreach initiatives.
“The Maggie Allesee Center fosters new ways of thinking about quality of life and death and the wide variety of issues that people face at the end of life,” Deremo says. “Through the Center, Hospice of Michigan is preparing the way to provide quality services both now and into the future when the demands for care are expected to rise exponentially.”
Blending high tech with high touch is at the heart of Hospice of Michigan. “We believe that the time at the end of life is important and rich and worthy of our best efforts,” says Deremo. |
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Hospice of Michigan the leader in comfort care for 25 years “Quality, compassionate care for people with terminal illnesses and support for their families have been the hallmarks of Hospice of Michigan since we began more than 25 years ago,” says Dorothy E. Deremo, president and CEO.
As the first certified hospice program in the state, Hospice of Michigan began as a pilot program of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan and a consortium of Detroit-area hospitals in 1980. Today, it is one of the largest nonprofit hospices in the country, serving more than 800 patients a day in 45 counties across the state. About 75 percent of patients receive care at home or HOM’s hospice home in Farmington Hills. Others are served at one of the more than 200 contracted hospitals and nursing facilities statewide.
This care is provided by a dedicated and highly-trained group of 650 employees who work in interdisciplinary teams consisting of physicians, nurses, social workers, grief support and spiritual care counselors, home health aides and trained volunteers. Together, these hospice teams are dedicated to bringing peace and comfort to people nearing the end of life’s journey.
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Putting the patient and family in the center of the care team, so that the patient can remain active as long as possible and the family is assisted in providing care, is an essential part of the hospice mission. The hospice team can help create an environment where life is celebrated, affairs are thoughtfully wrapped up, and precious time is shared.
Hospice of Michigan is committed to its open access policy. “We will care for all those who need and seek our care, regardless of their age, diagnosis or ability to pay,” explains Deremo. “Our focus is to provide the best possible comfort care for people at this most vulnerable time.”
While providing quality care is the primary focus, HOM also has been involved in research that explores how and when comfort care is delivered. Hospice of Michigan takes advantage of the innovative approaches to care using new technologies, such as telemedicine and computer-based documentation.
Hospice of Michigan's Maggie Allesee Center for Quality of Life (MACQL) is dedicated to bringing the benefits of these and other research efforts into use by caregivers and care providers in our communities, so that more people can experience peace, comfort and meaning at life's end.
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Dorothy E. Deremo - President and CEO Hospice of Michigan |
