Your Local Nonprofit Hospice

Through the years, other hospices have come and gone, but Hospice of Dubuque has continued its tradition of dedicated service to the members of our tri-state community. Our staff and volunteers live in the cities, towns, and rural areas throughout our tri-state area and, per person, average more than 11 years of experience in hospice and palliative care. 

With local roots, responsiveness to community needs, and the delivery of quality care, Hospice of Dubuque is the clear choice for end-of-life care. Read on for three significant benefits of receiving services from your local, non-profit hospice.

 

1. Nonprofit hospices are mission-driven, not profit-driven.

Hospice of Dubuque’s mission is to serve patients and families in our tri-state area. As a nonprofit organization, we do not have shareholders or owners that expect and benefit from, a profit at the end of each year. Instead, funds that exceed expenditures go back into Hospice of Dubuque each year to improve patient care and continue services to the community. As a nonprofit organization, Hospice of Dubuque puts the care of patients and families first, above all else.    

2. Research shows that nonprofit hospices offer more services than for-profit hospices.

A 2019 independent study entitled, “Hospice Medicare Margins: Analysis of Patient and Hospice Characteristics, Utilization, and Cost,” was conducted by the national actuarial firm, Milliman Inc. Key findings are as follows: 

  • Nonprofit hospices provide patients with 10% more nursing visits, 35% more social worker visits, two times as many therapy visits, and three times as many physician or nurse practitioner visits as for-profit hospices.
  • Nonprofit hospices admit more critically ill patients immediately following a hospital stay than for-profit hospices. This means nonprofit hospices are caring for individuals who have higher and more expensive needs typically requiring more visits, supplies, and medications. 
  • For-profit hospices spend less than half of what nonprofit hospices spend on grief support services.  
3. Community-based nonprofit hospices are embedded in the community they serve.

Leading Age and the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation commissioned a 2019 study to examine the differences between hospice providers. The report “Nonprofit Hospice Services: Where Mission and Community Meet,” notes:

  • “Over decades of service, nonprofit hospice programs have built longstanding relationships with local health systems, schools, government agencies, churches and clergy, community service organizations, and other partners,” which results in care that is responsive to, and tailored to, the community’s specific needs. 
  • “Nonprofit community-integrated hospices provide care regardless of location, complexity, or diagnosis.” Patients are not selectively admitted based upon their anticipated cost of care, availability of insurance coverage, or potential profit margin, but rather because they are members of the community the hospice serves. At Hospice of Dubuque, care is based upon the mission and the organization’s promise to our tri-state community to fulfill that mission. 
  • Nonprofit community-based hospices employ “highly-trained staff” and maintain “deep community relationships.” Thus, they are “better equipped to care for patients and families” at the end of life.