SAULT STE. MARIE — Despite the Chippewa County Health Department closing its home health and hospice division, EUP's hospice will not be closed or experience any issues with its services.
In November 2023, Chippewa County Commissioners approved shutting down operations and closing the Home Health and Hospice Division.
County officials said the decision took into account a number of factors, including decreased income and changes in patient eligibility for Medicaid services.
The program has been in existence for decades and provides essential nursing, social work, psychological and support services at the clinic to our local partner, EUP's hospice. EUP is an independent hospice home program funded by donations and community support.
Following the Commissioner's decision, rumors and misinformation regarding EUP's continued operation of the hospice were spread within the community. Hospice officials want to reassure the public that the closure of the health department's program is not expected to have any impact on hospice services.
“We are a completely separate and independent organization,” said Tracy Holt, executive director of EUP Hospice. “When people heard that the hospice program was closing, there was a lot of confusion in the community. They thought that meant we were closing too.”
EUP Hospice was founded in 1980 and provided home care to patients for many years. In 2011, EUP Hospice became the only free hospice house in the Upper Peninsula. We are indebted to everyone in the area.
The program has also expanded to include Ball House, Pennington Home, Harbor View Home, and WhiteWild's Home, providing hospice services to areas within the EUP that are too far from the Sioux River to come to Hospice House .
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At a hospice house, patients receive a higher level of care than at-home hospice services. Other support such as medical equipment, medicines, and medical and social workers will be provided to the homes in partnership with the Department of Health. This allows patients transferred to hospice care to continue care with the same physician.
“They will be officially ending their home health and hospice programs at the end of the year, which may be sooner if they lose staff, but they are still providing all hospice services with us,” Holt said. he said.
As soon as the closure was announced, EUP Hospice began looking for other programs to partner with. There are multiple other hospice providers that can provide the same level of essential nursing, social work, psychological and support services.
Although no announcement has been made, EUP Hospice is in contact with other programs and is confident that we can transition to the new partnership without any changes to coverage or care.
While their partnership has been beneficial in providing medical care and supplies, the hospice house itself is supported by the local community. Nearly 100 percent of the food, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, and other supplies are donated by community members. In addition, various local fundraisers such as Dancing with the Stars have supported the house since his 1980s.
“We are completely funded by the community,” Holt said. “So the only way we're going to close down is if the community basically no longer supports us.”
The health department plans to provide services and accept hospice referrals through the end of the year. The closure of the program will not adversely impact other Chippewa County Health Department programs.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
