THE SPIRIT OF HOSPICE WAS BLAZING BRIGHTLY AT THE RECENT NHPCO CONFERENCE. Congratulations to NHPCO President Don Schumacher and his team on their 25th anniversary of sponsoring the management and leadership conference. They do a fantastic job organizing the event. As a leader in educating about end-of-life care, NHPCO provides a very vital service to hospices around the country.

While most hospice organizations are facing common, sweeping challenges – reimbursement cuts, rampant competition and declining length of stay (LOS) – an optimistic spirit still prevailed. Participants we encountered are actively looking for solutions to these challenges, not raising the white flag of surrender.

Many thanks to those who attended Transcend's two sessions at the NHPCO conference. We enjoyed getting together with old friends and making new ones. Thanks also to those who stopped by our booth and answered our survey. Emily Craig, Gaston Hospice in Gastonia, North Carolina, is the lucky winner of the mini laptop computer. She was very excited when informed she had won since she told us she's never won anything. We're glad Emily participated in the survey and had the lucky entry drawn.

In this edition of Transcendent, we highlight the major points of both of our presentations: "Effective Marketing to Physicians to Overcome Barriers to Referral," plus "Using Marketing Outreach to Overcome Reimbursement Cuts & Improve Your Bottom Line." In subsequent months, look for more information on these topics.

When only 26% of over 4,000 physicians surveyed in a January 2010 Cancer study said they would discuss hospice with their patients, it is obvious that physicians need solid reasons for discussing hospice and making referrals. MORE >>

"The greater the volume, the bigger the operating margin." That fairly simplistic statement was the hopeful reminder given to workshop attendees at April's NHPCO conference. Knowing that hospices are rightfully concerned about reimbursement cuts and increased competition, Stan Massey, executive vice president, strategy and Kristin Jordan, director, research & strategy for Transcend Hospice Marketing Group offered a remedy. By effectively marketing your hospice, you can improve the bottom line. MORE >>

In the midst of competitive pressures on your bottom line, it's important to know your market penetration in order to focus your efforts in the right places. In the graph below, market penetration of hospice-appropriate deaths being served by all hospices on a daily basis in a five county region is charted, as well as those not being served. It is easy to see that opportunity for growth lies within all counties. However, County A has a fairly high penetration, so while there is not as much opportunity to increase penetration as with other counties, there may still be opportunity to increase LOS which will, in turn, increase ADC. Knowing this information helps hospices target their education campaigns and helps focus on the right counties, in the right ways.

If you'd like to discuss how Transcend Hospice Marketing Group can help your hospice, contact Stan Massey.