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Hi and welcome to Be The Flagship with our podcast host Jeff Parsons.

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This is where we tackle the day-to-day talent management challenges you face, particularly

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in hospice and small healthcare organizations.

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And now over to our host.

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Take it away Jeff.

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Hello.

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Thank you.

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I'm Jeff Parsons, host of the podcast Be The Flagship and what an episode we have for

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you today.

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I can't wait to get started.

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Okay, and today I have a special Christmas present for my listeners.

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Joining me as a special guest is a person who is widely known and respected in the hospice

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industry and her name is Jan Jones.

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And so a little bit more about Jan.

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Jan Jones is currently CEO of Alleviate Care, which is the owner of three hospices serving

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Southern California.

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And they include Inland Valley Hospice, Inland Valley Hospice Care, and All Point Hospice.

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Collectively they serve San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange Counties

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in Southern California.

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Prior to her current role, Ms. Jones served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Elizabeth

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Hospice, which is a leading provider of hospice care, palliative care, and grief support in

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San Diego County and Southwest Riverside County.

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In this role, Ms. Jones oversaw a workforce of around 280 employees and around 315 active

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volunteers.

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She was the liaison between the organization and the community, partnering with local healthcare,

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educational, business, and civic organizations, as well as connecting with the residents in

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the communities served by the organization.

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Jan served on the board for the North San Diego Business Chamber and is the former president

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of the Escondido Rotary Club.

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With more than three decades of experience in the healthcare industry, Jan, who's also

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a registered nurse, by the way, remains active in her dedication to community service.

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She remains committed to addressing the unmet needs for those affected by a serious or life-limiting

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illness.

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Jan is active as a volunteer, working at the state and national levels of hospice organization

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and government arenas.

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She has held leadership positions at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, or

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NHPCO, which is based in Washington, D.C.

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Jan is past chair of the NHPCO Board of Directors and has served on the board of the Hospice

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Action Network.

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Jan also serves as a chair of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association and

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now serves on that board as a board member.

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Welcome, Jan.

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My pleasure.

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So the first question I have, what inspired you to pursue a career in hospice and how

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did your journey in hospice begin?

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You know, that's such an interesting question.

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I've been a nurse for a long time.

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And at one point in my nursing career, I always was comfortable working with people who were

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at the end of their lives throughout my, from the time I was a student nurse all the way

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through my career.

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And at one point in my career, I was head of a home care agency.

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And this was actually right at the cusp or right before the hospice movement came to

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the U.S.

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And we saw patients at home, we saw people who were dying at home, and I always was comfortable

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working with folks in their own homes where they were breathing their last.

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And it just was rewarding to me.

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So when I was given the opportunity to begin working in hospice, which happened in Miami,

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Florida, years ago, 35, almost 36 years ago, I learned that it really was my calling.

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There was nothing else.

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I've always loved being a nurse, but there was nothing else in my being that wanted to

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do anything other than hospice.

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So like so many people say, I was called to the work.

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It's my calling.

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Wow.

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And Jan, I have heard that from a number of true dedicated hospice professionals that

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it is really a calling.

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It is.

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It's not a career.

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Yeah.

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Interesting.

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So I know hospice care has evolved over time.

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And so what's your perspective?

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How have you seen the landscape of hospice care evolve over the course of your career?

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Yeah.

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So initially, we were, it was kind of a grassroots movement.

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And so there was very little oversight of hospice care in the very beginning.

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And as time progressed, as what happens with so many healthcare organizations or healthcare

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businesses, once Medicare began to pay for hospice care, the landscape began to change

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because there were people entering the marketplace who maybe were not as interested in the calling

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piece as they were in the profit piece.

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And was that said well?

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Yeah, that's did very well.

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And so over the years, the scrutiny has become more and more for good reason.

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I have no problem with the scrutiny because I hope that people who are not in it for the

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right reasons don't continue to be in hospice care.

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So although it's been difficult because it takes time, it takes money, it takes energy

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to meet all of the new regulations that come forth.

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It is for a good reason.

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It is to ensure that people who are entitled to receive hospice care are actually getting

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what they deserve.

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I see.

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So you mentioned the current challenges, how the challenges have evolved.

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On the flip side, what opportunities do you see for the future of hospice care and how

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can the hospice industry capitalize on them?

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Well, I think there's a lot of opportunity for hospice.

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First of all, we are sitting on the cusp of the baby boomer explosion.

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So most people who are receiving hospice care are older than 65.

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In fact, 75 is probably the average age of a hospice patient.

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And that probably is moving upwards as we tend to all live longer.

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But I think there's a lot of opportunity to serve.

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I think there are opportunities to continue to grow what hospice looks like within the

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regulatory environment.

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At some point, it is likely that we will be providing hospice care under the umbrella

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of Medicare managed care, which could open up some opportunities for innovation that

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are difficult now.

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Innovation is not impossible, but it's difficult within the set of regulations that we currently

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have.

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So I think there's opportunity that may come across for more innovation.

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So what challenges would that present, looking at more of a managed care model?

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Managed care, I think it would be difficult because of the financial situation that we

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might have.

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It might open up opportunities for more continuous care, a continuum of care that sometimes does

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not exist now.

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Things are pretty fragmented.

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So there may be an opportunity there.

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But I think truly, it would probably reduce the amount that hospices would be paid, which

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may also create some challenges in how to deliver a model of care that has been in existence

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for a very long time, since the early 80s.

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And how would we change that model of care to meet the current financial, the current

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payment structure?

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In other words, it's maneuvering that balance and making sure that you continue to have

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the right balance between your mission or your purpose for existence and running a business

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at the same time.

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Exactly.

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That's exactly right.

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And these are people who, this is their last chapter of life, they deserve not to have

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to worry about those things.

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They deserve the very best of care.

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They deserve our loving presence.

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They deserve our help in helping them meet their own goal.

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So that's what motivates me.

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I see.

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Well, and that's a perfect segue into the next question.

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I can't wait to get your response on this one.

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Let's talk about legacy and impact, right?

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So reflecting on your career, a story career in hospice, what accomplishments are you most

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proud of in the realm of hospice care?

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I have been very fortunate to have, with every hospice I've been with, we have grown.

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We have grown in our ability to serve.

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We have grown in our programs.

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As an example, hospices, I've been with three different hospices prior to my current position

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in three different states.

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And in all three of them, I was able to establish pediatric hospice care, which is a very huge

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need.

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I'll bet.

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And in the last two, to establish strong palliative care programs who reach out to people prior

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to their eligibility for hospice under the Medicare guidelines.

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So I think what I would be most proud of in my legacy is establishing ways to ensure that

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people who want to receive the care have a path to receive it.

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That would be my legacy.

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My second important piece of the legacy is where I am now with a fabulous group of young

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leaders, young men who are really passionate about hospice care and want to lead for the

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future.

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So the other part of my legacy is in helping support people who have an interest to carry

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on the work.

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Okay.

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That's excellent.

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I'm sure you've heard the phrase a hospice heart referred to on occasion and so, and

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I've referred to it in previous episodes actually.

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And I consider a hospice heart as a means to describe the deep commitment to providing

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compassionate care.

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So what in your opinion is the essence of compassionate end of life care and how do

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you ensure it's a cornerstone in your organization?

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The way I define it is it's care that I would want my mother to receive.

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That is the epitome of what we should be providing.

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The way that we ensure that that is occurring is through a variety of measuring opportunities

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to measure the care.

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It is talking to individual families and patients.

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It is looking at scores that are cap scores, for example, that are on a national level

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to see what the satisfaction level is because part of our job is not just the care that

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we deliver to the person who's experiencing the illness.

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It is very important to deliver care to the family so that when their loved one does pass

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away, that they are left knowing that they've done a great job and they can grieve with,

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not with a heavy heart, although there's a heavy heart for the loss, but they can grieve

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knowing that they did the best they could for their loved one.

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So those are the things that we look at.

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I think there are plenty of things to measure, looking at quality scores, looking at things

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like that, but mostly it has to do with how patients and families tell you they feel about

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the care.

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I see.

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In a previous episode in talking with a hospice professional, she provided examples of a hospice

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heart in action and where hospice nurses have moved mountains to grant last wishes or to

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support the family or that sort of thing.

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In your career, can you share a memorable experience that illustrates the profound impact

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of compassionate care in hospice?

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Oh my gosh.

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I probably could think of a bunch of things that I could say, but I remember one vividly.

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This was when I was in Nashville, Tennessee and we had an inpatient unit which was under

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my watch.

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I should have said that's part of the legacy, is the inpatient unit there.

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It was early on, our unit had just opened and we had a referral of somebody who was

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homeless.

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This gentleman didn't even go into the mission.

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He was used to being out.

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He didn't want to be inside anywhere.

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We were able to convince him to come into the unit.

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He lived for two weeks.

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He was the happiest he had ever been.

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He loved pickles.

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We made sure he had plenty of pickles.

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The things that he wanted to eat, we just loved on him until the end.

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I just remember how important that was for that individual who had lived on the streets

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for years.

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Oh my.

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His last two weeks were surrounded by loving care in a comfortable environment.

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He didn't have to worry about the rain and the wind and anything else.

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He was comfortable.

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To me, that showed the hospice heart and everybody.

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The chief medical director or chief medical officer went out and bought pickles.

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He went out and bought.

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We all surrounded this gentleman.

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How about that?

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Yeah.

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That's just one.

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But there are so many.

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I'm sure.

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Yeah.

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That's wonderful.

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That's a wonderful story, Jan.

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Let's shift for a minute to the topic of innovation in hospice.

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How has technology played a role in advancing hospice care?

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Are there specific innovations that have stood out to you?

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I think, first of all, technology is important.

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We have to embrace it, but not replace.

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We embrace, but not replace.

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We don't replace the human element, but we have to embrace the technological element.

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EMRs were a big deal, just electronic medical records.

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They can be a pain, but they also can be a very, very important tool where you have information

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that's important that is captured in the medical record and available in real time.

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So that when a patient calls, say, at two o'clock in the morning, the nurse who is taking

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that call can just open the medical record and know exactly what's happened.

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That's a really key innovation.

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We're currently using an innovation where staff don't have to write down their mileage

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anymore.

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It's called Triplog.

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They just start, they just push a button, it starts tracking where they're going, and

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they push it when they're done.

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No more writing down mileage, which was a big pain for staff.

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They didn't like that.

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I think the track was awful.

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So, I mean, that's kind of a little innovation, but it's a big deal for the staff.

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I think in terms of innovations that are going to be really meaningful, I think there are

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things that will help innovations coming down the pike that will help nurses to not be bogged

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down with as much documentation as they are today.

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Perhaps different ways to capture documentation without the burden that currently exists.

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And other kinds of innovation that I think are important.

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We're currently working on it with a PBM where we can order medications on an app, and things

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are just smooth and taken care of that way.

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There are a lot of different technological innovations that are coming that will help

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us.

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Yeah.

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And, pardon me, but the types you've just described, it seems to me from an HR mindset

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that by decreasing the bureaucratic paperwork and record keeping and that sort of thing,

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you're also increasing employee satisfaction and have the opportunity to do so, at least

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improve employee satisfaction that you're doing things to try to make their life a little

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easier and let them focus on what they're called to do.

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Exactly.

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That's important.

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That's very important.

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Do you see telehealth as an emerging technology in hospitals?

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Yeah, I do.

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It's been utilized currently in hospitals with face-to-face visits.

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I would like to see it utilized a little bit more frequently, and we can use it.

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We can use telehealth.

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So let's say, for example, a patient's family calls at two o'clock in the morning, and the

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person doing triage, if they have the ability to actually see what's happening or measure

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the blood pressure or use some telehealth devices to help them with triaging, that could

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be a huge advantage.

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So that's one of the things that I see that would be really helpful.

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Okay.

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Yeah.

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Again, you've been in hospice for a long time, and there are new professionals entering hospice,

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and there are those currently in hospice who might be struggling or trying to grow within

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hospice.

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So if you were offering advice to professionals who are considering going into hospice or

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growing in hospice, what advice do you have for those individuals?

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First of all, I think that the calling piece is critical.

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So if you think that that is a field that you want to work in, it might be helpful to

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really interview some people who are already doing it, already in the field, and maybe

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even doing a ride along if you can get permission to do that, just to see if it's something

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that meets your needs.

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I think I just cannot reiterate the importance of the calling part, because people who do

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come to hospice usually within a short period of time either know that it's for them or

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not.

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And I would imagine as long as you've been in hospice, you can spot that pretty quickly

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in a person, can't you?

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Yeah.

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Well, and they can spot it in themselves.

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They usually self-identify.

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So I think anyone wanting to work with people, it is the most meaningful work I have found

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in my entire nursing career.

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There is nothing more important to me than making a difference in someone's life when

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it is at the end of their life.

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That is the most important thing I feel like I can do with my life.

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That's right.

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So a lot of nurses who leave, let's say, the hospital, and they're accustomed to rehabbing

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patients, fixing them, getting them better, and then they go into hospice where that's

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not the case.

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You're trying to maximize the quality of life, however many days the patient has left, and

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to minister to the families.

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I see it as a little bit of a ministry as well.

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But there are emotional challenges.

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So how can professionals in the hospice industry navigate the emotional challenges that come

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with providing end-of-life care?

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Yes.

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There are emotional challenges because you do get attacked.

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It's natural.

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So I would look for a hospice that honors that.

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And there are a couple of things that hospices can do.

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One is to have some formal ways in which they honor the lives of the patients who've gone

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before.

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And there are a whole lot of different ways to do that within the staff.

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I would also look for a hospice who might have some mental health dates in their benefit

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package, where you have the opportunity if you're really struggling and you need a few

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days to kind of recharge your batteries, that the hospice may have either a paid day off

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policy that allows for that or an actual mental health date policy.

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So those are some of the HR things I would look for.

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The other thing is you want to work with people who are supportive.

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So your colleagues mean a lot in providing emotional support.

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I have learned that.

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Yeah.

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I mean, it's a pretty strong bond within the hospice care team.

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Yes, it is very strong.

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And they tend to support each other when one person is needing a little extra boost, the

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rest of them kind of gather around and provide that.

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And that means the world.

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So that's part of the job satisfaction that I see with a lot of hospice staff is just

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the satisfaction comes from the team that they work with and the supervisor that they

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have who supports them.

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That supervisor is important, right?

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Absolutely.

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So, well, thank you for that, Jan.

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When I read your bio, I was amazed at all the community involvement you have.

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So when it comes to community engagement, how do you engage with the local community

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to raise awareness about hospice care and end of life issues?

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The way I've done it is I find groups that have similar desires to support the community.

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For example, the Chamber of Commerce supports businesses in the community, the Rotary supports

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causes in the community.

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So I kind of gravitate to organizations like that and find whether I'm a member of an organization

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like that or whether it's an opportunity to do a program for an organization like that.

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I think it's really, really important.

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That's how I've seen raising community awareness through both membership in those organizations

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and also just talking about what it is that you do.

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What does your hospice do?

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Okay.

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Thank you.

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And as we mentioned earlier, it's a balancing act, right?

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Managing a hospice organization requires a delicate balance between business and compassion.

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If you're a for-profit or a not-for-profit, that really doesn't matter.

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You still have to generate revenue in order to serve your mission within the community,

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right?

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So it's a fine line.

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So how do you strike that balance and what lessons have you learned along the way, Jan?

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Well, I think just the most important thing is doing the right thing.

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Staying compliant.

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First of all, understanding that your people are the most important thing, your staff.

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Understanding that compliance is a requirement and following it very carefully.

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So taking care of your people, being compliant with regulations.

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Those things help you as you grow so that you grow your revenue to the point where you're

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able to support your mission.

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And so I think those are two of the most important things that you do.

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Growth is critical to supporting a mission.

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It is for any business.

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So attending to that.

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That you grow because your people are great and the word gets out, and you grow because

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you are an upstanding business.

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So those are key factors, I think.

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So when we talk about the workforce, I mean, you are certainly respected as a hospice leader.

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And you have the depth and breadth of leadership experience within hospice.

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So as a leader, you understand the importance of connecting your employees with the mission

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of your hospice, right?

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So what strategies as a leader do you employ to accomplish that?

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First of all, you model it, but beyond that, we have frequent all staff meetings where

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we lift up our mission, lift up what it is we're doing, our mission, our values.

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And we are looking for ways to tell stories of success that occur.

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And as we talk through those stories of success, it's promoting the culture and the mission

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of hospice.

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So I think those are key factors.

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Okay.

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So what I hear you saying is that you model the right behavior, correct?

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And I say that because I've seen so many leaders who model the behavior.

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Unfortunately, it's not the right behavior.

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Yeah, no, you got to model the right behavior.

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It all starts at the top, right?

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It does.

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It does.

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That's where culture moves.

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It's all at the top.

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That's right.

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Thank you for that, Jan.

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I promise I'm about to let you off the hook, but we're about to close.

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So as we wrap up, is there a particular message or piece of wisdom?

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I'm putting you on the spot now, Jan, or piece of wisdom you'd like to share with our listeners,

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especially those who may have been touched by hospice care in some way.

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Yes.

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Well, first of all, if you have been touched by hospice care, thank you for the opportunity

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to serve because it's a real privilege to be with your families and with you.

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So thank you for that.

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I think the most important message that I have is to maintain the commitment to people

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who are living the last chapters of their lives, that maintain the commitment of care,

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00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,420
no matter what the payment system looks like over time.

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We need to commit to providing loving, compassionate, competent care to people who deserve it.

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We all deserve it.

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00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:30,280
Thank you for that, Jan.

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00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:33,440
Thank you so much.

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Thank you for your dedicated service to hospice care and for your time today, Jan.

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It was my pleasure, Jeff.

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Thank you for asking me.

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Yeah, you always have an open invitation to join.

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And if I could right now, I'd give you a big old hug, Jan.

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00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:51,960
Thank you so much.

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00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:52,960
All right.

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00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:57,280
Well, through the computer, yours won back.

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00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,280
Thanks so much.

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00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:02,080
All righty.

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00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:03,360
Wow.

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00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,120
How special was that, right?

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And I wanted to let you in on a little secret.

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Jan did not receive any of my questions in advance.

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00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:20,400
All of her responses were in the moment and from her heart.

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So we thank her deeply for her time and her contribution today.

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And we're going to take a quick break for commercial.

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Then I'm going to come back and I'm going to wrap up the episode with a quote that I

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00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:37,040
think is very relevant to the discussion today.

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00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:41,960
At Flagship Talent, we work with our clients to find and place the right talent.

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00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:43,820
What do we mean by the right talent?

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00:32:43,820 --> 00:32:48,440
We mean we find talent who will commit to your organizational goals and align with your

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00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,140
values and behavior expectations.

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00:32:51,140 --> 00:32:53,680
Talent who will perform to your expectations.

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00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:57,220
Talent who will stay and grow with your organization.

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00:32:57,220 --> 00:32:59,220
How are we different from our competitors?

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00:32:59,220 --> 00:33:02,040
We offer the lowest fee structure in the industry.

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00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,880
We offer the best talent guarantee in the industry.

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00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:09,720
We provide selection and interviewing support to our clients at no additional fee.

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00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:15,100
We want to save you money, deliver high quality talent, become an extension of your organization,

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00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:18,660
and be your preferred provider of talent acquisition solutions.

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00:33:18,660 --> 00:33:24,400
To learn more, contact Jeff Parsons by email at jeff at FlagshipTalent.com or by phone

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00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:29,640
at 1-800-530-4189, extension 101.

439
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:38,320
Okay, so as I mentioned, I would like to leave you with a quote by the ancient Pericles.

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00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:42,620
And it's certainly relevant for those like Jan Jones.

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00:33:42,620 --> 00:33:47,160
She has touched many lives in her career.

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00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:56,400
So the quote is this, what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments,

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00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:02,780
but what is woven into the lives of others.

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00:34:02,780 --> 00:34:04,320
Keep that one in mind.

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00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,720
Continue to press to be the flagship in your industry.

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00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,040
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

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00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:12,840
And I will see you next year.

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00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:13,840
Bye now.

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00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:19,100
Thank you for listening to this episode of Be the Flagship with Jeff Parsons.

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00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:20,100
We hope you enjoyed it.

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00:34:20,100 --> 00:34:23,640
If you did like it, please subscribe and share with others.

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00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:27,440
Until next time, take the step to become the flagship in your marketplace.