The Mercy Hospice House, a palliative care wing of Mercy Hospital, has temporarily closed because of a change in outpatient service ownership and a required licensing review.
A reopening date has not been determined.
The facility, owned and operated by CommonSpirit Health, will transfer leadership of outpatient services to its national entity, CommonSpirit Health at Home, said Kevin Massey, a spokesman. Inpatient palliative care will continue under CommonSpirit Health and Mercy Hospital, he said.
Hospice and palliative care services at Mercy were previously managed by a regional team. With outpatient services now shifting to the national level, patients and staff members will “benefit from nationally recognized standards of care,” said Josh Neff, president of CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital.
The hospice wing of the hospital is closed because the beds must be recertified under Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulations after the designation change, Neff said.
Hospice patients were moved to standard beds in another part of the hospital during the closure, he said.
“We are temporarily providing hospice care, as per CDPHE rules and regulations, in beds currently listed on our hospital license,” Neff said. “These are located on our med/surg unit that connects to the wing known as Mercy Hospice House.
“Providing hospice care in hospital beds is not unusual, and prior to building the hospice wing, that was the practice at Mercy Hospital,” he said. “Patients and families will receive the same level of high-quality hospice care throughout this process without interruption.”
Neff did not give a timeline for reopening. A former Hospice House employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said the projected closure is three to nine months.
“While we await determination by the state as to the timing of its licensing review, we are confident it will be granted,” Neff said. “At that time, we will resume care for hospice patients inside the donor-funded unit known as Mercy Hospice House.”
A longtime hospice volunteer, who asked not be named, told The Durango Herald she was concerned about hospice patients having been moved.
“What seemed really awful to me was when they first closed down Hospice House, they moved whatever patients were there into the hospital,” the volunteer said. “And you know, if you’re in your last days or weeks of life, being moved to another room can be really, deeply unsettling.”
More concerning to the volunteer was the indefinite closure and what she thought as a for-profit model taking over outpatient care. Neff said all hospice services will remain nonprofit, regardless of the administrative shift.
All hospice team members were offered the opportunity to stay on with CommonSpirit Health at Home or Mercy’s inpatient hospice services, and most chose to continue in their positions, he said.
The Mercy Hospice House – also known as the Mercy Hospice Inpatient Unit – opened in October 2017 at 1010 Three Springs Blvd. with help from more than $5 million in community donations. The hospice wing has helped hundreds of patients navigate end-of-life journeys with dignity and respect, according to the Hospice House’s website.
The unit serves patients with symptoms too difficult to manage at home, or when families need respite from caregiving, according to the center’s website. The wing touts eight patient rooms with private outdoor patios, common living rooms, a coffee station, kitchen, washer and dryer, and meditation room for patients and their families.
In 2019, Mercy Home Health & Hospice of Mercy and Mercy Hospice House earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Home Care, recognizing commitment to safe, high-quality care.
Mercy officials told the Herald in 2017 that the 11,000-square-foot facility was entirely funded by community contributions totaling about $5.6 million.
Neff said past and future donor contributions will continue to support the nonprofit hospice operations at Mercy.
Attempts to reach individual donors were unsuccessful.
Neff said the change in outpatient oversight will be positive.
“I believe this enhanced operational structure will allow us to serve more patients through a collaborative partnership with hospice and palliative care experts at CommonSpirit Health at Home,” he said. “It also allows Mercy to return hospice care to its roots, provided by our incredible hospice team of caregivers, and to continue to provide an important care pathway for the families entrusting their hospice care to Mercy.”
epond@durangoherald.com
