Outpatient palliative care through Mercy Hospital is now operating on a for-profit basis under new CommonSpirit Health at Home ownership.
Meanwhile, the palliative care program – which offers symptom management for those with serious and terminal illnesses – is facing staff turnover.
CommonSpirit initially declined to say in November whether outpatient services would be nonprofit or for-profit, despite several requests for clarification by The Durango Herald. But a Feb. 13 email from CommonSpirit spokesperson Kevin Massey confirmed outpatient care will now be operating on a for-profit basis.
“CommonSpirit Health at Home is committed to providing high-quality care that is tailored to the specific needs of each patient using nationally recognized standards and best practices, and operates as a for-profit entity,” Massey wrote in mid-February. “... Our for-profit or nonprofit status does not influence our care decisions.”
CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital, including all inpatient hospice services, will remain nonprofit, he said.
CommonSpirit Health at Home is the national entity of CommonSpirit Health, which runs Mercy Hospital.
Durango resident Karen McManus and her husband, Jim, who has dementia, have been using outpatient hospice services through Mercy for a year and a half. McManus said she has seen a recent decline in staffing levels at the program.
The outpatient program was reportedly down to two nurse practitioners as of mid-February, McManus said.
According to CommonSpirit spokesperson Kevin Massey, the outpatient program is “actively recruiting to hire skilled and compassionate caregivers to fill any open positions.”
“While a small number of caregivers recently made the decision to leave the program for different reasons, including retirement and to support the relocation of a spouse, we are actively managing staffing and capacity to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care and services,” Massey said in a written statement to the Herald.
CommonSpirit Health at Home was advertising at least seven open positions for the Durango palliative care outpatient program on the CommonSpirit Careers page as of Tuesday, including two palliative nurse practitioner roles, two weekend RN hospice positions, a general hospice RN role, an LPN position and a medical social worker position.
Two additional positions were listed as being open for inpatient hospice services.
CommonSpirit did not respond to questions about what number makes a full staff, how many employees are currently working with the outpatient program or how many have left the program.
President of CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital Josh Neff told the Herald in November that all hospice team members were given the opportunity to stay on with CommonSpirit Health at Home or Mercy’s inpatient hospice services, and that most opted to stay on at that time.
McManus said that in the year and a half she and Jim have used the outpatient program, the pair, through frequent at-home appointments, have received help with medical management, prescriptions, advanced-care planning, legal and medical paperwork, and compassionate interactions. The nurse practitioner who has been working with McManus and her husband left her role this month, leaving the couple’s future with the program uncertain.
The nurse practitioner who worked with McManus and her husband sent an email to clients during the last week of January warning them about the situation in the outpatient care program, McManus said.
“Whenever our nurse practitioner came the last time, she said, ‘Karen, don’t refer any more people. Don’t tell anybody else to get referrals from the doctor to get outpatient palliative care, because we are barely keeping our head above water to serve the ones that we have, and it’s just this huge wait list,’” McManus told the Herald.
The email described the outpatient care program as being suspended “per administration” until new staff could be hired and trained.
“The current nurse practitioners are terrminating (sic),” the email said. “This is impacting quite a few patients in the community. ... The new CommonSpirit, Mountain Region, Health at Home, Homecare Homebase platform that took over the home health, hospice and outpatient palliative care services effective 10/01/2025 has been a difficult transition.”
The nurse practitioner declined to be identified or speak with the Herald for fear of potentially impacting her professional future in the nursing field.
Massey said claims of the program being suspended were false.
“CommonSpirit Health at Home continues to provide outpatient palliative care services without interruption,” he told the Herald in a written statement.
McManus was told that outpatient palliative services were being operated only through an online “telemed” service as of late February while new employees were recruited and trained.
“We provide high-quality, home-based care using nationally recognized models, including telehealth, to meet our patients’ needs in their preferred care setting,” Massey told the Herald on Tuesday in response to questions about the current care model of the program.
Massey did not clarify whether care is being provided solely via a telehealth model.
Inpatient hospice care at Mercy has also been experiencing interruptions.
Inpatient care, which has been offered at the Mercy Hospice House at 1010 Three Springs Blvd. since October 2017, entered a temporary closure late last year amid re-licensing requirements as a result of the outpatient change of ownership and remained closed as of Tuesday.
Neff told the Herald in November that the Hospice House closed because the beds had to be recertified under Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulations after the designation change.
Massey said in mid-February that CommonSpirit expects to receive a final inspection “very soon” and “look(s) forward to welcoming our patients back into this wing of our hospital.”
“We will share the news with our community when our license from the state is approved,” he said.
As part of the same health system, Massey said CommonSpirit Health at Home and CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital “share the same mission, vision and values.”
McManus said she’s worried about where she and her husband will turn if staff numbers continue to decline.
“Whether it’s dementia or whether it’s some other chronic medical problem, it’s helpful to have someone who understands the process of aging and dying, and knows how to best support – both emotionally and medically,” she said. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m so proud of Mercy that we have this hospice house and we have this great (outpatient) program,’ you know? And (it feels like) it’s gone.”
epond@durangoherald.com
