Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care has been named a 2018 Hospice Honors national award recipient by HEALTHCAREfirst, a prestigious program that recognizes hospices providing the highest level of quality as measured from the caregiver’s point of view.

“We are excited to recognize the 2018 Hospice Honors national award recipients for their hard work and dedication to providing exceptional care,” said J. Kevin Porter of HEALTHCAREfirst. “I congratulate Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care on its success in achieving this highest of honors.”

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care’s David Wiley, President & CEO, credits a dedicated, expert staff and more than 500 trained volunteers in earning this honor. He said, “as a Kansas City-based nonprofit organization, we are committed to providing only the best in care for our community. Our staff is second to none in their expertise, compassionate care and dedication. Plus, our amazing volunteers round out services that focus on quality of life and helping families  through very stressful times.”

Surveys are regularly sent to current and former caregivers who have had loved ones in hospice care. Award criteria are based on Hospice CAHPS survey results for an evaluation period of October 2016 through September 2017. Award recipients were identified by evaluating performance on a set of 24 quality indicator measures. Performance scores were aggregated from all completed surveys and were compared on a question-by-question basis to a National Performance Score calculated from all partnering hospices contained in the HEALTHCAREfirst’s Hospice CAHPS database. Hospice Honors recipients include those hospices scoring above the HEALTHCAREfirst National Performance Score on 20 of the evaluated questions.