First Tuesday Leadership Profile; David Rehm, CEO of Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod

David Rehm is the CEO of Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod, the regions only stand alone, not-for-profit hospice care agency.  Recently David took some time to answer some questions for us on hospice care and the unique role both the care model, and the agency he heads, address healthcare needs and concerns for patients and families.

1. Tell us a little more about what “hospice” actually is and the work agencies like yours perform.

Hospice is a unique model of compassion-based care, enhancing comfort and quality of life for patients and families experiencing serious illness. We help patients enjoy the best possible quality of life, for as long as possible. Contrary to what many may think, our patients are often living active lives out in the community, making the most of every moment. We care for patients with any life-limiting illness, including cancer, heart, renal, lung, diabetes, Parkinsons, AIDS, Alzheimers, ALS, etc. Our goal is to meet the full range of physical, emotional and spiritual needs through a customized plan of care, tailored to each patient’s lifestyle and wishes. We do this through our interdisciplinary team, which makes available a doctor, nurses, home health aides, chaplains, social workers and volunteers to help both patient and family, delivered wherever they may be anywhere on Cape Cod or Eastern Plymouth County. We also provide counseling support to family members for more than a year after their loss. Hospice clinical services are covered by Medicare, and all insurances offer comparable coverage.


2. Can you share some of the items more specific to Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod? You have some unique programs and offerings; it would be helpful to hear a little bit about those.

Founded in 1981 by a group of local community citizens, Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod is the only independent non-profit in the region exclusively dedicated to providing expert end of life care services. We are proud of our sustaining three-decades-long mission to meet the community's patient needs. Medicare allows for a range of interpretation of eligibility requirements, and because of our commitment to access for all who need us, we have chosen the broadest criteria. This past year we initiated our "Open Door Philosophy", which admits all eligible regardless of complexity of care needs, special treatments being received, such as radiation, chemotherapy or dialysis, or ability to pay.

Our unique services and programs include:

• The McCarthy Care Center - Cape Cod’s only hospice in-patient unit and only the third in the state, providing short term acute medical care in a homelike setting for patients who cannot be safely or effectively cared for at home.
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• The Grief Support Center - Individual and group bereavement counseling and support, available to anyone in the community.

• Kids Grieve Too!® - Special support for children and young people experiencing grief or loss.

• Pediatric Palliative Care – Supportive services for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families

• Community Outreach - Information and education, including public presentations and clinical in-services.

3. Palliative care and advance directive planning turned into a surprisingly controversial topic in the recent healthcare reform debate; can you share some of your positions on this and perhaps some of the benefits experienced by families who take a pro-active approach to addressing these issues with their physicians?

Well, Gary, there’s been a lot of misinformation about this in the news lately, causing a great deal of public confusion. Here’s the bottom line – advance care planning is all about making YOUR wishes known, having the necessary tools to share your wishes, and assisting your health care providers in honoring your wishes. Discussing advance care planning before you are in a medical crisis helps you be sure you will get the care you want when the time comes. And it’s such a considerate gift to your loved ones, as no one will have to take the burden of second guessing your wishes. It truly does bring peace of mind to what can otherwise cause family strife. Advance care planning consultation is NOT about limiting care, hastening death, limiting choices, or saving money – far from it! Simply put, it will ensure you have the tools to make your wishes known. What we hear from our families over and over again is “Why didn’t we know about this sooner?” Hospice is just one option that would be discussed in an advance care planning consultation, but this would ensure patients and families would know about it earlier.

4. Your agency, as a stand-alone non-profit, must rely on the generosity of donors for some portion of your funding; can you talk more about that side of your organization and perhaps address any challenges you have faced in what we hear is a difficult fundraising environment?

Medicare only reimburses our services at a fixed rate. With our “Open Door” policy, we are covering costs of special services that fall outside the normal scope of hospice care, As the only independent non-profit in the region providing these services, we rely on the generosity of the community to be able to offer this full range of care to all eligible, regardless of ability to pay. Like any non-profit in today’s economy, we are facing new challenges as to how to raise that support. Financial pressures are making many donors re-evaluate how much they can afford to give. But we are gratified to find that many of our long-term supporters have decided to prioritize their philanthropic giving with us because they believe so deeply in our mission. And we have new donors all the time making gifts honoring their loved ones because of their appreciation for the quality of care they received. We are mindful of every dollar donated and steward them carefully to make sure they have the highest impact possible in providing care to all who need it.

5. I have heard you talk with great passion about the people of H&PCCC, can you share more with our readers about your professional staff and how committed they are to the work you are doing?

I have been with this organization for a year and a half now, having spent my entire career at hospices both big and small, for profit and non profit, all across the country. I continue to be amazed by the level of commitment, integrity and expertise the staff here demonstrate every day. I feel very privileged to be part of this team, including our staff of over 100, our more than 200 volunteers whom we value on a par with our staff, and our 13 community board members. Every day we encounter questions like “Oh, you work for hospice – isn’t that depressing?” or “you folks are angels – I could never do that kind of work!” You know, our people find this work to be the most rewarding purpose possible – it animates their daily willingness to take on the countless challenges and stresses that come hand in hand with it, and gives them the deep satisfaction of knowing they are making a significant difference in the lives of patients and families every day. They are my heroes!

To learn more about H&PCCC, including opportunities for volunteerism and philanthropy, please visit their website by CLICKING HERE.