CEO Lynne Sexten Serves as Delegate at International Hospice Learning Exchange

Friday, April 20, 2018

April 9-11, 2018, Agrace president & CEO Lynne Sexten participated as a delegate on a learning exchange with hospices in the United Kingdom (UK).  She joined a group of 25 nonprofit hospice CEOs from across the US who journeyed to Oxford University in England for a three-day exchange of best practices and ideas with hospice programs from the UK. The exchange was organized by the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation.  Discussions focused on better understanding the current environment for hospice and palliative care in both countries, the nuances of palliative care, and importance of reaching broader populations through integrated care.

In 1967, Dame Cicely Saunders founded the very first hospice, St. Christopher’s in London.  In doing so, she put forth the first building block of an enduring philosophy for hospice which she described as “you matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.”

St. Christopher’s — the first hospice

Ten years later, a group of ambitious volunteers in Madison, WI organized in a church basement and set in motion the beginnings of what came to be known as Agrace.

More than 50 years after the opening of St. Christopher’s, the hospice philosophy has spread throughout the world.  However, certain facets of it have evolved in stunningly different ways depending on the country.

April 9-11, 2018, Agrace president & CEO Lynne Sexten participated as a delegate on a learning exchange with hospices in the United Kingdom (UK).  She joined a group of 25 nonprofit hospice CEOs from across the US who journeyed to Oxford University in England for a three-day exchange of best practices and ideas with hospice programs from the UK. The exchange was organized by the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation.  Discussions focused on better understanding the current environment for hospice and palliative care in both countries, the nuances of palliative care, and importance of reaching broader populations through integrated care.

Here are some of Lynne’s fascinating insights from the exchange:

• In the UK, “end-of-life” is defined as 12 months or less to live and patients are not required to forgo curative treatment.
• About a quarter of the 220 hospices in the UK are for pediatric patients only. The majority of hospices are independent.
• Government funding (like Medicare in the US) accounts for about 15-30% of hospices’ revenue. The majority of their annual revenue comes from fundraising.
• Because so much of hospices’ revenue comes from fundraising, for-profit hospices are nonexistent.
• The biggest focus is on inpatient units, with in-home hospice being secondary.
• Hospices are not particularly active in nursing homes; instead hospice staff train nursing home staff to provide palliative care.
• Consequently, hospices in the UK care for a younger population in general. Where the average age of Agrace’s patients is 82, the average age of hospice patients throughout the UK is 55-60 years.
• By far, cancer is the biggest focus for hospice in the UK. Some of their overt strategies are to open themselves up to caring for more diagnoses (eg., COPD and Heart Disease)

The learning exchange concluded by identifying unifying themes, sharing potential ideas and programs to address common issues, and committing to support future collaboration.