Leadership
Since 1978, VITAS Healthcare has provided the best end-of-life care available. It is our purpose and our passion. Today, we are the largest, most experienced hospice provider in America: 12,000 employees dedicated to the care of more than 17,000 patients every day.
Defining Quality Hospice Care
VITAS has done more to define quality hospice care than any other provider. Retired VITAS Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President Barry Kinzbrunner, MD, FACP, FAAHPM and VITAS Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, Joel S. Policzer, MD, FACP, FAAHPM wrote what is considered the definitive hospice text, End-of-Life Care, A Practical Guide, along with the contributions of 20 VITAS clinicians.
Today, hospices, healthcare organizations, and universities across the United States use this book. Additionally, VITAS hospice professionals have developed a proprietary pain formulary, hospice-specific wound care guide, analgesic dosage conversion ruler, several books and handbooks on grief and bereavement and an extensive library of educational materials for families and healthcare professionals.
VITAS Invests in the Future
VITAS Healthcare continues to invest in technology that interfaces with our partners’ electronic medical record systems to streamline referrals and care transitions. Our mobile apps help clinicians make referrals and stay connected to us. Our iPad transition-to-care platform improves the admissions experience for patients, families and healthcare professionals to ensure patients are referred and admitted into our care in a timely and efficient manner.
When we recognized a disproportionate number of underserved communities were going without hospice care, we created our own Access Initiative to make sure everyone, regardless of color, culture, race, religion or sexual orientation, receives the benefits of hospice services and knows about the Medicare hospice benefit.
Our fleet of more than 130 trucks covers 200,000-plus miles a month, delivering the most up-to-date medical equipment and supplies to patients in their homes.
VITAS Is the Industry Thought Leader
VITAS Healthcare is constantly working to improve patient-centered care with new processes and new thinking, guided by the pioneering visions and values of our founders. This dedication means that VITAS is continually evolving as an organization to meet the changing needs of those with life-limiting illnesses. But no matter how my we grow and change, our values and mission remain the same: patients and families come first.
