Hospice Needs Less Social Workers, More Nurses

Increased need for specialized medical care is prompting Hospice of the Bluegrass to add 10-12 nursing positions and cut 16 social workers, including three from the Frankfort office. According to Deede Byrne, chief clinical officer for Hospice of the Bluegrass, feedback from staff and families indicates a rise in nursing interventions over the last 10 years. “Our patients are a lot sicker than they used to be,” Byrne said in an interview with the State Journal. “A decade ago, the situation may have looked like a nursing home. Now it looks more like an ICU room.”