Community Hospice Awarded First CHAP Palliative Care Certification in the State of California and Receives Hospice Reaccreditation

July 22, 2019

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kristin Mostowski | Director of Public Relations, Community Hosp​ice | Kristin.Mostowski@hospiceheart.org | 209.578.6301

Community Hospice Awarded First CHAP Palliative Care Certification in the State of California and Receives Hospice Reaccreditation

MODESTO, CA (July 19, 2019) – Community Hospice, the oldest nonprofit hospice organization serving the Central Valley, is pleased to announce they were awarded Palliative Care Certification and Hospice Reaccreditation from the Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP). CHAP is the leading national accrediting agency nationally for hospice and home health organizations.

CHAP Certification/Accreditation demonstrates that Community Hospice meets the industry’s highest nationally recognized standards in palliative and hospice care. Community Hospice is surveyed every three years to maintain hospice reaccreditation. Palliative Care Certification is awarded to palliative care providers who meet standards of excellence and is also awarded for three years. In early June, CHAP completed Community Hospice’s hospice reaccreditation and the first CHAP survey for their palliative care program.

“We are pleased to award Palliative Care Certification to Community Hospice as well as continued Accreditation of the hospice,” said Barbara A. McCann, President and CEO of Community Health Accreditation Partner. “These achievements recognize Community Hospice’s commitment to quality care and to the community. The team has successfully extended their services by offering palliative care that has met national standards of excellence – the first hospice organization to do so in California under CHAP.

The purpose of CHAP is to objectively validate the excellence of community healthcare practice through consistent measurement of the delivery of quality services. CHAP assesses all areas of an organization including management, quality, patient outcomes, resources and long-term viability.

“We are very proud to receive this highest recognition as it confirms the exceptional quality care, services and support that our staff and volunteers provide our patients and families every day,” said C. DeSha McLeod, Community Hospice President/CEO. “It is a great accomplishment to receive our hospice accreditation and we are thrilled to have the first palliative care program certifie​d by CHAP in California. I congratulate all of our employees and share my gratitude for their dedication and hard work throughout this process. Our Community Hospice family should feel a great sense of pride in achieving this recognition and success.”

About Community Hospice

Community Hospice is a nonprofit, community based hospice agency, serving the Central Valley since 1979. Community Hospice provides compassionate and quality care, education and support to terminally ill patients and their families, regardless of the ability to pay. Care extends to over 250 patients every day in private homes, skilled nursing facilities and at the sixteen-room Alexander Cohen Hospice House. Community Hospice also provides bereavement and grief support to anyone in the community. For more information please call (209) 578-6300 or visit www.hospiceheart.org.

About CHAP

CHAP is an independent, nonprofit organization accrediting providers of home and community-based care. Founded in 1965, CHAP was first to recognize the need for and value of home and community-based care standards and accreditation. As a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)–approved accrediting organization, CHAP surveys organizations providing home health, hospice, and home medical equipment services to establish if Medicare Conditions of Participation and DMEPOS Quality Standard are met and recommend certification to CMS.CHAP’s purpose is to partner with organization nationwide to advance quality in the delivery of care and services in the home and community. For more information about CHAP visit www.chapinc.org.​​

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