Sheridan Memorial Hospital Hospice Named 2022 Honors Recipient

Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s (SMH) Hospice has been named a 2022 Hospice HONORS Recipient by HEALTHCAREfirst, a leading provider of billing and coding services, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys and advanced analytics.

This prestigious annual review recognizes hospices that continuously provide the highest level of quality patient care as measured from the caregiver’s point of view.

Sherrie Reish, SMH Hospice Manager said this recognition means a lot to her and the Hospice team, especially because it comes from patients’ families.

“Knowing how much the families of our patients appreciate the compassionate care we provided them through their loved one’s end of life journey is very humbling. When you consider that there was also a pandemic going on during the timeframe of the survey, the fact that the Hospice team continued to provide compassionate care during a time of great stress and unknowns says a lot about their professionalism and character. I am so proud of my staff and the work they do on a daily basis!”

Kristopher Schamber, MD, Hospice Medical Director, echoes Reish.

“Providing the best end-of-life care as directed by each patient and their family is the ultimate goal and this survey tells us that we are meeting that goal.  This award is the most meaningful recognition as it comes from the family members of those we have cared for.” 

Dr. Schamber goes on to say, “The type of care we provide, and secondarily the recognition of that care, would not be possible without amazing leadership from the Hospice program director: Ann Aksamit, manager: Sherrie Reish, and a very talented, passionate and compassionate group of nurses, social worker and chaplain, therapists, aides, volunteers and office staff.”

Award criteria were based on Hospice CAHPS survey results from October 2020 through September 2021. Award recipients were identified by evaluating performance on a set of 24 quality indicator measures.

Performance scores were compared on a question-by-question basis to a National Performance Score calculated from all hospices contained in the HEALTHCAREfirst’s Hospice CAHPS database.

Reish went on to say, “Out of the 1,700 hospices surveyed, we are one of only 350 to receive the Hospice HONORS recognition. I am so proud of our Hospice team for earning this designation – one we also received in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

In our community, Hospice is a special kind of care designed to provide appropriate and essential support to patients who have a terminal illness.

SMH Hospice offers physical, emotional and spiritual care to patients and their families when treatment goals change from cure to relief of symptoms. 

Neither hastening nor postponing death, Hospice enhances the quality of life that remains.