Hospice Growth Strategies in 2025

Hospice Census Growth

Growing your Hospice Census by Referral Source in 2025

Where are the less obvious places you can go to get admissions to grow your hospice census this year?

• Hospitals- You need to implement a weekend marketing strategy, there are fewer facility security-reduced access restrictions and more access to nurse case manager decision-makers. The other successful strategy that works with hospitals is building rapport with the social workers in the Emergency department. The EDs are overrun with patients without primary caregivers, some of whom are appropriate for hospice services.

• Skilled Nursing Facilities-SNF’sand all senior living facilities are typically looking for new residents, so anytime you can bring a move-in-you win favor. Work to sign a Respite Contract (allows you to bring patients in for up to 5 days allowing the caregivers to get a break)

• Make social work for you – Contact your social work team if you would like to make respite services available to your patients in that area. The Medicare Hospice Respite benefit will bring incremental revenue to the SNF, building your relationship and leading to more patient referrals.

• Assisted Living-Communication is the key to successfully growing your referrals with assisted living facilities. One important strategy is to schedule a quarterly “Journey Meeting” with the key facility decision-makers. During this meeting, you should highlight your key performance metrics, such as hours of clinical service provided, number of volunteer hours, support of activities and resident social events. Discuss any new service protocols and issues that may have arisen in the prior quarter and end the meeting asking for new potential referrals.

• PhysicianOffices-Oftenoverlookedbyhospice salespeople, physician offices can be a strong source of referrals. The key to success in this environment is to provide valuable information and education.

Conclusion