Story Published in the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, April 8, 2012 under "My Word".

www.orlandosentinel.com

By Mary M. Manrique

Mary M. Manrique is President & CEO of Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care

Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care, formerly Hospice of Lake & Sumter, has been our local community hospice since 1984.  We are so grateful for the many years of support both financially and through volunteered time and energy that has made our hospice what it is today:  your hospice.

As with most of health care, much is changing in hospice.  Among those changes is the government priority to expand the number of hospices so that there are no "single providers" in an area.  The need for another hospice is determined by the Agency for Health Care Administration.  This year, Cornerstone Hospice expects such a "need" to be shown for Lake and Sumter counties.

Some facts about this follow:

The Florida certificate-of-need process calculates the need for an additional hospice twice a year based on the number of hospice admissions in the district compared with projected population growth and the number of deaths.

Due to the number of Lake and Sumter residents who died early last fall without being on the hospice program, Cornerstone Hospice expects that the certificate-of-need calculation will show that there is need for an additional hospice in our area.

An open certificate-of-need opportunity will bring many hospices to our community as they seek letters of support for their application - some will be national-chain, for-profit organizations from across the country.

Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care has not changed.  We are your same local, not-for-profit hospice that has been here for more than 28 years.  Regardless of the certificate-of-need process and outcome, we will continue to serve our community by providing the highest-quality hospice care to the residents of Lake and Sumter counties.