Juneau was without home and hospice care since mid September.
The program was shut down by Catholic Community Service due to insufficient staff. Bartlett Regional Hospital will eventually take over these services.
Erin Walker-Tolles, director of Catholic Community Service, stated that “it’s a huge loss for the community because these services were so crucial to people’s lives and just kind of the quality and dignity of our final days.” It’s really difficult.
Walker-Tolles stated that she referred patients to their primary care providers after she realized CCS would cease to provide services.
Walker-Tolles stated that CCS had struggled for some time to staff the program, but the pandemic made it even more difficult to find nurses.
“This country is facing a huge shortage of health care workers. It’s particularly difficult in Alaska. It is also affecting the ability of people to access medical care,” she stated.
Walker-Tolles stated that hospice and homecare often employed traveling nurses to augment their local staff. She says that nurses were priced out as the cost of nursing has risen dramatically in recent years.
She said that the shortage of health care workers is impacting smaller and non-profit providers across the country.
Walker-Tolles stated that the hospice and home care program provided services for approximately 60 people before the pandemic. The program was used by only 17 people when it ended. She explained that they didn’t have enough staff to accept new patients.
Nathan Rumsey is Bartlett Regional Hospital’s business development strategist. He said that the hospital’s leadership made the decision to take over services in August and apply for licenses in November. Rumsey said he is hopeful that the hospital will receive its licenses within the next 60-90 days.
He said, “In the interim, that clearly puts those people at a disadvantage, especially if it’s not possible for them to seek any type of service beyond this community. “That is why we are trying to get as fast as possible to reestablish these services.
Rumsey stated that the lapse of service is a sign that both primary care physicians as well as the emergency department are filling in.
He said, “I know from personal experience that many patients who would be able seek care in their own homes are now finding their way to the hospital because they can’t get it and — that’s frustrating to everyone.”
Bartlett offered to hire Catholic Community Service staff, but Rumsey stated that they will need more nurses. Within a few weeks, the hospital will post vacancies.
He said that the hospital cannot control the timeline until they get their licenses from the state. He hopes to have the hospital up and running quickly once they receive their licenses.
