Hospice transition begins in Northern Colorado

LOVELAND and FORT COLLINS — A transition has begun in hospice services in Northern Colorado as Pathways Hospice Care Center positions itself to open its stand-alone inpatient hospice center in 2022 and Banner Health Systems ramps up its own hospice services.

Pathways has leased a six-bed hospice unit at Banner McKee Medical Center in Loveland for 20 years but will phase out those beds effective at year end. Pathways will open its own 12-bed inpatient care center on its Fort Collins campus, 305 Carpenter Road, in early summer 2022.

Between year end and summer, Pathways will provide inpatient hospice services at Columbine Health System’s Lemay Avenue Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Fort Collins. 

“Pathways is grateful to Columbine Health and the team at Lemay Avenue for working with us to ensure that the community has uninterrupted access to inpatient hospice beds,” Nate Lamkin, Pathways president, said in a press statement. 

“We look forward to the opening of our own state-of-the-art, freestanding Inpatient care center. By late spring or early summer of 2022, we will offer inpatient care at a home-like facility that we are building as an investment in the future of hospice care in the region. The community support for Pathways is amazing — our neighbors are helping us to serve Northern Colorado families for years to come,” Lamkin said.

Meanwhile, Banner Hospice of Northern Colorado will begin offering its own hospice services at McKee beginning Jan. 11. 

Dr. C.L. Johnson, medical director of Banner Hospice of Northern Colorado, said general inpatient hospice care is provided for pain control or management of other serious symptoms that can’t feasibly be provided in another setting such as the patient’s home.

“Our care teams will provide symptom management with a focus on dignity and support services for the patient and family members,” she said in a Banner press statement.

Unlike previous hospice services at the Loveland hospital, under the new orientation, patients who choose hospice care will receive it in their rooms at McKee, not in a designated hospice unit. In addition to the hospital setting, the hospice team provides care in patient homes, independent or assisted living facilities and skilled nursing homes. Care is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Banner said in its statement.

“On behalf of the many families and patients at McKee who Pathways served, plus our own Banner team members who worked with Pathways during care transitions, we would like to thank them for the partnership,” said Margo Karsten, president of Banner Health’s Western Region.

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