ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Shawn Schmitt, hospice care consultant for the Compassus program serving Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding areas, was honored for his outstanding performance and inducted into the 2020 Compassus Presidents’ Circle during a recent awards ceremony at the Compassus National Leadership Meeting in San Antonio.
The Presidents’ Circle is reserved for top-performing Compassus hospice and home health care consultants. Schmitt is one of 62 inductees this year, all of whom have consistently expanded access to hospice, palliative and home health care in their communities through education of referral sources and families. This is Schmitt’s first time winning the award.
According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s annual Facts and Figures report, 40.5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who received hospice care in 2017 were enrolled for 14 or fewer days, and 27.8 percent for only seven or fewer days. One of the main contributors to hospice underutilization is lack of knowledge. Compassus hospice care consultants educate patients and families in their communities about the hospice benefit, which has been shown to improve quality of life, reduce symptom stress and minimize hospitalizations.
For more information, visit our Allentown page.
