Bill Pierce, center, administrator for Compass Park, holds a plaque presented to him by John Young, left, executive director of Affinity Care of Indiana, while Compass Park CEO Mike Spencer claps on Thursday. Affinity Care designated Compass Park a “Legacy Site,” for hospice care, meaning it will train register nurses and certified nursing associates in treating hospice patients.
RYAN TRARES | DAILY JOURNAL
Every day, the hospice staff at Compass Park offer a bit of comfort to patients at the end of their lives.
Registered nurses and certified nursing assistants work to ensure the residents have the care and medical attention they need. Music therapy, spiritual counseling and massage services are available to bring joy and tranquility to each day.
The hospice staff is dedicated to helping patients at a difficult time. Now, they’ll have the opportunity to teach their approach to others.
Compass Park has been chosen to be a hospice training site for Affinity Care of Indiana, which partners with the facility to provide hospice care. Those pursuing work in hospice will come to the Franklin campus to observe the compassion provided to patients and families experiencing an end-of-life journey.
“In this place, we want our future hospice nurses and aides to experience the legacy that resides here at Compass Park, a legacy for all health care professionals who have the privilege of working within these walls,” said John Young, executive director of Affinity Care.
Staff members from both Compass Park and Affinity Care of Indiana gathered Thursday to announce the arrangement, as well as to celebrate the successes the partnership has brought.
“It’s one more indicator of all of the quality care that goes on here at this campus,” said Mike Spencer, CEO of Compass Park. “It’s one more entity saying that we do a great job here.”
For more than a century, Compass Park has been providing aid and assistance to the community, originally as the Indiana Masonic Home. The facility has partnered with Affinity Care of Indiana for years on hospice and palliative services, to ensure their patients have the proper care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury.
Hospice focuses on a person’s quality of life as they near the end of life, with multiple health care professionals working together to manage symptoms, distress and spiritual issues.
Too often, people don’t take full advantage of the offerings, Young said.
“many people and families do not utilize that benefit, and I believe they just need to ask. If a loved one is in a nursing facility or assisted living, or even at home, they need to reach out to hospice,” he said.
The quality of end-of-life care provided to so many families inspired Affinity Care to designate Compass Park as a “Legacy Site.”
“The best definition I believe for the word ‘legacy’ is something from our history and our past that influences our thoughts and actions of today,” Young said. “So how can we ignore such a rich legacy already placed here at Compass Park with years of loving, excellent care for those experiencing an end-of-life journey.”
As a Legacy Site, leaders with Affinity Care have tapped Compass Park to ensure staff members training to work for the company have real-world experience on excellent care, Young said.
Registered nurses and certified nursing assistant trainees will work with Kristen Hansen and Lisa Smith, who manage hospice care at Compass Park for Affinity Care and will provide training based on the facility’s own program to prepare other employees to serve in other care centers.
“When we have incoming nurses and (certified nursing assistants), to be acclimated into hospice care, they’re going to come through here. They’ll work with Kristin and Lisa,” Young said. “We want to get people in front of them because they know how to do hospice right, and what better place to do this in a campus that already has a built-in environment to support that.”
During Thursday’s ceremony, Compass Park hospice staff and local officials gathered in the atrium of the Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in celebration.
Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett spoke about the integral role hospice plays at Compass Park, and the service the staff plays in the overall community.
“They diligently focus on the end-of-life comfort and support for residents and their surviving loved ones,” he said.
Young presented the gathered group with a plaque recognizing the facility’s excellence, while providing individual distinctions for the registered nurses, certified nursing assistants and other staff members.
“I have pride in my team. I know the level of care that’s delivered through Compass Park, and to have that recognized by an external community partner means a lot,” said Bill Pierce, administrator at Compass Park. ”We see it, but it’s comforting to know other entities are recognizing that as well.”
