Empassion Health

🙏 🩵 Patient Stories — Real Journeys. More Good Days. 🙏 🩵 Through Patient Stories, Empassion Health shares real examples of how timely, compassionate care helps patients and families navigate serious illness—centered on dignity, clarity, and comfort at every step. Ms. H’s Journey: From Uncertainty to Comfort, at Home Ms. H was a 78-year-old woman living with dementia and chronic kidney disease when she was referred to Empassion for supportive care in June 2025. Her referral came from her primary care team, and an Empassion Care Coordinator quickly connected with her granddaughter to schedule an in-home assessment. On June 26, a palliative registered nurse visited Ms. H at home. At the time, she had recently undergone a biopsy for a neck mass and was awaiting results. Despite the uncertainty, Ms. H and her family were managing well at home, and she was assessed as low acuity. The visit focused on a comprehensive assessment, education, symptom management, and support for both Ms. H and her caregivers. In July, during a routine follow-up visit, the palliative RN learned that Ms. H had been diagnosed with cancer that had metastasized to her jugular vein. The RN provided supportive education and revisited goals of care, introducing the hospice benefit. While the family was receptive, they chose to explore treatment options first. After completing radiation therapy, Ms. H and her family reflected on what mattered most. In August, they shared that the burden of further cancer treatment would outweigh any additional benefit and expressed interest in shifting the focus of care toward comfort. On August 21, Ms. H was seen for an in-home hospice evaluation, and her granddaughter — acting as her medical power of attorney — elected the hospice benefit in alignment with Ms. H’s goals of care. From that point forward, Ms. H received hospice services at home, where she felt safest and most supported. Ms. H passed away peacefully on September 25, 2025, under the care of hospice. She was never hospitalized during her time with Empassion. Her story reflects the power of partnership: early engagement, ongoing conversations, and care that evolves as needs confirm what matters most — helping patients have more good days, even in life’s most difficult moments.

📰 🚨 📅 NEWS YOU CAN USE 📰 🚨 📅 For payers and risk-bearing organizations, high-cost members are one of the clearest — and most urgent — priorities heading into 2026. Complex, frail adults may represent only ~5% of Medicare beneficiaries, but they drive more than 25% of total Medicare spending. These members are clinically fragile, hard to engage, and disproportionately impacted by fragmented care. Empassion Health is so proud to be featured in a new Healthcare Huddle Deep Dive by Jared Dashevsky, MD, MEng on how we help payers and Risk-Bearing Entities (RBEs) better manage their highest-cost, highest-need members through scalable, home-based palliative and hospice care — proving that affordability and compassion can (and should) coexist. Empassion's value-based model is built around top payer priorities:   🙏 Earlier engagement of high-risk, high-cost members ✅ Fewer avoidable hospitalizations 💲 Meaningful total cost of care reduction 💙 Better experiences for patients and families — at home, where they want to be Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ewqzQpex

🙏 ☀️ 💙 Patient Stories: Real Journeys. More Good Days. 🙏 ☀️ 💙 Through Patient Stories, Empassion Health highlights the real experiences of patients and families navigating serious illness, and how compassionate, whole-person care can bring comfort, clarity, and more good days at home. Ms. C’s Journey: Honoring Wishes, Preserving Quality of Life Ms. C was a 92-year-old woman living with COPD. She became one of Empassion’s earliest supportive care patients when she received her first in-home palliative assessment in March 2024. During that visit, she shared that her breathing had worsened significantly over the previous months and that she was becoming more limited in her daily activities. What remained unwavering, though, were her wishes. Ms. C was clear that she did not want CPR and did not want to be placed on a ventilator. Her care team guided her through thoughtful conversations about her goals and preferences, and together they completed a POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment) form reflecting her choices. Over the next several months, Ms. C was seen regularly by her palliative NP, RN, and chaplain, a full team focused on her comfort and quality of life. As her COPD progressed, her oxygen needs increased from as-needed use to continuous support. Even so, she remained determined to stay connected to the things she loved, especially spending time outdoors tending to her garden. As her condition continued to decline, Ms. C became eligible for hospice. After a series of supportive, compassionate goals-of-care discussions with her Empassion team, she elected the hospice benefit on November 1, 2024. The support provided by hospice allowed her to remain in her home until she passed away peacefully in March 2025. Ms. C’s journey reflects the heart of what Empassion strives for: helping patients maintain control, dignity, and meaningful moments, even as their illnesses progress.

🚨 📰 📅 BREAKING NEWS! 🚨 📰 📅 Empassion Health and payer Zing Health have partnered to bring supportive care directly into the homes of Medicare Advantage Members Empassion Health is proud to announce a new partnership with payer Zing Health, one of the nation’s fastest-growing Medicare Advantage plans, to expand access to at-home supportive care for members living with serious illness across the six states that Zing serves --> Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Through this collaboration, eligible Zing members will have access to in-home palliative care and appropriate hospice transitions delivered by Empassion’s national network of providers — helping people stay comfortable at home, avoid unnecessary hospital visits, and experience more good days. The partnership between Empassion and Zing matters more than ever, and signals an era when there doesn't have to be a choice between compassion and cost-efficiency: 💡Many adults who could benefit from palliative care never receive it. This partnership ensures that Zing Health members who need an extra layer of support get it — right in their homes. (Note: Across the US, only 5% of palliative-eligible patients receive home-based palliative care, leaving patients and caregivers burdened with unnecessary admissions, high costs, fragmented care, and feeling undereducated and out of control. This population drives 25% of total Medicare costs.) ⭐ All services are fully covered by Zing Health’s Medicare Advantage benefits, including C-SNP plans. 🩵 Members receive physical and emotional support that helps prevent crises and keeps them in the setting they prefer. 👍 Health plans, hospitals, and health systems benefit from reduced avoidable ER and inpatient utilization—freeing up resources for patients with acute needs. “Empassion and Zing share a mission: bringing care to people where and how they want it,” added Robin Heffernan, CEO of Empassion Health. Together, we’re expanding access to compassionate, in-home care for people living with serious illness — so more Medicare beneficiaries can stay well, stay supported, and stay at home. Are you a payer that would benefit from Empassion's unique model, which drives a 35% reduction in hospital spend while maintaining >90% 5-star patient satisfaction? We would love to hear from you. You can also learn more about Empassion’s value-based programs at Empassion.com Robin Heffernan Chase Knight Alicia Bloom Spencer Jennings Zach Miller

📖 Patient Stories — Real Journeys. More Good Days. 📖 Through our Patient Stories, Empassion Health highlights the real experiences of patients and families navigating serious illness — and the care that helps make each day more meaningful. 💙 Ms. L’s Journey: Compassion, Continuity, and Comfort in Care 💙 Ms. L is a 70-year-old woman living with multiple chronic conditions, including congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, COPD, type 2 diabetes, and stage 3 chronic kidney disease. She began her supportive care journey with Empassion in April 2024, when a palliative RN visited her at home. At the time, she was experiencing shortness of breath with minimal exertion and occasional forgetfulness, but remained alert and oriented. She was assessed as medium acuity and continued living independently, supported by oxygen therapy as needed. Over the next several months, Ms. L was seen regularly by the Empassion palliative care team — alternating visits from her nurse practitioner and registered nurse. By August, her condition was stable enough that her acuity was downgraded to low, allowing her to continue with monthly check-ins focused on maintaining quality of life. However, by January 2025, her condition began to decline. The Empassion NP noted worsening fatigue, weight loss, persistent pain, and shortness of breath, along with increased anxiety and depression. During this visit, Ms. L and her care team revisited her goals of care. With supportive education and thoughtful discussion, she decided to change her code status to DNR/DNI and agreed to a hospice evaluation. That same day, hospice completed its evaluation, and Ms. L elected the hospice benefit on January 30, 2025. She remains under hospice care today — still at home, where she feels most comfortable and supported. Her story reflects the power of partnership — patients, families, and care teams working together to create more good days, one visit at a time.

☀️ 💙 📖 Patient Stories — Real Journeys. More Good Days. ☀️ 💙 📖 Mr. V’s Journey: Choosing Home Over Hospitalization Mr. V was a 77-year-old man with multiple comorbidities, including congestive heart failure, a past stroke with right hemiplegia, hypertension, and prostate cancer. He lived at home with the support of a caregiver for 14 hours each day. In November 2024, an Empassion Health palliative nurse practitioner visited Mr. V at home. Over the previous months, he had experienced a 45-pound weight loss, increased fatigue, and decreased functional status. He was assessed as medium acuity, and advance care planning was introduced. Together, he and the team completed a POST form to reflect his wishes: full code, but with limited interventions. By mid-December, Mr. V appeared more fatigued. Although he had an upcoming colonoscopy scheduled, he told the team he no longer wanted additional testing, procedures, ER visits, or hospitalizations. In that moment, goals of care were revisited. With supportive education provided by the palliative NP, Mr. V chose to pursue a hospice evaluation. On December 18, 2024, he formally elected the hospice benefit. At his admission visit, he advanced his code status to DNR/DNI. From that point forward, Empassion worked in coordination with the hospice provider to ensure he remained at home and was cared for in alignment with his wishes. Mr. V passed away peacefully on March 8, 2025 — never hospitalized during his supportive care journey. His story highlights what matters most in serious illness care: being heard, having choices honored, and ensuring that patients can spend their days in the comfort of home, with dignity. Robin Heffernan Chase Knight Spencer Jennings Alicia Bloom Zach Miller

☀️ 💙 📖 Patient Stories — Real Journeys. More Good Days. ☀️ 💙 📖 At Empassion Health, we share Patient Stories to honor the lives of the patients and families we serve—and to illustrate what compassionate, whole-person care looks like in practice. Ms. C’s Journey: Surrounded by Family, Supported with Dignity Ms. C was an 82-year-old woman living with congestive heart failure, COPD, and vascular dementia. In October 2024, she had her first supportive care visit with an Empassion palliative nurse practitioner. At that time, she was assessed as low acuity—no active symptoms, and with strong family support from her daughter and two sons. As the weeks went on, her children wanted to plan ahead for her changing needs. A palliative social worker quickly became involved, and her acuity was upgraded to medium due to pain management concerns voiced by her son. The palliative NP worked closely with the family and her primary care physician to address those challenges. Throughout the next three months, Ms. C and her family were seen regularly by the Empassion team, including a nurse practitioner, registered nurse, and social worker. As her health continued to decline, her children began to worry about whether they could continue to meet her needs at home. The interdisciplinary team visiting Ms. C collaborated with the family about her care, discussed what to expect going forward, and, when the time was right, the hospice benefit was introduced. By late January 2025, during a palliative social work visit, her son expressed readiness to transition to hospice. An evaluation was scheduled, and on January 30th, the family elected the hospice benefit. From then on, Ms. C was and her family received comfort-focused care through hospice at home. On March 24, 2025, Ms. C passed away peacefully at home. Importantly, she was never hospitalized during her time with Empassion — reflecting proactive care planning and the family’s commitment to honoring her wishes. Ms. C’s story reminds us that care is about more than managing illness—it’s about creating space for dignity, connection, and more good days at home. Robin Heffernan Spencer Jennings Chase Knight Alicia Bloom Zach Miller

🚨🚨NEWS AND VIEWS 📰 📰 The latest piece from Hospice News highlights an important policy moment: Regulatory flexibility related to telehealth encounters that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic expired last week. Importantly, that expiration included the ability of hospices to perform patient re-certification encounters via telehealth. Empassion Health Co-Founder and CEO Robin Heffernan joined the conversation with Hospice News to emphasize what’s at stake: Telehealth has value as a complement, but it cannot replace the presence and impact of in-home palliative care — especially for patients in their final year of life and for underserved communities that too often fall through the cracks. At Empassion, we see this every day. Results from a recent Savings Study covering tens of thousands of Empassion patients from January 2023 through April 2025 not only demonstrated a 35% reduction in total cost of care per-patient in the final year of life, it did so while sustaining industry-leading quality outcomes and patient satisfaction --> 90% patient satisfaction at the 5-star level. Most importantly, Empassion's unique delivery and service model meant fewer hospitalizations, better caregiver support, and more good days for patients living with serious illness. The Hospice News story underscores what the evidence already shows: the future of palliative care isn’t “telehealth or in-person,” but hybrid models anchored in the irreplaceable value of care delivered where patients live. 📖 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/e7bbaYhW

🙏 🙏 WITH GRATITUDE 🙏 🙏 Last week, Empassion Health was very pleased to join David Baiada from BAYADA Home Health Care, Ali Khan, MD, MPP of Aetna, a CVS Health Company, and Matthew Griffiths of HSBC at the Digital Health New York (DHNY) Summit 2025 to discuss the future of care at home. As our founder & CEO, Robin Heffernan, shared on stage at the conference, the challenge — and opportunity — is clear: Americans living with serious illness deserve care that is not fragmented, but whole. Care that supports dignity, comfort, and independence. Care that helps them have more good days. The conversation reinforced what we see every day across our 45-state network: when innovative models meet human compassion, we can transform how people experience both chronic condition management and end-of-life support. Robin Heffernan told Hospice News after the event, “The last chapter of life should not be defined by crisis or abandonment, but by care that preserves independence and honors dignity. High-quality palliative and hospice care proves that this is possible at scale — bringing humanity back into medicine and generating profound value for the entire system.” We’re grateful to DHNY for bringing together such a forward-looking community, and to our fellow panelists for championing the same vision. The future of care at home is here — and it’s one we’re proud to help build. Spencer Jennings Chase Knight Alicia Bloom

🩵 📓 🤗 NEW PATIENT STORY TO SHARE 🩵 📓 🤗 Patient Stories: Real Journeys. More Good Days. Through Empassion Health Patient Stories, we share the real experiences of patients and families living with advanced illness—and how Empassion helps bring dignity, clarity, and more good days. Mr. A’s Journey: Support, Stability, and Comfort at Home At 95 years old, Mr. A was living with congestive heart failure (CHF), COPD, dementia, and several other serious health conditions. In December 2024, he began supportive care at home, with his daughter and a home health aide by his side. At his initial visit, an Empassion palliative nurse practitioner assessed him as medium acuity, due to his shortness of breath and recent functional decline. Over the following weeks, regular visits by the palliative care team provided an extra layer of support that gave Mr. A’s daughter confidence and peace of mind. She later shared how grateful she was for that support in navigating his care. In late December, Mr. A’s condition appeared stable, and his acuity was briefly downgraded to low. But as so often happens, needs shifted quickly. By January, his decline led the team to reclassify him as medium acuity, ensuring his care plan evolved with him. On March 11, 2025, during a routine home visit, the palliative RN noted worsening symptoms and a recent UTI. Goals of care were revisited with Mr. A’s daughter and she expressed her concern that her father’s overall well-being was steadily decreasing. The hospice benefit was introduced, however Mr. A’s daughter wanted to consult with other members of the family first. The palliative team supported these discussions and the family aligned around comfort focused care.  On March 13, 2025, Mr. A’s daughter elected hospice on his behalf. From then until his passing on April 26, he was cared for by hospice at home. He was never hospitalized during this time—spending his final weeks where he wanted to be, supported and surrounded by family. Mr. A’s story is one of resilience, family love, and compassionate care. At Empassion, we are proud to walk alongside patients and families in these journeys—helping them have more good days, even during life’s most difficult chapters.