Mount Sinai South Nassau Launches Inpatient Hospice Care with MJHS Health System

Mount Sinai South Nassau is proud to now offer inpatient end-of-life care through a clinical partnership with MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care. The MJHS Hospice team works with hospital clinical staff to manage end-of-life symptoms for patients whose care needs cannot be met at home.

“We are grateful to partner with a respected health care provider such as MJHS Health System to provide this most essential, compassionate end-of-life care and support to patients and their families who need it,” said Adhi Sharma, MD, President of Mount Sinai South Nassau. “The service is a reflection of each organization’s mission and values to bring the highest-quality continuum of care to the communities we serve.”

“As a mission-driven provider of end-of-life care, we are honored to partner with Mount Sinai South Nassau on bringing compassionate hospice care into their flagship hospital on Long Island,” said Laurie Chichester, Chief Operating Officer of MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care. “Hospice is about quality of life, with care guided by each patient’s values and wishes as well as centered on comfort, dignity and respect. It is our privilege to care for patients and their loved ones in such a respected and dedicated setting where they can spend meaningful time together, supported by clinical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual experts. And we are proud that our longstanding commitment to supporting families will continue after a patient’s passing through bereavement services for up to 13 months.”

Mount Sinai South Nassau’s hospice program offers around-the-clock hospice care overseen by a team of interdisciplinary experts, including physicians certified in hospice and palliative medicine, hospice skilled nurses, social workers, chaplains, creative arts therapists, and grief counselors.

Hospice care focuses on managing end-of-life symptoms, including pain, to provide comfort and help patients and families spend meaningful time together. While many hospice patients receive care at home, some individuals with a life-limiting illness ultimately require a higher level of care and support that can only be provided in an inpatient setting.

“As it is with all we do, this service is built on the premise that Mount Sinai South Nassau exists to provide our patients and residents of the communities we serve with the health care they need, when they need it, and even at end of life,” said Alan Wong, DO, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “For patients and their families, this can be one of the most challenging of times. By establishing this service at the hospital, our goal is to make the journey a little easier, less painful, and perhaps more meaningful by giving patients and their families the support they need.”

Hospice patients will receive medical, emotional and psychosocial care in private patient rooms featuring the comfort and amenities of home, allowing patients and families to be together, even overnight.

“The No. 1 focus of this service is to ensure that our patients and their families have access to the patient-centered, dignified end-of-life care they deserve,” said Brigit Palathra, MD, Chief of Palliative Care at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “I am certain this collaborative effort will fulfill that promise.”