Healthcare System Navigator The Power of Hospice Support Teams

Welcome back to Walks with Mom, where real conversations meet real life decisions.

In this episode, we sit down with Alicia Williams, Chief Business Development Officer at Faith Hospice, for an honest and eye opening conversation about hospice care, planning ahead, and navigating the complexities of the healthcare system.

This conversation challenges that long held belief and opens the door to a new understanding of what hospice truly offers.

With nearly 20 years of experience, Alicia brings clarity, compassion, and insight into a space that many families don’t explore until they are already in crisis. Together, we unpack why preparation and planning are so important, and how families can make empowered decisions before urgency takes over.

One of the most powerful parts of this discussion is the role of patient navigators professionals who help families make sense of a fragmented and often overwhelming healthcare system. From coordinating care to connecting resources, these navigators provide guidance when people need it most.

We also talk about something many don’t realize: you have a choice when it comes to hospice care. Not all hospices are the same, and asking the right questions can make all the difference in the quality of care your loved one receives.

This episode is about shifting perspective from fear to understanding, from reaction to preparation, and from confusion to clarity.

Come with us as we explore what it means to navigate these years with our aging loved ones.

So grab a cup of coffee—or maybe a glass of wine—subscribe, invite your friends or family, and join us for Walks with Mom.

Special thanks to our Sponsor Amada Senior Care Mesa serving families and seniors in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, and the surrounding East Valley area. Accredited VA Provider (NPI # 1558048199) and Trusted resource for Long-Term Care Insurance Claims

Compassionate, personalized in-home senior care starts here – contact Amada Senior Care Phoenix today by phone at (480) 418-5422 or visit us online to get started and give your loved one the support, dignity, and independence they deserve.
www.amadaseniorcare.com/mesa-senior-care

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Aging is not for the faint of heart. I'm Kim, a Proud Generation Xer, and I'm here with my baby boomer mom Karen. Together, we'll tackle the tough but necessary conversations, share the hilarious and sometimes embarrassing moments, and open up about the stories that truly touch the heart. Come with us as we explore what it means to navigate these years with our aging loved ones. So grab a cup of coffee or maybe a glass of wine, invite your friends and family, and join us for Walks with Mom. Well, welcome back, welcome back to Walks with Mom, where two generations come together and tackle the tough but necessary conversations. And I am one of your hosts. I'm Kim, and I'm a Generation Xer. I also own Amata Senior Care here in the Phoenix and East Valley, but I am co-hosted. Is that the word co-hosting? Co-host with my mom. Mom?

SPEAKER_02 1:03

I'm the co-host mom. And my name is Karen, and I'm a proud baby boomer.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

A proud baby boomer.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

I am a baby boomer.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

We've had conversations about preparation and planning are better than crisis management, right? Like it's a little bit easier. Let's kind of forward think these.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

So we know where you're going, although nobody knows the exact circumstances. You've got some ideas of what you should be doing or where you're going.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yes, as we're aging, right? Right. Okay. That's what we're talking about. Let's just face it. So our guest today is Alicia Williams of Faith Hospice. Welcome. Hi. Hi. Well, before we even go into hospice, because we're going to have a you know a conversation. Everybody loves that word, right? Yes. Tell us just about you. Who are you? How long have you been in the industry?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Um, what are your passions? Well, my name is Alicia Williams. I'm the Chief Business Development Officer for Faith Hospice. I've been in hospice for almost 20 years now. So a long time. I uh absolutely love this industry. I love uh helping patients and families navigate what's going on. And um just am so proud of the work that we do every single day. It's just it's a blessing and it's an honor to work in hospice.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

It's probably a hard field too, in a sense. It is a hard field, but it depends on how you look at it. For me, I look at it that we're helping patients and families every single day, and that's something that's really important. And I feel good about doing that. So for me, it's an easy thing to do. Okay, good. But for a lot of people, it can be challenging.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

It can be. Well, and why I love Faith Hospice, which we'll get into this a little bit more, is your patient navigators. So I'm just gonna put that teaser out there that we're talking about the patient navigators. But before that, I think it's so interesting that people don't understand that there's so many different hospice companies. And when they say, oh, my doctor recommended hospice, I don't think they understand that there's actually a choice. And there are ethical hospices and ones that are not so, right? I mean, and so I think people don't realize it's patient choice or you have a choice. Do you find that as well? That they just automatically assume, well, my doctor said this is I'm on hospice or I need hospice, and this is who I have to go with.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

That is exactly right. We see that from a physician standpoint, we see that from a hospital. Um, a lot of times we might be following a patient for a while, and then they go to the hospital, and the hospital will have a hospice of choice, and the family thinks that's the only choice that they have. And so, really and truly, we try to get out there to provide a lot of education to let families know that they do have a choice in hospice care. And I actually recommend my families to interview multiple hospices, talk to them.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

I was just about to ask for information. So if you I love that because again, I think this is where people should have planning and preparation, right? We're all headed in that direction.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

That's right. And if you don't do that, then you're kind of last minute trying to figure out. And that's one reason you might just go with somebody's recommendation.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

At the last minute. And that's what we're wanting people to do is start having these conversations while you're healthy and you're not in crisis. So you have, you know, kind of a pathway. What would be three things or two things, you just name it, that you would want to ask a hospice?

SPEAKER_00 4:47

It's a great question. I always like to find out about their leadership team. Um, there's a lot of hospices that are national organizations, no offense to them, but where are their local leaders? Who's uh running the um the ship? Right. Exactly. So I would ask questions about the leadership. Have to do a little plug for faith hospice on this one because our senior leadership uh between all of us, we have over a hundred years of hospice experience. We're local, we're embedded in the community, and uh, it is very important for us to do the work that we do every single day. And it's important that the leadership component is there and that we're working closely with the nurses and the social workers and the health aides to make sure that we're providing the best care possible. I love that. So I think that would be a big one is to find out about the leadership. How long have they been in the Phoenix Metro area? Because a lot of times we see uh hospices that will pop up, you know, and nothing against newer hospice agencies, but you know, longevity is important. And I think asking those questions about, you know, their leadership, about longevity, longevity, tell me more about your patient care. Uh CMS does a really good job about uh hospice compare, where you can actually Google search your zip code and look up different hospice agencies and it shows their star ratings. And so it's important to look at that information as well.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

I and and to have that research because I think in crisis, we're not thinking about these questions, right? We're just like reacting, reacting instead of being proactive, the planning and preparation. And I appreciate you saying things of, you know, we understand newer hospices, we get that business, but sometimes those hospices are really built on fraud. And we've seen some of that in the news lately about some, you know, non-ethical hospices that are just out there as a not even a brick and mortar, but billing Medicare for crazy services that aren't even rendered.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

And so that's good that you're asking the leadership, the longevity, because you can circumvent you being part of a fraud or being, you know, in with these kind of hospices. So let's talk about what I love is your patient navigators. And I'm gonna put some information why I love your patient navigators. Um, so mom, they have patient navigators, just like we have senior care advisors at a modest senior care. Okay, so these are people who really know what they're doing. They know what they're doing, but they're going in and they're trying to look at it from, you know, multiple viewpoints, kind of a holistic. Because, you know, mom, we've talked that sometimes I I will meet with a family and in-home care with a modest senior care is not the right choice, the right solution for them at this time. They really need, you know, this other solution or this other resource or something like that. And so that's what our senior care advisors do is really try to put people on the pathway that would be best for them. That would be best for them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so tell me about your patient navigators and what sets them so different than most other hospices.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

One thing I think is really unique about Faith Hospice is we do have the patient navigation. And so these are folks that are out in the field talking to not only our referring partners, but also our patients and families to find out what's going on with them, what what has been happening with their healthcare status? Um, these are most of them are social workers by trade. So, or they're a clinician of some sort. So they already have that like caring heart. They do. So they already come into this role because they're clinical in nature, or they've been in healthcare for a long time. And so they they know how to navigate the healthcare system. And so uh we go out and we meet with families to talk about who we are, but also just to find out what's going on. And a lot of times, these patients are not medically eligible for hospice care. And that's okay. And so we try to figure out through asking questions and trying to put the puzzle pieces together of what's going on and see how we can provide support, whether it's referring out to home health, whether it's providing information about private duty caregiving, placement, whether it's getting meals on wheels set up, uh, navigating the VA system, which can be cumbersome. It depends on, you know, the patient and the family and what the needs are. And we just try to figure out how we can best help them. Yeah. So it's not necessarily they're not necessarily coming on hospice per se, but uh, we're there to help navigate the whole healthcare industry, which can be I I really like that term, navigate the healthcare industry because it's gotten so complicated, but there are so many good choices.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

But to try to figure it out yourself can be really overwhelming unless you have done a lot of research before the need arises.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Or you have a daughter who's in the industry or that. But um but mom, you you lend a good point that it's such a fractured system, right? The the healthcare system is just it's not comprehensive, meaning, you know, people have to kind of go figure things out on their own.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Well, and I think there are helpful resources like your senior care advisors or these um navigators.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

I mean navigation, what do you call them? Patient care navigators. Yeah. You can call them navigators.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

That's what we do. Navigators. But, you know, we don't know of those and you don't seek those out, and you have to you start trying to find out yourself and you just become overwhelmed.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Well, and we found out, and I'm sure you have, Alicia, that people start trying to figure things out on their own and they're going down like rabbit trails or trails that aren't applicable to them, that aren't going to serve them any need. Right. And so if maybe somebody even doesn't know what to do, could they just call Faith Hospice and say, I need a patient navigator? Like I don't know what I don't know. Well, and that's most of us.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

We don't know what we don't know. And even though we think we know, I think the healthcare system changes almost daily. So what we thought we knew is not the way it is now.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

And I love what were you gonna say? I was just gonna add another thing that we see a lot is when we meet with families, um, they have multiple physicians. They just got out of the hospital, they have lots of different medications, they were told many different things. And so, as a navigator, we're trying to piece it together and provide clarity to the patient and family.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yeah. Mom has expressed that before, especially with doctors. Like you get information from all over and trying to put it together in a concise way is probably so helpful for people when they've actually got out of the hospital or some type of crisis, right? And putting that all together. Absolutely. So mom and I were talking on the way over here about what she used to think hospice was like. And so I can't wait to hear this. What what did you or what back in the day was hospice like?

SPEAKER_02 12:19

I think people in my generation felt like if you mentioned hospice, the end was days away, hours away. People didn't go on hospice until it was the end. And I learned differently with my husband. Yeah, and then they would go to maybe some place. Yeah. I had I've actually visited a person in a hospice place, and they decided that this person was no longer in need of that type of hospice, and she had to move again.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Oh, that that is actually really sad. That was awful. That is sad.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

I mean, she moved from where she was to this place and then had to move again.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

I can already see Alicia's face that she's like, Oh, I thought you heard you've heard of those or even have expected.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Those phone calls in our office because they've been told they have to move out and they're upset and they don't understand why. And because they've been told one thing. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Well, you just under the impression that you go to this place, well, I finally moved again, and that's it. But no.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Yeah. So what kind of what are some of the blessings that hospice can provide before somebody's just days away from from passing?

SPEAKER_00 13:42

I want to address what she said in regard to what you thought about hospice care because what you said is what we hear every single day. I imagine.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

Because of how it used to be.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

And so we're navigating how things used to be. So unfortunately, the national average of length of stay on hospice is around 19 days or so. Um, the benefit is actually for 180 days, so six months or less if the disease runs its natural course. We've had some patients that are on service for an hour, we've had some patients on service for a couple of years. It all depends if the patient meets the eligibility and has the proper hospice diagnosis. We want to make sure we're providing that care. So you're like, okay, I'm gonna pass away soon. That's not necessarily the case. My husband was on hospice five almost six months, wasn't he? Five months for sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

So he utilized his hospice benefit.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

I'm happy to hear that. But it was a super blessing for us because um at that time, you know, mom didn't you didn't she was able to call the nurse at any time. It was even though it was for dad, I feel like the support was for mom.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Yep. Absolutely. Thank you for touching on that because that's so true. Yes, we're here to provide care to the patient. That's what we're doing, but a lot of the holistic approach that we provide is for the family. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

The caregivers that are at that side.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

She felt like she had a lifeline when she's like, uh, he's making this sound, or it seems like he has a cold. Should I be doing that? I wasn't happy with the medication or or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 15:17

I could get some um professional advice. They were very patient with you. I I I tell you what, I was totally impressed with their care.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

And with their um empathy and just uh well, it was actually very marvelous. And I'm glad we're having this conversation because then people can start even saying, Hey, I want faith hospice. When that time comes, I want faith hospice, right? Absolutely. And they can interview you, they can talk to your patient navigators now and kind of already talk to their family saying, Well, I think I like faith hospice. Information is free, right? So inquire about it. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Well, I mean, basic line most people are going to need hospice at some point, unless the Lord just decides to take us immediately, which most of us would like, but we have no say in it. So we just need to prepare our minds and our families.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Right. Absolutely, absolutely. So going back to your leadership, um, I'm gonna point out something with your leadership, if you don't mind. Yes, please do. So uh your leadership, you have someone on your leadership team. His name is Cameron Swenson, and he is a medical social worker, if I'm correct. Um, if you can see if if you're on YouTube right now, but if you are on one of our listening podcasts on Apple or Spotify, I'm showing a book and it's written by Cameron. It's called Finally Fearless. Um, I read this book and it was absolutely phenomenal because he talks about I'm just gonna read a little excerpt from it, please. Um He's talking about the conventional fears of death and dying. There are five primary fears that encompass the modern fear of death and dying, where a generalized fear of death is consistently indistinct. The following five fears are tangible the fear of the unknown, the fear of pain and suffering, fear of aging and regret, fear of losing control, and fear of leaving loved ones behind. And so he goes into these five, I'll say buckets of fear and addresses them in a way that's so gentle, gracious, compassionate, and it's it's just marvelous. I just love it. And so if you haven't bought the book, go on Amazon. It is there, finally fearless. And so Cameron does a lot of things. Um, but I just I I could have had him on the podcast, but I had to because I just I just love your heart and the fact that we're talking from it from a business perspective as well. And I love how Faith Hospice, it is a business, but it's serving people at their most vulnerable time.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

That's right. We're here to provide care when care is needed, and so that's why people give us a call. They call us for different reasons. We go out to get to bedside as quickly as possible to figure out how we can help and support these patients.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

But they can call you right now, too. Okay, and just start asking questions.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

You bet. And that happens too. We we do get those phone calls of, hey, I'm just trying to prepare, but I'd like to learn more. Sure, not a problem. Let's get out there and have that.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Knowledge is always a good thing. Well, agree. Knowledge is free or information is free. That's right. So, where could we find Faith Hospice?

SPEAKER_00 19:05

So you can find us online at faithofaz.com. And you can call our main office line as well. Uh, we're also on social media, so we're on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Uh, give us a call. We're happy to assist and help. Oh, thank you so much. Mom, do you have any last-minute questions?

SPEAKER_02 19:24

No. But I would definitely tell people. Get some information. Get some information.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Because planning and preparation is much easier. Okay, I've got dementia. No, you don't. Then crisis management. I will learn this line sooner or later. Sooner or later. So thank you so much. And if you've enjoyed this episode or you thought it would be a great way to start, you know, having that hospice conversation with your loved one, um, use this as a catalyst. Share this with your loved one and say, hey, you know, mom, hey, dad, is this something that we can talk about and start exploring? I found this great podcast. So share it with your loved one. And until then, we'll see you on the next walk.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

This is Karen, and I just wanted to say thank you for spending some time with us today. Please come back for more laughs, more connections, and more real life moments between these two generations. See you on the next walk.