It’s a new year with new and on-going priorities at Our Lady of Peace Hospice and Home Health Care (OLP). If you know us well, you know that our commitment to continuing the mission and legacy of our founders, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne is unwavering. And those who have experienced our care know we are dedicated to caring for patients with love, kindness, and dignity. These core values are steadfast. In 2024, we plan to continue to prioritize excellence in care, and be a leader in hospice and home health care.
In his own words, OLP President & CEO Jeff Thorne talks about 10 OLP priorities for 2024:
- Strategic Plan
“We’re starting on our strategic plan in early 2024, and the goal is to complete it by summer. Then we will begin implementation. The following priorities will be included in our plan, along with others.
- Continuum of Care
“We’ll look at how people move through our continuum, and how we can make it as seamless as possible for them. This is a key goal because it’s the umbrella over our services. With this comes the goal of helping people better understand the benefits of hospice, and the difference between hospice and palliative care. We also want to make sure we have technology that supports our patients throughout the continuum.
- Leadership in Hospice Care
“We want to continue to be the best hospice and home health care organization. We want to do what we do best, while constantly analyzing, improving, and enhancing our services and systems where it makes sense to do so. We’ve done this for a long time, but this will be a more focused effort.”
- Grow our family stakeholders
“As the new year begins, we want to thank our generous donors whose gifts are going to good use, and we welcome new donors to walk alongside us. If OLP has served your family well, we invite you to join our mission, and help us continue to provide care at no cost to individuals and their families in the hospice residence. Together, we will move forward, and our continuum of care will thrive.”
- Partnerships
“We will build on our mission through partnerships with churches, academic institutions, and other organizations. I’ll be out in the community, talking to people and extending an invitation to join us in our mission. If you can connect us with someone you think would be a good partner, please let us know.”
- Be Culturally Competent
“Every culture holds different beliefs around the dying process. We want to make sure we’re culturally competent in our understanding of that by building relationships and gathering the tools needed to do it. We recently served a Hmong family that told us their loved one needed to be changed into their “journey clothes,” as the end of their life was near. We respectfully responded to their request, realizing the importance of it. The family appreciated that we recognized that it was important. We were honored to be a part of it, and grateful to learn about this valued Hmong ritual.”
- Chapel Renovation
“The drawings are done and we’re going out to bid on our interior chapel renovation. We’re going to make ceiling repairs, so the skylights no longer leak, install new carpet, lighting, and a sound system. We’re hoping to start the project in the spring, and donations are welcome!”
- Hire More Exceptional People
“Many of you know how important this is to us. People come to us through word of mouth, and personal referrals that we highly regard. We’re always looking for exceptional people with a heart for hospice, and we’re updating our on-boarding process and educational systems for their on-going training and mentorship.”
- Employee Retention
“We’re developing more opportunities to support our staff, including grants. We’ve established a scholarship fund to encourage continuing education and learning, and an emergency crisis grant to provide a little extra staff support.”
- Employee Wellness
“This spring, we will renovate a space in the building to become a new staff lounge with a small kitchen and natural light where people can go to rest and re-energize. As you can imagine, our caregivers experience death almost every day, and they need a calming place to go to reflect, take a break, and prepare to continue providing excellent care to their patients.”
I’m blessed to be a part of OLP, and I look forward to leading our organization through 2024 and beyond. I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!
Respectfully,
Jeff Thorne