A small health care agency that helps people live out their lives on their own terms is celebrating a quarter century of service in the Virgin Islands. A top agency executive says close to 7,500 people have received end-of-life services, according to the founder of the company Continuum Care, Inc.
Now celebrating its 25th year, hospice care in the Virgin Islands has provided an option for those who would otherwise have had to rely on relatives and neighbors or leave home to get care off island.
Continuum founder Tracy Stewart Sanders said she launched the agency after serving as chief operating officer for an independent hospice and home care company in Atlanta, Georgia. “It has been indeed a privilege to provide much needed care to our V.I. community to those in need. I am a small-business owner and 25 years ago, I never imagined the impact of our care,” Sanders said.
The difference it has made, she said, has been expressed by the clients and their families. Their reflections are heard during office visits, in phone calls, and written in letters. “A couple of them have written poems,” the founder said.
“Hospice started really for cancer patients, and it has really expanded to take care of any life-limiting illness, congestive heart failure, stroke, whatever — renal disease, end-stage; Alzheimer’s, and really there are so many other entities because when really the body starts slowing down, it’s not just the chronic illness or the terminal illness they have,” she said.
Hospice care is also a multibillion dollar industry in the United States providing palliative care.
End-of-life care by trained health professionals began on St. Croix in 2000 and then expanded to St. Thomas and St. John in 2004. Since then, the service has used a team-oriented approach to medical care, according to the agency’s website. That approach incorporates pain management and emotional support according to the patient’s needs and wishes.
The service employs 65 professionals caring for patients and their families across St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. She added that as Continuum gained experience and expertise, it also became a resource for local nursing students. Several of the agency staffers also lecture at the University of the Virgin Islands.
“We are part of the clinical rotation for UVI. So the students will do a rotation through hospice and many of them realize it’s a type of nursing they didn’t believe was there,” Sanders said.
The founder said she also nurtured her professional relationships with Medicare and Medicaid in order to eventually apply for federal funding; as a result, Virgin Islanders with low-to-moderate incomes are able to qualify for hospice care.
“Hospice is 100 percent covered under Medicare and Medicaid. We’ve been able to receive Medicaid for the last several years … because we know those with Medicaid can be the most vulnerable in our community,” Sanders said.
She added that the agency also works with local nonprofits to help those in need who don’t qualify for federal aid with help from the American Cancer Society, the Cancer Support VI, and private donations.
And for those whose medical journeys lead to treatment on the U.S. mainland, Continuum forged relationships with some of the most-frequented medical centers. That way, those who want to end their days back home may have the option to do so.
“ … we focus on the quality of days, not the quantity of days,” she said.
In a Dec. 18 statement issued by Continuum, executives made mention of increased effort by the V.I. government to spread awareness about end-of-life health care. “The Dept of Health, as a component of the approved Territory-Wide Plan also has a specific goal to increase awareness across the Territory about available hospice care,” the statement said.
