Your CHAP on-the-go source for news + policy review, spotlighting innovation, interviews with thought leaders, and the top trends in community-based care.
HOST: Jennifer Kennedy
Dr. Jennifer Kennedy is the VP of Quality and Standards at CHAP. She has more than 35 years of experience as a leader and nurse in diverse healthcare settings and has worked in hospice and palliative care for the last 20+ years.
She has a doctoral degree in health care education and policy, a dual master’s degree in health education and case management, a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and is a certified healthcare compliance professional.
Jennifer serves as faculty at national and state conferences, writes articles for the trade journals, contributes to and reviews health care publisher materials, and develops education and resources for hospice and palliative care providers. She also teaches Graduate Health Care Administration courses at the university level.

2023 Plan using NAHC’s Hospice and Palliative Care Report
Coming February 7, 2023!
Join us as Jennifer Kennedy talks to Katie Wehri as they walk through NAHC’s Hospice and Palliative Care Report from December, giving everyone a list of what needs to be on providers’ radar in 2023. From VBID, Hospice Cap and MedPAC recommendation, Telehealth recertification through 2024, and Hospice fraud.

How Age-Friendly Care Can Grow Your Business
January 12, 2022
In this episode, we explore the business case, value proposition, how to improve the patient care experience, improve CAP scores, the importance of collaborative decision making, and the impact to agencies providing Age-Friendly Care at Home.
More than ever before, patients want individualized care, more say in their care, being involved in decision making, and ensuring what matters to them is heard so they have positive experiences.

Why Age-Friendly Care Certification is Critical
January 12, 2022
What is CHAP building? How does it benefit healthcare providers and agencies? How does this help the patient? Why asking “What Matters” is the most critical question when speaking to a patient.
CHAP is creating an Age-Friendly Care at Home certification process through our partnership with The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
When healthcare workers implement the 4Ms Framework into care giving, they are providing evidence-based practices to achieve the most optimal outcomes.

What is Age-Friendly Care?
January 12, 2022
An introduction to Age-Friendly Care at Home.
According to the US Census Bureau, the US population aged 65+ years is expected to nearly double over the next 30 years, from 43.1 million in 2012 to an estimated 83.7 million in 2050. We have an aging population with a growing demand for healthcare and not enough healthcare workers to meet this demand.
We’ll examine the demand, 4Ms framework, ageism, principles, along with an introduction and benefits of the application into community-based care settings.

Staffing, Recruitment & Retention in Healthcare
January 11, 2023
Knee deep in one of the most tumultuous job markets that anyone can remember and healthcare workers quitting at unprecedented numbers, what are providers to do?
Jennifer Kennedy sat down with Stephanie Johnston from Transcend Strategy Group to discuss staff recruitment and retention, including the number one solution to burnout that a care-in-the-home provider has to offer clinicians.

The Value of Home Care with CEO Tim Hanold of Care Advantage
December 7, 2022
Home Care has tremendous value for the people and families receiving care. In This episode, Jennifer Kennedy CEO Tim Hanold from Care Advantage shares insights on what quality indicators payors look for in network partners and what metrics matter most in value-based purchasing and risk relationships.

Building a Hospital at Home Program
November 1, 2022
Running a hospital-at-home program at the agency level may sound out of reach for some. Summer Napier, President & CEO of Healing Hands Healthcare, talks to Jennifer Kennedy about her program and gives insights they learned while building.

Advance Care Planning and Shared Decision-Making
October 5, 2022
Advance Care Planning is a process, not a one-time event that includes an individual and their loved ones. People’s goals change over time. As we saw with Covid-19, many patients changed their minds regarding ventilators and life support. Stephanie Anderson from Respecting Choices says it’s not just enough to educate about advance care planning but about introducing “shared decision-making.” Learn more about these conversations and what you need to focus on when implementing.

Palliative Care in Rural New Mexico – Innovation Spotlight
September 6, 2022
Starting palliative care in rural New Mexico has its challenges. Education, billing, adding clinicians from other care settings, and referral source alignment, to name a few. Jacob Martinez from Mountain Home Health and Hospice talks about their steps to build a thriving program that has improved their quality and gives patients the care they need.

Palliative Care in the Community
August 2, 2022
Kathleen Kerr from Transforming Care Partners joins Jennifer Kennedy to talk about how Palliative Care providers and payers address the questions/uncertainties regarding what to provide, to whom, by whom, how to assess, and a lot of variation in those elements.

The Home Health Episode
July 5, 2022
Jennifer Kennedy talks to Maria Warren, VP of Clinical Consulting Services from McBee about what’s involved in optimally managing an episode of care for a patient, episode management in value-based purchasing, and its impact on quality.

Health Equity – CMS Strategy and Provider Gaps
May 31, 2022
We know that health disparities have existed in various ways, but it took a pandemic to shine a light on a critical topic. How do we increase access to quality care and serve the underserved? Jennifer Kennedy and Nicole M. Davis tackle the newly posted CMS Framework for Health Equity and talk about what this means for providers. Check out our Health Equity blog for more information.

Hospice Physician Dictation and Engagement with Dr Amy Moss and Jason Banks
May 3, 2022
In this episode, Jennifer Kennedy talks with Dr. Amy Moss from Amedisys, and Jason Banks from nVoq about what it’s like to be a medical director in 2022. They discuss the ever-evolving role of the physician in hospice, and how to use technology to help your hospice physician deliver on the expectation of documentation while weaving a beautiful patient story and narrative.

Contractor Can of Worms with Sharon Litwin
April 5, 2022
The new vaccine mandate has put a new layer of inspection on records kept about contract employees. Jennifer Kennedy talks with Sharon Litwin about what else to be mindful about when bringing on a staffing agency.

Physician Perspectives with Dr. Khai Nguyen
March 2, 2022
Jennifer Kennedy speaks to our National Medical Director, Dr. Khai Nguyen. Hear answers to important questions like what does a physician look for in an in-home care provider, how providers can gain or lose a physician’s trust, and learn about what needs he sees today in the geriatric population.

Hospice Survey Updates and Enforcement – What You Need to Know
January 31, 2022
Dr. Jennifer Kennedy and Kim Skehan from Simitree Consulting sit down to discuss updates to the hospice survey and enforcement changes.

Introducing CHAPcast
January 31, 2022
Welcome – Thanks for listening to our first episode. Subscribe to hear all the new episodes the day they are published.
The views expressed by the authors, hosts, and guests are their own, and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by CHAP employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the organization’s view.