Carris Health - Redwood to Close Seasons and Adult Day Services

Due to decreased utilization and payment challenges, Carris Health - Redwood will be closing Seasons House and Adult Day Services at the end of the year.

The decision will impact six staff and six patients, which the organization is committed to continuing to serve through other service options.

"This decision was not made lightly," said Carnie Allex, Carris Health - Redwood President. "We are currently working with affected staff to provide continued work options as well as with clients and families to provide care in their home or another setting."

Adult Day Services

Carris Health - Redwood has been closely watching a decline in utilization of Adult Day Services over the past two years. In 2019, the service was operating five days per week with 10 clients enrolled. Since 2020, it has been operating two days/week with only six clients enrolled and only one client routinely attending full days. Most clients attend for shorter periods of time or for personal cares, such as bathing.

"Simply put, there is less demand for Adult Day Services," said Allex. "We certainly believe that COVID has had an impact, but it's also important to note that Adult Day Services has had just two new clients since January of 2019 – before the pandemic began."

In the last couple of years, the criteria that determines insurance coverage and payment for Adult Day Services was altered limiting opportunity for patients to seek this type of care. This contributed to a $91,000 loss in the 2021 fiscal year.

Seasons House

The trend of low utilization has also been a significant challenge for Carris Health – Redwood's Seasons House, a residential home offering 24/7 hospice care.

In the 2021 fiscal year, only 16 out of 140 hospice patients received care at Seasons. This trend has been evident for several years looking back to 2018 when the house served 23 patients.

"This year we saw two full months with zero residents, despite having the lowest daily rate paid by families for facility-based care in the area and plenty of availability," explained Allex.

Because the house is available 24/7 for admissions, the organization has paid staff to be available for admissions at all times, creating a costly business model. The loss in the 2021 fiscal year was over $280,000.

"Over the years there has been tremendous support and generosity toward Seasons House, however the dollars are not able to be used to offset operational loss," explained Allex. "We are committed to continuing to care for the community but will look to other ways our hospice team can support needs in our community."

Carris Health Foundation - Redwood will reallocate funds designated to Seasons to the Redwood Hospice fund.

The organization confirmed that they will continue to provide Home Health and Hospice services to the community.

"Carris Health - Redwood's Home Health and Hospice team is already providing exceptional care to our community and we expect that care to continue to grow and meet community needs well into the future," said Amy Wendinger, CentraCare Director, Home Health and Hospice Rural Division. "While this may change the location we provide care, we are committed to bringing the same exceptional care to wherever our patients call home instead of those patients coming to our Adult Day or Seasons locations for care."

The organization and Redwood Operating Committee recognized the profound impact these services and staff have made to our community.

"Decisions of this nature are never easy, especially for services caring for our community at such significant stages of life," said Allex. "We are confident that our Home Care and Hospice Services will continue to ensure that patients and families find dignity, respect and compassion that our community expects and deserves."