CCH Reaches a Settlement with the N.E.W. Community Health Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CCH Reaches a Settlement with the N.E.W. Community Health Foundation

GILLETTE, Wyo. – Oct. 20, 2022 – Campbell County Health is pleased to announce it has reached a settlement agreement with Northeast Wyoming (N.E.W.) Community Health Foundation regarding the Close to Home hospice building. CCH will purchase the Close to Home building for $3.5 million. This purchase allows N.E.W. Community Health Foundation the working capital to develop a model for hospice care aligning with the vision of the Foundation without the hospital continuing to incur losses.

“We are excited to begin a new chapter for the building and a new chapter for the community. Though the decision to stop inpatient hospice care came before my time, the skyrocketing cost of end-of-life care and the market shifts in demand still make inpatient hospice care financially unfeasible for a rural community hospital like CCH,” said Matt Shahan, CEO of CCH.

CCH will continue to operate its Home Health and Outpatient Hospice services out of the lower level. “We are grateful to the CCH hospital board that we have a permanent home for our services. Hospice needs continue to grow in Gillette, and we are proud to be able to serve our community,” says CCH’s Home Health and Hospice Director Ashley Montague.

Close to Home was a beloved institution for the Campbell County community. The community showed its support by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years for Hospitality and Home Hospice through the Campbell County Health Foundation, now the Northeast Wyoming Community Health Foundation. The community was naturally upset when Close to Home closed its doors in the fall of 2020.

Figure 1. “Hospice Stats by Quarter” The green line represents the number of patient days for outpatient or in-home hospice. The blue line represents inpatient days at Close to Home.

However, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, inpatient hospice care at Close to Home lost an average of $551,115.50 a year. This average is based on data from 2016 until the facility closed in 2020. The data also shows the growth in the number of outpatient hospice patients and the rapid decline in Close to Home inpatient hospice patients (Figure 1 above).

Beyond the financial realities, low service demand meant staff positions were part-time. The lack of full-time opportunities made it incredibly difficult to attract and retain quality staff.

CCH is pleased to have reached a settlement with the N.E.W. Community Health Foundation so that both organizations can move forward and focus on providing the very best for our Northeast Wyoming community. Great things are on the horizon at CCH as we strive to become the first choice in healthcare and wellness in Wyoming by providing Excellence Every Day.

###