Valley Health and Hospice of the Panhandle have launched a collaborative program in Valley Health’s West Virginia hospitals to offer hospice care at War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs and Hampshire Memorial Hospital in Romney.
An agreement was signed for Hospice of the Panhandle to work alongside the hospital’s care teams to provide supplemental comfort care services, which started November 1. This ensures eligible patients and families receive comprehensive care during and after their hospital stay. 
Hospice in the Hospital originated at Winchester Medical Center in 2020 and expanded to all of Valley Health’s hospitals in Virginia and now West Virginia. The program enhances access to high-quality serious illness and end-of-life-care services, in addition to patient care across its hospitals.
“We are extremely thankful to the Hospice of the Panhandle team for partnering with us to offer Hospice in the Hospital at both War Memorial and Hampshire Memorial,” said Heather Sigel, Vice President, Operations, Hampshire Memorial Hospital and War Memorial Hospital. “We always want our end-of-life patients to feel supported and loved and treated with dignity. Together with Hospice of the Panhandle, we can expand upon the end of life services that we offer. This is a much-needed service in our communities for those people who choose to utilize the hospital as their final resting place.”
The program supports hospitalized patients who meet General Inpatient criteria, which includes uncontrolled pain and symptoms that require intensive management. It is designed for brief hospital stays for hospice-eligible patients meeting these criteria to receive hospice care services at Hampshire and War Memorial.
“Making decisions about hospice care can be difficult. We urge families to discuss these matters early to ensure that the patient’s wishes are honored,” said Heather Sigel.
“Hospice of the Panhandle is very excited to partner with Valley Health for this initiative,” said Hospice of the Panhandle CEO Nikki Bigiarelli. “Our goal is to assure that the patients we serve in Morgan and Hampshire counties have access to this important resource and receive the best end-of-life care that Valley Health and Hospice of the Panhandle can provide.”
