Episode Details

What if one of the biggest untapped opportunities for hospice growth, access, and community impact is a partnership most healthcare leaders aren’t even considering?

In Part One of The Healthcare Partnership Nobody Is Talking About: Hospice + FQHCs, Chris Comeaux sits down with Kyle Ahlenstorf, CEO of Infinity Health, to explore the powerful potential of partnerships between hospice and palliative care organizations and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).

FQHCs are built around access, equity, and serving communities where barriers to healthcare are often greatest.  Kyle explains how these community health centers work, how they’re reimbursed, the populations they serve, and why their mission has so much in common with hospice and palliative care. 

The conversation also explores integrated medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services—and how FQHCs can function as an important hub for coordinated, patient-centered care. 

For hospice leaders, the opportunity goes far beyond generating another referral. Kyle and Chris discuss how trusted relationships, provider education, care coordination, and warm handoffs can create a stronger continuum of care for people facing serious illness.  Kyle also offers a highly practical starting point: find out who manages referrals at your local FQHC and begin building the relationship there. 

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• What an FQHC is and why it matters to the healthcare safety net
• Why hospice and FQHC missions may be more closely aligned than leaders realize
• How FQHC reimbursement and payer mix work
• How FQHCs integrate medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services
• Why care coordination and warm handoffs matter for serious illness
• Common misconceptions hospice leaders may have about FQHC patients
• How hospice organizations can begin building relationships with local FQHCs
• Why behavioral health may represent another major area for collaboration

If you lead a hospice, palliative care organization, FQHC, community health center, nonprofit, or rural healthcare organization, this is a conversation worth bringing back to your leadership team.

👉 Your next step: Find the FQHCs serving your community.  Identify their referral or care coordination leader. Start a conversation about where your missions—and your patients—intersect.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss Part Two of this important conversation.

Guest:
Kyle Ahlenstorf, CEO of Infinity Health

Host:
Chris Comeaux, President / CEO of TELEIOS, author of The Anatomy of Leadership

Teleios Collaborative Network   /   https://www.teleioscn.org/tcntalkspodcast