Franciscan Health System has been selected by the Washington State Department of Health to begin providing in-home hospice services in Kitsap County.

“We are very grateful that the state Department of Health has selected Franciscan Hospice as the additional provider of in-home hospice care for Kitsap County patients and their families,” said Mark Rake-Marona, regional director of hospice and palliative care for the Franciscan Health System. “We plan to begin this service as quickly as we can, possibly as early as Oct. 1.

The state decided there was a need for a second in-home hospice provider in Kitsap County based on its own data for population growth and other demographics. The agency then initiated a certificate-of-need process and invited hospice providers to apply. Until now, Hospice of Kitsap has been the only in-home hospice service provider in Kitsap County.

“We are eager to expand our continuum of care for Kitsap County residents,” Rake-Marona said. “Already, we provide inpatient and outpatient medical services for Kitsap residents at our Franciscan Medical Group clinic in Port Orchard and at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor.”

Franciscan is the largest and most experienced provider of in-home and inpatient hospice and palliative services in Washington state. From July 2008 through June 2009 alone, Franciscan staff served 2,409 home-based hospice patients in both Pierce and King counties; the staff made 116,598 home visits in support of those individuals during that time. Additionally, Franciscan provides inpatient hospice care at the 20-bed Franciscan Hospice House in University Place.

Franciscan’s application to begin providing in-home hospice services throughout Kitsap County was opposed by two other providers – Hospice of Kitsap and Heartland Hospice Services.