The Healthcare Partnership Nobody Is Talking About: Hospice + FQHCs | Part One

What if one of hospice’s most valuable community partners has been hiding in plain sight?

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 largely untapped opportunity for hospice and palliative care organizations to build meaningful partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).  Kyle brings more than a decade of clinical and executive healthcare experience, with a particular focus on rural healthcare, access, and sustainable patient-centered care.

Kyle breaks down what FQHCs actually are, whom they serve, and why their mission aligns so naturally with hospice and palliative care.  Designed to improve access for underserved and underinsured populations, community health centers can provide medical, behavioral health, dental, pharmacy, and other services while addressing barriers to care.  That mission creates significant common ground with hospice organizations committed to serving patients regardless of payer source and strengthening the healthcare safety net within their communities.

The conversation moves from opportunity to execution as Kyle explains FQHC reimbursement, integrated care, payer mix, and the importance of trusted referral relationships.  For hospice leaders, one message stands out: don’t simply look for another referral source—look for a partner capable of helping create a more connected continuum of care.  Warm handoffs, provider education, early conversations about serious illness, and relationships with FQHC care coordinators and referral specialists could open an important new pathway for patients who will eventually need palliative care or hospice.

5 Key Takeaways

• FQHCs may be an overlooked strategic partner for hospice.  Chris describes discovering that a hospice organization operating in a competitive market had a local FQHC it had never approached, illustrating the opportunity that may exist in other communities.
• The missions are remarkably aligned.  Access, equity, community partnership, and caring for patients regardless of payer source are foundational themes for FQHCs and strongly resonate with hospice and palliative care.
• FQHCs are more comprehensive than many leaders may realize.  Infinity Health provides medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, while other FQHCs may offer additional specialties and coordinate services through outside partners.
• Trust can transform the referral experience.  Established relationships between FQHC and hospice teams can enable warm handoffs that make patients more comfortable and improve continuity as they transition between organizations.
• Hospice leaders need to find the right relationship—not just the CEO.  Kyle specifically recommends identifying the person responsible for referrals and care coordination within the local FQHC and educating clinical teams about when palliative care and hospice can help.

Could your next great healthcare partnership already exist in your own community?  Listen to Part One, then identify the FCHCs serving your market and start asking a different question: How could we work together to serve patients earlier, coordinate care better, and build a trusted pathway to palliative care and hospice?  And don't miss Part Two, coming this Friday, where the conversation continues.

Show Transcript

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