Home Health & Hospice Processes Communication
Nashoba Associated Boards of Health
Serving the towns of Ashburnham, Ashby, Ayer, Berlin, Bolton, Boxborough, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster,
Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, Stow, Townsend, and the community of Devens,
in partnership with your local elected Board of Health.
Nashoba Associated Boards of Health
“YOUR Community, YOUR Choice Since 1931” · www.nashoba.org
Community Health · Environmental Health · (978) 772-3335 · 1-800-427-9762
30 Central Avenue, Ayer, MA 01432-1497
Community Health Fax: (978) 772-3194 · Environmental Health Fax: (978) 772-4947
7/27/2023
Home Health & Hospice Processes in North Central MA
As part of our commitment to empowering our residents of all ages with the knowledge to live their healthiest lives, we wanted to share some information on the home health and hospice process to help folks understand their options in our region. This is particularly important in the wake of our announcement on the closure of the Nashoba Nursing Service & Hospice branch of our agency, which has provided personalized, expert skilled nursing and end-of-life care in people’s homes for over sixty years. We know our community is feeling this loss as much as we are. Since the closure was announced, residents have been coming forward and sharing stories on the positive impact NNS&H has had on them and generations of loved ones over these many years of service. We want you to know that you are not without support and options, and there is a process that takes the guesswork out of seeking these services during trying times for you and your family, outlined below:
A healthcare provider determines when home health or hospice services are needed. They will make a referral, essentially a “prescription” for home health or hospice. This referral goes to an agency to provide the prescribed service. In Massachusetts, many larger healthcare entities operate their own home health and hospice agencies, and will refer patients directly through this network. There are a number of home health and hospice agencies that cover our region and providers may refer to any of these. Our community members will be connected to these agencies through their healthcare providers.
Please know we are in the process of transferring all patients in our care to agencies with a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality rating that is the same or higher than ours prior to the closure. Additionally, please note that our NABH public health nursing services are not impacted by this closure.
To learn more about in-home services, visit the Homecare Alliance of Massachusetts: https://www.thinkhomecare.org/. You can also search for home health, hospice, and other types of medical providers and compare their CMS quality ratings using Medicare’s “Care Compare” tool: https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
We hope this information is helpful. We appreciate all of the support and fond memories our community has shared with us throughout this process. We are fortunate to serve a region of engaged, thoughtful and caring residents.
-Your Public Health Team at Nashoba Associated Boards of Health