JEWEL-OSCO PHARMACY, Passages Hospice Partnership Yields New Model of Care

Select Jewel-Osco Pharmacies to offer special services to support hospice care. Passages Hospice and Jewel-Osco further their relationship into most areas of where their patients are located.

Franklin Park, Illinois (PRWEB) May 31, 2009 -- JEWEL-OSCO PHARMACY has formed a partnership with Elgin-based Passages Hospice Care that will empower hospice caregivers to focus more on the special needs of their patients' care.

Under a new model of care, Passages caregivers will work closely with JEWEL-OSCO pharmacists - located in 15 stores throughout Northern and Central Illinois - who will provide special prescription and consultative services. As a result, hospice caregivers will have quick and convenient access to the products and professional expertise available at a typical hospital pharmacy.

"When a patient first enters hospice care, one of the challenges for caregivers and family members is accessing the special medications needed by their patient or loved one. We're taking the guesswork out of this process," said Matt Cross, Regional Manager of Managed Care, JEWEL-OSCO PHARMACY.

"During what can be a challenging time for many families, our pharmacy services can aide in speeding up the process of getting these much-needed medications to patients, giving them more time to focus on the patient," Cross added.

Hospice care is often reserved for critically and terminally-ill patients. According to the Illinois Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, half of all Americans who die from cancer and a growing number of patients with other chronic life-threatening illnesses such as end-of-life heart or lung disease enter hospice care.

"We are very excited about the potential benefits this new partnership will extend to our patients as well as their caregivers and family members," said Seth Gillman, Passages Hospice Owner and Administrator. "JEWEL-OSCO is a trusted provider of community pharmacy services and Passages Hospice is proud to build upon the special expertise of their pharmacists and our hospice care workers to maximize our abilities to provide compassionate, effective care."

About JEWEL-OSCO PHARMACY

JEWEL-OSCO, a SUPERVALU company, operates more than 170 in-store pharmacies in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. In addition to full-service prescription services, JEWEL-OSCO PHARMACY provides immunizations, diabetes care services and medication therapy management services, which are performed by specially trained JEWEL-OSCO pharmacists. For more information about JEWEL-OSCO PHARMACY, visit: http://www.jeweloscopharmacies.com.

About Passages Hospice

Passages Hospice, LLC has three office locations; in Elgin, IL, Bloomington, IL, and Belleville, IL and is a hospice company which offers service to nursing home and home residents. Services include 24 hour Continuous Care, Nursing Care, Social Work and Bereavement Counseling, Medical Supplies and Prescriptions relating to the hospice diagnosis and more. For additional information, contact (847) 695-1431 in the Chicagoland area or (309) 828-8139 for the Central/Southern Illinois area, or visit www.passageshospice.com.

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