By Bill Wertman, CEO, Big Bend Hospice
There are many ways to measure the quality of hospice care.
We can look at clinical outcomes, policies, procedures, and performance measures. All of those things matter. But I believe one of the most meaningful measures comes from the people who have experienced our care firsthand.
That is why I am especially proud that Big Bend Hospice has been named a 2026 Hospice CAHPS Honors Award recipient.
The Hospice CAHPS Honors program recognizes hospice organizations that perform above national benchmarks based on feedback from families and caregivers. The survey asks about the things that matter deeply when someone you love is nearing the end of life: Was the hospice team responsive? Did they communicate clearly? Were symptoms managed well? Did the family receive the emotional support they needed?
To receive this recognition, Big Bend Hospice scored above the MatrixCare national performance score on at least 17 of the 22 measures evaluated for the award. That is an accomplishment worth celebrating. But the numbers are not what stay with me… The people behind them are.
Every survey represents a family that trusted us during one of the most personal and difficult experiences of their lives. They allowed our nurses into their homes. They called us in moments of uncertainty. They relied on our physicians and clinical teams to manage pain and symptoms. They sat with our social workers, chaplains, and counselors. They accepted support from our certified nursing assistants and volunteers.
And after that experience, they took the time to tell us how we did.
There is tremendous responsibility in that kind of trust.
For more than 40 years, Big Bend Hospice has cared for families across North Florida with a simple belief: every person deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect at the end of life. As a community-based nonprofit hospice, those values are not simply part of what we say. They have to be evident in what families experience when we walk through their doors.
An award like this tells us that families are feeling that commitment.
It also belongs to far more people than those whose work happens at the bedside.
Hospice care requires an entire team. Our nurses, physicians, certified nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains, counselors, and volunteers provide the direct care and support families see each day. Behind them are administrative and support teams making sure our clinicians have what they need to do their jobs well. Every person has a role in creating the experience our families ultimately remember.
I am incredibly proud of our team for earning this recognition, but I am equally grateful to the families who shared their experiences with us.
Their feedback does more than recognize what we are doing well. It holds us accountable. It shows us where we can improve and reminds us that excellence in hospice care is not something we achieve once and declare finished.
We have to earn it again with the next patient, and the next family.
That is the standard our community deserves.
The Hospice CAHPS Honors Award is something our entire organization can be proud of. But the greatest honor will always be the trust a family places in Big Bend Hospice when they ask us to care for someone they love.
For more than four decades, we have worked to be worthy of that trust and every day, we will continue working to earn it.