As CMS prepares the field for the Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation (HOPE) Model, hospice organizations nationwide are re-examining how they deliver, document, and demonstrate quality. The HOPE Model — a comprehensive assessment and quality framework designed to replace the Hospice Item Set (HIS) — elevates key domains of care that lie at the heart of hospice philosophy. These include pain management, symptom (and behavioral) management, and psychosocial and spiritual needs.
Learn more from CMS here.
What stands out is that HOPE reflects what families, caregivers, and hospice professionals have long emphasized: human connection, comfort, and compassionate presence matter just as much as clinical protocols. And this is exactly where Compassionate Touch®, a research-supported, structured non-pharmacological approach developed by AGE-u-cate Training Institute®, becomes an essential tool for interdisciplinary teams striving to meet and exceed HOPE expectations.
Under the HOPE model, hospices must demonstrate not just that pain is assessed, but also that relief is timely, effective, and aligned with patient preferences. CMS’s emphasis on outcomes underscores the need for interventions that complement and support pharmacologic plans.
Compassionate Touch® combines skilled touch, focused presence, and rhythmic movement to reduce pain, ease physical tension, calm the nervous system, and enhance comfort. Research consistently shows that touch-based, person-centered interventions can decrease pain intensity, promote relaxation, reduce the need for breakthrough medications, and improve overall patient experience.
These outcomes align directly with HOPE quality indicators that measure effectiveness of interventions, patient comfort, and interdisciplinary responsiveness.
When staff feel equipped with a practical, structured method like Compassionate Touch®, they are more confident in providing non-pharmacologic pain support in real time — not just documenting pain, but actively addressing it.
Many patients in hospice experience distressing symptoms related not only to physical decline, but also to cognitive changes, agitation, restlessness, and emotional distress. HOPE requires hospices to track symptom change and demonstrate consistent, effective interventions.
Compassionate Touch® offers an evidence-based response to symptoms that may otherwise escalate or require additional medication. Gentle touch and rhythmic calming touch protocols help regulate the autonomic nervous system, often resulting in reduced anxiety and restlessness, lower agitation, enhanced sense of safety, improved cooperation with care, and deeper connection.
These outcomes strengthen a hospice’s ability to address key HOPE domains such as symptom management, patient safety, caregiver support, and effectiveness of comfort measures.
A core component of the HOPE Model is recognition of psychosocial distress, caregiver strain, emotional needs, and spiritual well-being. CMS is clearly signaling that high-quality hospice care must address the deeper dimensions of the human experience.
Compassionate Touch® strengthens that commitment through focused presence that reduces fear and loneliness, touch that conveys dignity and emotional reassurance, opportunities for family participation, and calming rituals that support spiritual peace.
Hospice leaders today face unprecedented challenges — from staffing pressure to regulatory changes to rising consumer expectations. At the same time, the marketplace has become highly competitive, making differentiation essential.
Implementing Compassionate Touch® gives hospice organizations a powerful strategic advantage by meeting CMS HOPE domains with a research-based intervention, demonstrating commitment to non-pharmacological care, enhancing IDT teamwork, improving family satisfaction scores, and aligning with national expectations for person-centered care.