What “Hospice Honors Elite” means for the families we serve

Tracey Dobson, President & CEO, Mountain Valley

We recently learned that Mountain Valley has been named a 2026 Hospice CAHPS Honors Elite recipient for our North Carolina service area. It is the highest level of recognition in the Hospice CAHPS Honors program, and I am incredibly proud of our team.

But I also know something about awards in healthcare. We announce them. We put the logo on our website. We congratulate our team. And sometimes we forget to explain the most important part: Why should this matter to a patient or family?

That is what makes this recognition particularly meaningful to me. Hospice Honors Elite is based on feedback from the families and caregivers who have actually experienced our care. It reflects what they told the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey about the care and services they received from Mountain Valley. It reflects what the families and caregivers shared through a national survey about the care and services they received specifically from Mountain Valley.

And the things being measured aren’t abstract. They are aspects of care that really matter. Did the hospice team communicate well? Were symptoms managed appropriately? Did caregivers receive the information and education they needed? Did families feel emotionally supported? What was their overall experience? And, importantly, would they recommend that hospice to someone else?  Those are the kinds of questions I would want answered if someone I loved needed hospice care.

To receive the Hospice Honors Elite designation, Mountain Valley scored above the national performance benchmark on all 22 quality measures evaluated. That means something to me because hospice care is intensely personal. Families invite us into their homes and their lives during a time when they may be frightened, exhausted, grieving, or uncertain about what comes next. They trust us to care for someone they love.

We recognize that there are no do-overs in hospice. That is something I talk about often with our team. We have one opportunity to be present for that patient and family. One opportunity to listen well. One opportunity to manage someone’s pain and symptoms. One opportunity to explain what is happening so a family feels a little less afraid. One opportunity to make sure someone feels seen, heard, respected, and cared for.

So when families tell us that we are doing those things well, that means far more to me than having another award to display. It also doesn’t mean we’re perfect. No healthcare organization is. There will always be opportunities for us to listen, learn, improve, and find new ways to care for people better. That’s part of our responsibility and its embedded in our culture at Mountain Valley.

This recognition does tell us that the things our team works so hard to do every day are being felt by the people who matter most—the patients and families we serve. I’m proud of that. And I’m especially proud of the people behind it.

Our nurses, physicians, nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, family services team members, administrative staff, and so many others bring Mountain Valley’s mission to life every day. This recognition belongs to them.

Most of all, I am grateful to the families who have trusted us to walk alongside them. Their feedback is what made this recognition possible, and their experiences are what make it meaningful. Hospice Honors Elite may be the name of the award. But for me, what it really represents is something much simpler: families telling us they felt cared for.

And that is the recognition that matters most.