Part 1: Is Your Organization’s Admissions Process Kind of a Mess?

Many of you may be familiar with Yo-Yo Ma, the accomplished classical cellist. What you may not know is that in 2011 he joined three other world-class musicians to blend different genres (bluegrass, classical, jazz and folk) for a collaborative album called the Goat Rodeo Sessions. It’s one of my all-time favorite albums with my favorite track being “Attaboy.”

The name itself – goat rodeo – refers to a chaotic situation where many things must go exactly right to avoid disaster. It’s a fitting metaphor for the album’s creation. The magic lies in the delicate, disciplined collaboration required to make something intricate and unpredictable feel effortless. Each artist brings their unique voice, yet listens deeply, adapts and aligns to create a unified result.

A Seamless Admissions Process Is Critical for Growth

In a high-functioning hospice organization, admissions should run like a well-oiled machine. But when just one part breaks down – whether it’s the referral source not receiving timely communication, a missing physician order, a nurse delayed in the field, or a misrouted intake call – the whole process can start to look like a goat rodeo. Everyone’s running in different directions, reacting instead of coordinating, and the patient and family are often left in limbo.

Growth in hospice hinges on getting admissions right every single time. It relies on constantly managing the tension between growth and staffing. Between getting to the bedside as soon as possible and tackling scheduling challenges. Successful admissions operations are about the speed, clarity and consistency of communication between referral partners, intake staff, schedulers, nurses, physicians and those who review records for eligibility. Every handoff matters. Every delay adds friction. And every fumble risks trust, census and reputation.

So, while the phrase “goat rodeo” might make you chuckle or wonder about its relevance to this blog post, in the context of hospice admissions, it’s a reminder that if you want to grow, you can’t afford chaos. You need rhythm, precision and shared accountability. And above all, a system where every part knows its role and executes it with heart and urgency.

Transcend’s Approach to Calming the Chaos

At Transcend, we’ve had the opportunity to work with clients and become deeply ingrained in their admissions teams. The process is intricate – we imbed ourselves for a few weeks to identify bottlenecks and opportunities, then we create a comprehensive plan for addressing six core areas of a healthy admissions process: referrals, eligibility, admissions, NTUCs, human resources or people, and data/tech.

We meet with a multi-department workgroup weekly to align on project progress, tackle challenges that come up, and coach/encourage each other in times of backsliding. Managing organizational change of this magnitude will not happen overnight, as we’ll discuss in Part 2 of this blog series. Coaching teams along the way through periods of disappointment is absolutely essential. Celebrating wins is equally important.

Silos were lifted, daily standups were established to address pending referrals urgently, and three months later, they are functioning like a totally different organization. It all begins with creating a sense of urgency within an organization’s culture, and that starts with leadership.

Transcend has a long history of sharing expertise in the branding and marketing space. Now, we can help providers optimize their admissions, sales and online reputation management to address all aspects of an organization’s growth engine. It’s a full circle moment for us to be able to share this knowledge with our clients and to empower them to fulfill their mission and provide greater access to care as urgently as possible.

We want to see more hospice organizations tackle their growth challenges, including admissions and sales. If you need help taming the chaos in your admissions process, let’s start a conversation – reach out to us at [email protected].