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A Smarter Way to Care: Crossroads & Curantis

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) Streamline End-of-Life Care Operations

Curantis Solutions is the name of Crossroads’ EMR (electronic medical records) platform. According to Crossroads’ Vice President of Clinical Education Heather Slone many operations have been moved online successfully, especially in the last year. 

Heather is overseeing the introduction of our EMR’s many features to all Crossroads’ sites. She said, “it’s a true game changer!” and “there has been great feedback from nurses and physicians.”

Documentation of hospice and palliative care visits and assessments by all interdisciplinary team members including NPs, RNs, LPNs, Social Workers, Spiritual Care Advisors and Hospice Aides is an example of how Curantis puts the patient in the center of operations. 

Here are some other operations that are now up and running on Curantis company-wide:
*Note. List is incomplete.

• Creating and Managing the Interdisciplinary Comprehensive Plan of Care (including the Hospice Aide Plan of Care.)
• IDGs (Interdisciplinary Group Meetings.)
• CTIs (Certification of Terminal Illness) Completion of both verbal and written CTIs for each benefit period.
• HIS (Admission and Discharge HIS forms.)
• QAQ (Quality Assurance Queue) - Supervisory review of documentation.
• Analytics for Site Leaders and C4.
• Direct Care Compliance and Billing Reports.
• Workforce System Administration: Managing resources such as employees, volunteers, community providers, permissions, credentials and PECOS verification reports.
• Location: Managing teams, facilities and payers.

“We are excited to announce that Crossroads in Northeast Ohio is actively testing and implementing the new Curantis order management feature and e-Prescribing via Scriptsure,” Heather said. After successful testing and implementation in Northeast Ohio are complete “we will continue to expand the use of digital order management across each of our remaining locations.”

Here is a list of New Digital Orders soon-to-be available on Curantis:

• Durable Medical Equipment 
• Treatment 
• Supply 
• Level of Care 
• Visit Frequency 
• “Other” including but are not limited to:
  • Orders to Admit to Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care
  • Orders to Discharge from Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care
  • Diet Orders
  • Activity Level Orders
  • Lab Work Orders
  • Diagnostic Orders (i.e. Mobile X-Rays)
  • Orders that don’t fall into one of the previous stated categories
• Medication Orders
  *Note: Once entered via Curantis, each patient has a medication profile. Orders are sent from Curantis:
  • To physicians for approval
  • To pharmacies with delivery instructions
  • To PDC our Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) for pharmacist review and billing

Crossroads looks forward to celebrating the addition of more important operations on Curantis as we modernize and gain new efficiency that ultimately benefits patients.

Crossroads Leadership & Curantis

 According to our Founders Perry and Clayton Farmer the launch of Crossroads’ Curantis EMR has been a longtime coming, even “painstaking” with “heartache,” starts and stops and workarounds. That’s because they have personally worked with Curantis Solutions for more than 10 years both as board members and “alpha before-market super users.”

It started with Crossroads leaders’ dissatisfaction with off-the-shelf EMRs that were created for managing homecare companies. There wasn’t an EMR targeted to end-of-life and palliative care providers. “There was nothing truly patient-centered” that we could work with on the market, Perry said.

Furthermore, according to Perry there wasn’t an EMR that could accommodate Crossroads’ high standards of care such as tracking staffing levels in the last seven days of life and attended deaths. Simply put, there was no EMR that could manage all the activities that are important to Crossroads model of care and to the patient’s integrated care team. 

Now as more and more functions go live on Curantis Crossroads leaders recognize there will be “unique challenges and learning curves” as Crossroads progresses and team members adapt to new processes.

On its website Curantis states “Our mission is to give hospice and palliative caregivers the tools, support and confidence they need to focus on giving excellent care to their patients.”

Now more than 20 hospice companies subscribe to Curantis Solutions and the company is getting notice from some of the largest industry players. For longtime Crossroads team members who have been hearing about and waiting for the Curantis EMR, Perry and Clayton want to “thank you for sticking it out.” They know in the long run this EMR will be well worth the wait.

Perry, Clayton and Heather are all pleased that Crossroads and Curantis Solutions’ long collaboration has created an excellent EMR for hospice and palliative care providers. Now Heather wants to make sure team members have the support they need as they embrace managing all aspects of patient care in a new way, electronically.

Employee Assistance Program Offers Immediate Access Anytime

Twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week access to short-term counseling. That’s how accessible Crossroads’ EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is to team members. Available through the My Benefits Work app, Crossroads’ EAP benefit is a short-term, confidential counseling benefit.

In addition to the Teladoc Mental Health benefit Crossroads team members have access to, which provides therapist and psychiatry visits within 72 business hours, Telephonic EAP provides 24/7 access to short-term counseling, according to Brian Del Savio of New Benefits, Crossroads’ enhanced benefits partner.

Advice and referrals to other specialists including psychologists and psychiatrists can also result from reaching out to the EAP provider, Del Savio said when asked what he’d like Crossroads team members to know about their EAP benefit.

Referrals to experts who can assist with additional work life solutions like dealing with elder care, childcare, substance abuse, financial concerns, legal matters and stress management are all part of EAP’s menu of services.

We know team members’ days can be packed with action and stresses on the job and at home. That’s why we’re happy to make our EAP available to all Crossroads team members to use anonymously when and as they see fit.

This July, International Self-Care Month, Crossroads encourages you to take a moment to learn more about the free EAP benefit available through the My Benefits Work app. Learn more about how this can benefit you at this link or watch the recorded “My Benefits Work” webinar.

Tilting Toward the Light

By Danny Gutknecht
I ran across a post on LinkedIn this week about 98-year-old Bernice, a Crossroads patient. A former Harley-Davidson rider, she chose one more ride for her Gift of a Day. Postings like this usually don’t get much attention online, where popular platforms are littered with complaints and negativity. But as I was catching up on requests, the article about Bernice caught my attention and made me pause. How often do small acts of creativity and kindness slip past unnoticed?

Hugh Downs of television’s 20/20 once told me that he felt like the balance between dark and light in this world—tilts just barely toward the light. If that’s true, I think it’s too easy to forget the work it takes to keep the balance tilting towards the light. Perhaps Bernice’s ride is exactly that—a subtle push tipping humanity gently toward brightness.

The Greek word for the soul is “psyche.” Regardless of what people call it, something in us seeks expression through our imagination, and the work of life is to bring imagination and dreams into existence. Bernice’s motorcycle ride is a manifestation of collective imagination brought vividly into reality—both hers and the Crossroads caregivers’ who went beyond her physical needs, granting her soul freedom of expression in the final chapter of life.

If there is anything life teaches us, it’s that human connection thrives at the intersection of empathy and imagination. Think about it, this is an act of transforming routine care into something personal, liberating and touching. These actions, your actions, demonstrate that genuine care involves listening and responding to the soul’s wishes—in the language of experience. 

Bernice’s ride exemplifies the alchemical power of imaginative care. Such acts comfort and serve life in its latest moments, and importantly, they also nourish caregivers’ souls. It’s a reciprocal exchange—a spark of human connection that illuminates both giver and receiver.

The Gift of a Day might not be an everyday experience, but entering the lives of those facing the end of life is an everyday experience for a hospice worker. The daily creative acts, in many cases, are creating a more comforting atmosphere for patients and their families—a daily opportunity to ignite that spark. If you ever question this—just imagine the feeling, the quietness that happens when you close the door behind you. Or imaging if you were never there at all.

If you haven’t seen the post, visit Crossroads LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram and watch this inspiring moment. If it moves you, share it. Perhaps your post will inspire others to help tip the balance—just slightly more—toward the light

Ctrl + Alt + Reflect

By Emily Hammer
In a world obsessed with speed and productivity, pausing can feel counterintuitive—even indulgent. But clarity often arrives when we dare to step away from the noise.

We wake up, check our phones, handle responsibilities, scroll through social media, and repeat. We’re busy doing, but are we connecting with ourselves? Somewhere in the routine, it’s easy to lose track of who we are and what we want.

When was the last time you stopped long enough to ask:

• What do I actually like about my life right now?
• Where do I feel fulfilled? Where do I feel empty?
• What do I desire—beyond expectations?
• What might my purpose be right now?
• These questions don’t get answered on autopilot. They require space, stillness and ten honest minutes with your own thoughts.

At first, the quiet may feel uncomfortable. But in that space, you begin to hear your true desires—not the ones imposed on you. Maybe you’ll realize you’re craving deeper connection, or that you’re proud of your resilience, even if no one sees it, or perhaps you’ll admit a goal you’ve chased no longer fits—and that’s okay.

Reconnecting with yourself leads to intentional living. You make decisions from alignment, not pressure. You honor your desires instead of dismissing them. You stop performing and start belonging—to yourself.

And the ripple effect is powerful. Clarity breeds confidence. Purpose fuels persistence. Self-awareness becomes your compass when life throws its curveballs.

You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel more connected. You simply need curiosity and consistency. Start here:

• Journal honestly: “What’s lighting me up? Where do I feel stuck?”
• Take 15-minute reflection walks—without your phone.
• Ask yourself one meaningful question each week.
• Talk it out with someone safe.
• You aren’t here to survive your to-do list. You’re here to live, feel, grow, and experience the fullness of being you. But you can’t align with your purpose if you’re too busy rushing past it.

So today, press pause—and listen.