A Message of Unity: from the Chair of the NHPCO Board of Directors to the Membership

Dear NHPCO Members,

As you may know, NHPCO is the nation’s largest leadership organization working on behalf of hospice and palliative care providers and the 60,000 professionals who work for these member organizations.  In its mission to lead patient- and family-centered care, NHPCO strives to meet the needs of all providers and professionals, but given the scope of our community, that is almost impossible.  Yet, it is always our purpose and desire to serve each provider for the greater good of the hospice and palliative care community and, ultimately, the people we all care for.

No matter how long you have been in the hospice and palliative care community, you are likely aware of the struggle that has brought various levels of division to our field over the past several years. Debates over organizational structure and program size have diverted attention from care and access, and in some cases have diminished the work of the professionals and volunteers that make interdisciplinary team care possible.   In sharing my thoughts with you, I would like to suggest that we, as a unified provider community, let go of these unproductive debates that waste valuable energy and focus.

NHPCO has been an organization that strives to empower each provider type to offer quality care and best practices within their organization, which then impacts the community’s most vulnerable people – those facing serious and life-limiting illness.  In fact, the NHPCO education, regulatory, quality standards, hospice & palliative care resources, and advocacy leadership have helped shape hospice and palliative care and helped raise the bar to the highest standards. 

In a time when the differences between providers can be stark, there are also many areas where we all share the same common daily goals.  In other words, we all share many aspects of the hospice and palliative care philosophy, while also knowing we have differences that make up each provider, thus giving us a diverse community.  In my mind, that is a great thing.

It surprises some people to learn that our membership is made up of 63% not-for-profit providers and 32% of for-profit providers, ranging from small to large organizations, various ownership types, primarily rural areas and primarily urban area providers as well as a combination of both (the remaining 5% is primarily government-based).

Even though I wish we could appreciate the fact that our diverse community shares many  common goals, I also know that we have differences that can cause us to stereotype and judge one another in a way that actually tears our “united voice” approach in our country and diminishes us all. 

The reason I am writing about this topic is that over the past few years and in recent months, we have watched splinter groups break away from our provider community. And it is impacting the overall membership of NHPCO and complicates the message to important audiences such as Congress, CMS, the Administration, and others.  NHPCO is still the largest and most respected voice advocating on behalf of legislative, executive, and regulatory efforts, and we want to keep it that way.  We need your help to bring a unified voice to our community in these challenging times.  That means we need to find ways that bring us together instead of continuing our current path where the united voice becomes weakened.

So, to find not only the ways that can strengthen unity and further our mission as a community and investigate the ways we are different while appreciating and honoring our diversity, the NHPCO Board of Directors has selected a United Voice Task Force.  This Task Force of 14 board members will research what providers have in common and what brings diversity to the provider community, as well as pursue recommendations that NHPCO can address within our diverse provider community and ensure we remain the largest and strongest voice of hospice and palliative care in our country.

Stay tuned for details about the United Voice Task Force and its progress throughout this year. (Please note, the task force members are listed below.) The plan is for the United Voice Task Force to bring recommendations to the NHPCO Board of Directors by the end of 2020 on how NHPCO can continue to support and represent all provider types, while also finding ways to strengthen our community and highlight the unique differences that make up the provider community.

Thank you for what you are doing in your community and thank you for helping us find our way through this changing landscape while holding on to the values that make hospice and palliative care a unique and effective healthcare option for those living with chronic and terminal illnesses while supporting their family, friends and caregivers.

With Gratitude,

Greg Wood, MS, LSW

Chair
NHPCO Board of Directors

NHPCO United Voice Task Force Members:

Greg Wood, Chair, Hospice of the Ozarks

Norman McRae, Vice Chair, Caris HealthCare, LP

Sally Aldrich, Baptist Trinity Hospice

Edo Banach, NHPCO

Samira Beckwith, Hope Healthcare

Regina Bodnar, Carroll Hospice

Peter Brunnick, Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region

Katy Lanz, TopSight, LLC

Tarrah Lowry, Sangre De Cristo Hospice & Palliative Care 

Sarah McSpadden, The Elizabeth Hospice

Joe Rogers, Hospice of Humboldt

Rafael Sciullo, Empath Health/Suncoast Hospice

Nick Westfall, VITAS Healthcare