When is it Time for Hospice?

Hospice brings compassion, dignity and hope to people nearing life’s end

(Alexandria, Va) – There is a point when cure is no longer possible for someone with a life-limiting illness, but that does not mean a patient and family must abandon all hope. Through hospice care, there is still hope for a peaceful death; hope to spend final months, weeks or days free of pain; and hope for quality time with loved ones in the familiar surroundings of home.

“While there isn’t one specific point in an illness when a person should ask about hospice care, many hospice professionals would suggest that a person think about hospice long before he or she is in a medical crisis,” advises J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “In fact, learning about palliative care and hospice as options is something that should happen early in the course of a serious illness and not just in the final days.”

Hospices utilize a team of professionals and trained volunteers to provide expert medical care, pain-and-symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support to patients and family caregivers. All care is tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes.

Hospice helps patients and families focus on living as fully as possible.

“Hospice professionals can be important resources for patients and families, they can help a person figure out what goals are important and help them get their arms around the fact that their life may be coming to a close,” noted Schumacher.

Considered to be the model for high-quality, compassionate care for people nearing the end of life, hospice offers the services and support that Americans want when coping with life-limiting illness.

Last year, hospice cared for more than 1.56 million patients in the US. NHPCO estimates that 41.6 percent of all deaths in the US were under the care of a hospice program last year.

Facts about hospice:

• Most hospice care is provided in the home. Care is also provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospice centers
• Hospice care is fully covered by Medicare, private insurance, and by Medicaid in most states.
• Hospice care is not just for people with cancer. Hospices serve those with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, lung disease, HIV/AIDS – anyone who is facing a life-limiting illness.
• The hospice benefit pays for medications and medical equipment related to the illness.
• Hospice care is available as long as a doctor believes the patient is eligible.
• Hospice care can include complementary therapies, such as music and art, to bring additional comfort.
• Hospice’s offer grief support to the family following the death of a loved one.

“Ideally, a patient would receive hospice care for the final months of life – not just the final days,” stated Schumacher. “One of the most common sentiments from families who have been helped by hospice care is that they wish they had known about hospice sooner.”

A recent report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project looking at care for patients with advanced cancer at the end of life identified gaps between patient wishes and care received. This highlights the need for people to learn about all options available for care.

Additional research published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management found that Medicare beneficiaries who received hospice care lived on average 29 days longer than those who did not opt for hospice near the end of life.

For more information, contact your local hospice, visit NHPCO’s Caring Connections website at caringinfo.org, or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.

Elizabeth Edwards Presented with Person of the Year Award

Elizabeth Edwards Presented with Person of the Year Award by National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization at National Conference

(Alexandria, Va) – Minutes after Elizabeth Edwards was presented with NHPCO’s Person of the Year Award, she took a moment at the podium to look at her notes as a shout came from the audience, “We love you!” A wide smile brightened her face as the audience of 1,600 broke out in spontaneous applause, filling the room with positive energy and optimism that was reinforced by Edwards’ remarks.

Edwards received NHPCO’s Person of the Year Award in recognition of her work as a fierce advocate for improved and accessible healthcare. In addition, she was acknowledged for her courage in the face of serious illness and life’s challenges and her willingness to share lessons learned from her experiences.

J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president/CEO, honored Edwards at the April 23rd opening session of the organization’s annual Management and Leadership Conference in Washington, DC.
The Person of the Year Award honors an individual outside of the hospice and palliative care community who is a true supporter of the hospice cause.

“Mrs. Edwards is rallying for changes to the healthcare system that will improve access, quality and—for those facing the end of life—comfort and dignity. Her personal experience in coping with cancer, caring for aging and ill parents, and her professional work in the legal and policy areas have made her a passionate proponent for change,” Schumacher said in his introduction.

A key message Edwards brought to the assembled leaders from hospice and palliative care programs across the nation was the obligation we all have of making sure that every American gets the care they need, when they need it, wherever they are.

Edwards stressed that an individual facing illness should never be defined by his/her medical condition. This philosophy—that puts the person at the center of care and emphasizes the dignity and individuality of all people—is one shared by hospice and palliative care providers.

A poignant moment came at the conclusion of her plenary address when she said she knew that one day she would need hospice care as a patient, and she thanked the attendees and all hospice professionals who care so compassionately for patients and families at the end of life.

She received a standing ovation and then graciously spent the next two hours signing autographs and copies of her book, Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers.

Edwards served as the Honorary Chair of the National Hospice Foundation gala held the following Friday evening, which was attended by 600 guests. NHF’s annual gala is a philanthropic event supporting efforts to expand and improve care at the end of life.

As attention turns to the release of her new book and her publicized appearance on Oprah, NHPCO salutes Edwards for her efforts to advance care and compassion.

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Contact:

Jon Radulovic

Vice President, Communications

703-837-3139

jradulovic@nhpco.org

For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org

Capitol Hill Day a Success

NHPCO CAPITOL HILL DAY PARTICIPANTS TO CONGRESS: PROTECT ACCESS TO COMPASSIONATE & HIGH-QUALITY END-OF-LIFE CARE

(Alexandria, Va) – More than 500 Hospice Advocates from across the country met with their U.S. Senators and Representatives yesterday, urging them to protect access to compassionate and high-quality end-of-life care for the more than 1.4 million patients and families who depend on hospice each year.

The meetings were part of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s annual Capitol Hill Day. In addition to the meetings in Washington, D.C., thousands of phone calls were made to Congressional offices by Hospice Advocates, who participated in NHPCO’s inaugural Virtual Hill Day.

Throughout their interactions with Congress, NHPCO Hill Day participants emphasized the value of hospice in their communities, provided state-level data on quality and family satisfaction with hospice services provided, and urged lawmakers to support efforts to stop cuts in Medicare hospice funding that threaten to close the doors of hospice programs around the country.

In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a regulation that eliminates a key component of the Medicare hospice reimbursement formula known as the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF). The phased funding cut threatened 3,000 hospice provider jobs this year, as well as the survival of hospice programs, especially smaller and rural ones, across the country as the cuts were phased in. While a temporary moratorium on the hospice funding cuts was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it expires on September 30 of this year. Just this week, CMS released a proposed FY2010 Hospice Wage Index rule that would incorporate a 75 percent reduction in the BNAF, which is a 3.1 percent reduction in overall hospice reimbursement. This development underscores the urgency in rescinding the CMS rule.

NHPCO Hill Day participants specifically asked Members of Congress to sign on to a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama and to contact the Department of Health and Human Services about rescinding the 2008 CMS hospice funding cut before it goes into effect on October 1 of this year.

“This is a critical year for the hospice community, so it was important for our advocates to send a strong message to Capitol Hill about the importance of the high-quality services provided through hospice, and the fact that hospice is a cost-saver to Medicare. If these funding cuts are allowed to go forward, they will have a devastating effect on access to high-quality and compassionate end-of-life care,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of NHPCO.
In 2007, an independent, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study by Duke University found that hospice reduced Medicare costs by $2,300 per patient, amounting to more than $2 billion in savings per year.

Hill Day kicks off NHPCO’s annual Management & Leadership Conference, which attracts more than 1,600 members of the hospice community from all over the nation. Two hundred additional members of the hospice community joined the Hill Day participants for a reception honoring Hospice Champions on Capitol Hill at the new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Later in the week, the hospice community will also hear from Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform, and Elizabeth Edwards when she is recognized as NHPCO’s Person of the Year.

For more information about NHPCO’s Capitol Hill Day, please visit: www.nhpco.org/advocacy.

Media Contact:
Sara Perkins
Manager of Public Policy Communications
Ph: 703-837-3155
sperkins@nhpco.org

24th Management and Leadership Conference

Healthcare Reform, Advocacy, FDA Session and More on Agenda at National Hospice Leadership Conference in DC

DeParle, Edwards, FDA, Capitol Hill Day all highlights of NHPCO Management and

Leadership Conference April 22-25

(Alexandria, Va) – Over 1,600 hospice and palliative leaders, industry experts, and providers will gather to discuss the importance of hospice and palliative care in the healthcare reform debate and carry the voice of the hospice and palliative care community to Capitol Hill.

Plenary speakers include White House health reform “czar” Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Elizabeth Edwards, Patrick Lencioni, and J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president/CEO. They will discuss the how quality end-of-life care is critical to the wellbeing of our nation’s healthcare landscape.

Hospice advocates will bring important messages about end-of-life care to Capitol Hill on Wednesday reminding legislators that hospice provides more care that costs less to dying Americans and their families.

The Food and Drug Administration will participate in a special listening session to discuss the impact of opioid availability. Hosted by NHPCO, AAHPM, CAPC, and HPNA, this session will allow participants to ask questions about the FDA’s plans regarding opioid production.

NHPCO’s Management and Leadership Conference will feature more than 80 concurrent workshops, awards, networking opportunities, and more. Highlights include:

• Hospice Capitol Hill Day – Wednesday, April 22, an all day event ending with a reception at the Capitol Visitor’s Center beginning at 5:00pm.


• Elizabeth Edwards – “Reforming Healthcare and Improving End-of-Life Care: Awakening Our National Conscience,” Thursday, April 23, 8:30am. Mrs. Edwards will also receive NHPCO’s Person of the Year Award.


• Special FDA Listening Session – to discuss opioid availability, Thursday, April 23, 12:15-1:15pm.


• Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform – to discuss health care reform and hospice/palliative care, Friday, April 24, 8:30am.


• Patrick Lencioni – “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” Friday, April 24, 9:00am.


• National Hospice Foundation Gala and Awards – “Bricks and Diamonds,”Friday, April 24, 6:30 – 11:00pm. Omni-Shoreham Hotel, Regency Ballroom.
  

Advocacy in Action: Mobilizing People and Organizations to Lead Change

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization24th Management and Leadership ConferenceApril 22-25, 2009Omni-Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC
Those interested in attending may register at the conference registration desk.

Credentialed members of the media are invited. To RSVP prior to conference, contact Jon Radulovic. During conference, please check in at conference registration desk. Additional conference info available at www.nhpco.org/MLC2009.

Contact:

Jon Radulovic, vice president communications

Ph: 703-837-3139

Cell: 571-259-5026

jradulovic@nhpco.org

For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org

Elizabeth Edwards Opens NHPCO's 24th Management and Leadership Conference

Reforming Healthcare and Improving End-of-Life Care: Awakening Our National Conscience

Elizabeth Edwards is a strong and deeply committed advocate for improved and accessible healthcare. She was publicly introduced to America when her husband, then Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards, was launched into the spotlight in 2004. But it was her down-to-earth personality that charmed America.

Living with Strength, Comfort and Dignity
Mrs. Edwards knows from firsthand experience the need for changes to the healthcare system that will improve access, quality, and – for those facing the end of life – comfort and dignity.
Her personal experience in coping with cancer, caring for aging and ill parents and her professional work in the legal and policy areas have made her a passionate proponent for change.
Strength for the Future from the Foundation of the Past
Mrs. Edwards stated: “It is a test of our characters, individually and communally, what we value and honor when facing the end of life. Individually we do well: hospice professionals, who are trained, do extraordinarily well and even those, like me, who stumble through, do as well as can be expected. Communally, particularly as a nation, we do less well. The regulatory limitations on reimbursement for hospice care under Medicare do not reflect our national will that the ends of life – and all our lives will end – be as comfortable and dignified as possible.”

At NHPCO's 24th Management and Leadership Conference, Mrs. Edwards will share her ideas, perspectives and passion for improving healthcare during the opening plenary session. She will encourage the hospice community to hold fast to the values that founded the modern hospice movement while challenging all to continue to be champions for those at the end of life.
Make plans today to attend the premier end-of-life leadership conference.

• Agenda at a Glance


• Online Registration


• Mail or Fax Registration


• Conference Website

Register today to experience this special plenary session and over 100 innovative sessions at the 24th MLC.

• Preconference Seminars: April 21-22, 2009


• Main Conference: April 23-25, 2009


• Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.

For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org