Last April, at NHPCO’s Management and Leadership Conference, we rolled out the public phase of the National Hospice Foundation’s Capital Campaign for the National Center for Care at the End of Life. Some of you may already be aware of this important investment for the future of end-of-life care in this county. In fact, we’ve already raised $2.4 million of our $10 million goal, so things are off to a great start.
You may ask, “Why do we need a national center for end-of-life care?” Well, it has never been more important that we, as the nation’s hospice and palliative care community, have a permanent presence advancing our shared vision for care at the end of life. It is estimated that 70 million Americans will need hospice and palliative care services in the next 20 years, so what we do matters. As our nation grapples with challenges of healthcare delivery and costs, the need for us to strategically advocate for the dying has never been greater.
This Campaign will help ensure that we have a permanent home where skilled professionals can come together to accomplish the transformational work of care and compassion at the bedside.
The Cornerstone for Advancing Care and Compassion
The Washington-metropolitan area is a city of buildings that serve as “go to” destinations representing many organizations and causes. The National Center for Care at the End of Life will be the “go to” place dedicated to advancing and ensuring that high-quality care is available to everyone in need at life’s end.
I was moved by the enthusiasm that MLC attendees showed toward our Campaign. We have already finalized several naming opportunities for individuals and organizations that want to be a part of the National Center. If you or your colleagues need more information on how to be a part of the Campaign, visit the National Hospice Foundation website or contact the NHF team at 703-516-4928.
Providers, volunteers and supporters are all an important part of the hospice and palliative care community, and for that I am thankful.
I hope you’ll consider how you can become involved in supporting the National Center for Care at the End of Life.
Showing posts with label care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label care. Show all posts
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Position Statement on Ethical Marketing Practices Released by National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
(Alexandria, Va) – A position statement and commentary, Hospice and Palliative Care: Ethical Marketing Practices, has been released by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Approved by the NHPCO board of directors, this document reinforces the need for hospice and palliative care providers to utilize ethical marketing practices, which in turn, will ensure trust and support among those being served.
Ethical behavior exemplifies the foundational hospice values of service, respect, excellence, collaboration and stewardship. These values can both inspire and challenge end-of-life professionals as they promote services available in the community.
“Hospice and palliative care providers are caring for individuals and families who may be particularly vulnerable as they cope with serious and life-limiting illness. The highest ethical practices and standards are necessary from every single provider in the industry – with no exceptions,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.
“This position statement will help providers to establish accountability for sound ethical practices as they engage in marketing efforts and business development,” he added.
NHPCO’s position statement focuses on six key components:
1. Access to Care
2. Competition
3. Customer Service Excellence and Boundaries
4. Hospice and Palliative Care Organizations as Referral Sources
5. New Trends in Marketing and Communication
6. Traditional Media Marketing
NHPCO strongly believes that sound ethical practices are an essential component of quality.
The statement stresses that responsive admissions systems and personnel that meet patients’ and referral sources’ needs are hallmarks of service excellence. NHPCO further states that marketing practices should be evaluated and monitored frequently to avoid unethical decisions and behaviors.
NHPCO hopes the document serves as a catalyst for dialogue within and among organizations that provide hospice and palliative care—a dialogue that will support and reinforce ethical standards of practice.
Developed by the NHPCO Ethics Committee, Hospice and Palliative Care: Ethical Marketing Practices (PDF) is available on the NHPCO website.
# # #
Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Vice President, Communications
703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org
NHPCO's other position statements are available on the NHPCO website.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Dartmouth Atlas Report
US End-of-Life Care Changing: While Medicare Patients are Spending Less Time in Hospital, Those Admitted Receive More Intensive Care
Chronically ill Medicare patients spent fewer days in the hospital and received more hospice care in 2007 than they did in 2003, but at the same time there was an increase in the intensity of care for patients who were hospitalized, according to the Dartmouth Atlas Project report "Trends and Variation in End-of-Life Care for Medicare Beneficiaries with Severe Chronic Illness."
"It may be possible to reduce spending, while also improving the quality of care, by ensuring that patient preferences are more closely followed," said David C. Goodman, M.D., M.S., lead author and co-principal investigator.
Download the full report in PDF from Dartmouth Atlas website.
Monday, December 13, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Dartmouth Atlas Report Identifies Gap between Patient Wishes and Care Received
NHPCO Commends Dartmouth Atlas Project and Calls on Hospitals to Increase Access to Hospice Care
(Alexandria, Va) – A new report released today from the Dartmouth Atlas Project showing that individuals in some areas of the country are far less likely to receive comfort care in accordance with their wishes and has drawn the attention of the nation’s hospice and palliative care community.
This first-ever report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project on cancer care at the end of life, found that across the US, about 29 percent of patients with advanced cancer died in a hospital between 2003 and 2007. And in 50 academic medical centers, fewer than half of these patients received hospice care.
Furthermore, the study authors state that many patients are aggressively treated with curative therapies they may not want, and, “for frail elderly patients, and any patient with advanced cancer, these treatments have limited or no benefit.”
“The Dartmouth Atlas Project is to be commended for undertaking this thorough examination of end-of-life care for Medicare beneficiaries with advance cancer,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “While the findings of variation in care are not necessarily a surprise, one of the key messages that I take away from this report is the critical need for hospitals and all healthcare professionals to ensure that all patients are informed earlier about the course of an illness and the range of options available – options that include hospice and palliative care.”
The likelihood that a Medicare patient with advanced cancer will die with the support of hospice care, or in the hospital without hospice, varies markedly depending on where he or she lives and receives care. The percent of cancer patients dying in a hospital varied threefold among patients receiving most of their care at academic medical centers.
“It’s important to recognize that this report is not a negative comment on care in our nation’s hospitals or among academic medical centers, rather, it’s a much needed reminder that healthcare professionals must work to help patients and families understand where the course of their illness may take them. And, when cure is not possible, it is our duty to offer the robust benefits that the hospice team can provide,” added Schumacher.
Hospice care provides coordinated care delivered by a team of interdisciplinary professionals that are trained to address the special needs a person has at the end of life. The hospice team provides pain and symptom relief as well as emotional and spiritual support for the patient and the family.
More than 1.56 million Americans received care from the nation’s hospices last year. However, 34 percent of patients died or were discharged in seven days or less – too short a time to take full advantage of all of the services available under hospice, including support for family caregivers.
“In more than 30 years of running hospice programs, the most frequent comment I would hear from patients and families was why they didn’t learn about hospice care earlier,” Schumacher noted.
For several years, NHPCO’s Caring Connections has been providing healthcare professionals and consumers with information about care options and caregiving when facing serious or life-limiting illness. Information to help patients and family caregivers understand the benefits of hospice care, speak with physicians about care, or learn about advance care planning is available free of charge from NHPCO’s Caring Connections at www.CaringInfo.org or by calling the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
The Dartmouth Atlas Project is run by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and principally funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A link to the full study can be found at www.dartmouthatlas.org.
NHPCO is the oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States. NHPCO’s mission is to lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life, www.nhpco.org.
Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO, Vice President of Communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org
(Alexandria, Va) – A new report released today from the Dartmouth Atlas Project showing that individuals in some areas of the country are far less likely to receive comfort care in accordance with their wishes and has drawn the attention of the nation’s hospice and palliative care community.
This first-ever report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project on cancer care at the end of life, found that across the US, about 29 percent of patients with advanced cancer died in a hospital between 2003 and 2007. And in 50 academic medical centers, fewer than half of these patients received hospice care.
Furthermore, the study authors state that many patients are aggressively treated with curative therapies they may not want, and, “for frail elderly patients, and any patient with advanced cancer, these treatments have limited or no benefit.”
“The Dartmouth Atlas Project is to be commended for undertaking this thorough examination of end-of-life care for Medicare beneficiaries with advance cancer,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “While the findings of variation in care are not necessarily a surprise, one of the key messages that I take away from this report is the critical need for hospitals and all healthcare professionals to ensure that all patients are informed earlier about the course of an illness and the range of options available – options that include hospice and palliative care.”
The likelihood that a Medicare patient with advanced cancer will die with the support of hospice care, or in the hospital without hospice, varies markedly depending on where he or she lives and receives care. The percent of cancer patients dying in a hospital varied threefold among patients receiving most of their care at academic medical centers.
“It’s important to recognize that this report is not a negative comment on care in our nation’s hospitals or among academic medical centers, rather, it’s a much needed reminder that healthcare professionals must work to help patients and families understand where the course of their illness may take them. And, when cure is not possible, it is our duty to offer the robust benefits that the hospice team can provide,” added Schumacher.
Hospice care provides coordinated care delivered by a team of interdisciplinary professionals that are trained to address the special needs a person has at the end of life. The hospice team provides pain and symptom relief as well as emotional and spiritual support for the patient and the family.
More than 1.56 million Americans received care from the nation’s hospices last year. However, 34 percent of patients died or were discharged in seven days or less – too short a time to take full advantage of all of the services available under hospice, including support for family caregivers.
“In more than 30 years of running hospice programs, the most frequent comment I would hear from patients and families was why they didn’t learn about hospice care earlier,” Schumacher noted.
For several years, NHPCO’s Caring Connections has been providing healthcare professionals and consumers with information about care options and caregiving when facing serious or life-limiting illness. Information to help patients and family caregivers understand the benefits of hospice care, speak with physicians about care, or learn about advance care planning is available free of charge from NHPCO’s Caring Connections at www.CaringInfo.org or by calling the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
-###-
The Dartmouth Atlas Project is run by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and principally funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A link to the full study can be found at www.dartmouthatlas.org.
NHPCO is the oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States. NHPCO’s mission is to lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life, www.nhpco.org.
Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO, Vice President of Communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Researchers Find that Cancer Patients who Disenroll from Hospice have Increased Hospitalizations and are less likely to Die at Home
Disenrollment can have a Physical and Financial Toll
(Alexandria, Va) – According to a new study, patients with terminal cancer that disenrolled from hospice care had significantly higher rates of hospitalizations – including admission to the emergency department and intensive care unit – than patients who remained under the care of hospice. Furthermore, patients who disenrolled from hospice were more likely to die in the hospital than patients who remained with hospice until their deaths.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization hopes that healthcare professionals and policy makers will take time to look at this and other recent studies that help provide a better understanding of both the cost and quality-of-life benefits associated with the hospice experience, including honoring a patient’s wish to be able to die at home.
The study, which was led by researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, found that:
- 33.9 percent of the patients who disenrolled from hospice care were admitted to an emergency department, in contrast with only 3.1 percent of hospice patients.
- 39.8 percent of disenrolled patients were admitted to the hospital as an inpatient, in contrast with only 1.6 percent of hospice patients.
- Disenrolled patients spent an average of 19.3 days in the hospital, whereas hospice patients spent an average of 6.7 days.
- 9.6 percent of disenrolled patients died in the hospital, compared to only 0.2 percent of hospice patients.
- Costs of care for patients with cancer who disenrolled from hospice were nearly five times higher than for patients who remained with hospice.
“This study illustrates the tangible value of hospice care to patients who want to die at home, with the support of the hospice interdisciplinary team, surrounded by family rather than in a hospital connected to machines. There are significant emotional and financial benefits to the patient, family and healthcare system when hospices are caring for people,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. “In my 30 years running a hospice, I heard time and time again from families that wanted to keep their dying loved one at home.”
“There are numerous reasons why a patient may disenroll from hospice, and while those factors were not part of this study, we are reminded of the importance of advising patients and families as to the potential toll that might accompany leaving hospice care prematurely. A toll that may be physical, emotional, and financial,” added Schumacher.
Wrote the study authors, “Policy makers have called for tightening eligibility restrictions for the MHB (Medicare Hospice Benefit) as part of a wider effort to reduce high Medicare expenditures; our results suggest that addressing hospice disenrollment may be an effective means of reducing Medicare expenditures for hospice users without restriction access to the MHB.”
Further recommendations suggest that oncologists explore outpatient palliative care services that offer multidisciplinary care, symptom control, and end-of-life planning expertise in a context that enables a patient and family to maintain contact with the oncology clinic.
In his plenary address at NHPCO’s “Developing the Continuum of Care” conference held in Boston on August 5, Dr. Schumacher encouraged all hospice providers to explore ways that they can offer “pre-hospice” palliative care services in their communities and work with other providers to ensure patients and families have the right care at the right time from diagnosis on through bereavement for family.
More than 1.5 million patients with life-limiting illness receive care every year from the nation’s hospices.
Information about hospice and advance care planning is available from NHPCO’s Caring Connections. Visit caringinfo.org or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
August 2010 ChiPPS Newsletter Released
NHPCO’s Children’s Project on Palliative/Hospice Services has just released the new issue of its newsletter. This issue of the ChiPPS newsletter offers a PDF collection of articles that illustrate the importance of memory making and legacy building in pediatric palliative and hospice care. A message from NHPCO President and CEO J. Donald Schumacher was included – and is shared below.
(Download the PDF collection of articles)
A Message from Don Schumacher
On August 2, I opened NHPCO’s conference, Developing the Care Continuum, with a discussion about the importance of hospice and palliative care in the continuum of care. I wanted to share just a few thoughts with the readers of the ChiPPS newsletter.
I think many people would agree that the US healthcare system is quite fragmented – hence the importance of creating a continuum that includes hospice and palliative care. This must include pediatric palliative care.
Pediatric care has always been near to my heart and as quality-driven providers, we should be able to support the needs and/or assist in care coordination of all those coping serious and life-limiting illness – this includes children, adolescents, and their family members.
I recognize that pediatric palliative care is something many providers feel uncomfortable offering, but it is something we should understand more fully. We must expand our skill set and explore what resources are available to families in the communities we serve. I commend the work of the Children’s Project for Palliative/Hospice Services in developing new tools and resources to move the field forward.
Pediatric palliative care was specifically addressed in the health care reform legislation passed this year. This was a provision that NHPCO strongly lobbied for. The law allows children who are enrolled in either Medicaid or CHIP to receive hospice services without foregoing curative treatment related to a life-limiting illness. This should provide for a more seamless continuum.
When there is a seamless care continuum, providers work together to develop a coordinated plan that addresses all the needs of the patient and family caregivers. Those of you involved in pediatric palliative care know all too well that the needs of these seriously ill young people and families encompass physical, emotional, social, spiritual, nutritional and financial as well as practical and logistical needs. Care and services should be coordinated by professionals who understand the range of options available and appropriate in each situation.
I also want to stress that the concept of the care continuum is not – indeed, cannot be – solely geared to hospice providers. I know there are many hospice professionals working with ChiPPS but there are many others representing a range of provider types and disciplines, and we all must be involved with the development of the care continuum. Working together towards the creation of a seamless continuum will require us to collaborate and partner in a more expansive way than we’ve ever seen in the hospice community.
I believe that every single hospice provider needs to offer non-hospice palliative care. If you do not, somebody else will. Hospices are the experts in serious and life-limiting illness in their communities and they must be leaders in developing a seamless continuum of care.
So what I’m hoping is that hospices in the United States, in addition to the wonderful things they already do providing care in the last months of life, will become more visible and available as providers of or experts in pediatric palliative care.
Thank you for all you do to advance care for young people and their families.
J. Donald Schumacher, PsyD
NHPCO President and CEO
(Download the PDF collection of articles)
A Message from Don Schumacher
On August 2, I opened NHPCO’s conference, Developing the Care Continuum, with a discussion about the importance of hospice and palliative care in the continuum of care. I wanted to share just a few thoughts with the readers of the ChiPPS newsletter.
I think many people would agree that the US healthcare system is quite fragmented – hence the importance of creating a continuum that includes hospice and palliative care. This must include pediatric palliative care.
Pediatric care has always been near to my heart and as quality-driven providers, we should be able to support the needs and/or assist in care coordination of all those coping serious and life-limiting illness – this includes children, adolescents, and their family members.
I recognize that pediatric palliative care is something many providers feel uncomfortable offering, but it is something we should understand more fully. We must expand our skill set and explore what resources are available to families in the communities we serve. I commend the work of the Children’s Project for Palliative/Hospice Services in developing new tools and resources to move the field forward.
Pediatric palliative care was specifically addressed in the health care reform legislation passed this year. This was a provision that NHPCO strongly lobbied for. The law allows children who are enrolled in either Medicaid or CHIP to receive hospice services without foregoing curative treatment related to a life-limiting illness. This should provide for a more seamless continuum.
When there is a seamless care continuum, providers work together to develop a coordinated plan that addresses all the needs of the patient and family caregivers. Those of you involved in pediatric palliative care know all too well that the needs of these seriously ill young people and families encompass physical, emotional, social, spiritual, nutritional and financial as well as practical and logistical needs. Care and services should be coordinated by professionals who understand the range of options available and appropriate in each situation.
I also want to stress that the concept of the care continuum is not – indeed, cannot be – solely geared to hospice providers. I know there are many hospice professionals working with ChiPPS but there are many others representing a range of provider types and disciplines, and we all must be involved with the development of the care continuum. Working together towards the creation of a seamless continuum will require us to collaborate and partner in a more expansive way than we’ve ever seen in the hospice community.
I believe that every single hospice provider needs to offer non-hospice palliative care. If you do not, somebody else will. Hospices are the experts in serious and life-limiting illness in their communities and they must be leaders in developing a seamless continuum of care.
So what I’m hoping is that hospices in the United States, in addition to the wonderful things they already do providing care in the last months of life, will become more visible and available as providers of or experts in pediatric palliative care.
Thank you for all you do to advance care for young people and their families.
J. Donald Schumacher, PsyD
NHPCO President and CEO
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Promising Steps
I am heading to our conference on “Developing the Care Continuum” next week and I’m looking forward to what I know will be some thoughtful, forward-thinking discussions. Devoting an entire event to exploring the various ways we can become more visible, more available, and more valuable to the people in our communities is, in itself, a forward-thinking strategy—and also very timely.
Greater attention will be placed on improving care coordination and eliminating duplicative services as the health reform law is implemented over the next several years. All hospices, not just a select few, need to begin thinking, planning, and taking steps toward greater collaboration or the diversification of their services if they want to grow their census. Palliative care is certainly one option that is already on the rise in hospitals. However, other services are also helping hospices to establish relationships with patients and other providers earlier in the life cycle. In the coming weeks, NHPCO will make available both webcasts and session tapes from the conference to help members who were unable to attend.
Be mindful, too, of the positive steps that are also being taken here in Washington (yes, Washington!):
I know that running a hospice program today is not easy, given the regulatory and economic challenges of our times. As one colleague admitted, “it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds.” But it is far too critical a time to let that happen. This new decade holds much promise—if we are all poised and ready to be part of it.
Don
Greater attention will be placed on improving care coordination and eliminating duplicative services as the health reform law is implemented over the next several years. All hospices, not just a select few, need to begin thinking, planning, and taking steps toward greater collaboration or the diversification of their services if they want to grow their census. Palliative care is certainly one option that is already on the rise in hospitals. However, other services are also helping hospices to establish relationships with patients and other providers earlier in the life cycle. In the coming weeks, NHPCO will make available both webcasts and session tapes from the conference to help members who were unable to attend.
Be mindful, too, of the positive steps that are also being taken here in Washington (yes, Washington!):
- From our conversations with Senator Ron Wyden, we know the Concurrent Care Demonstration Project is now taking shape. This three-year project, which will be conducted by CMS, will monitor patients at 15 different hospice programs who will be permitted to receive other Medicare-covered services as well as hospice care. The goal is to evaluate the impact of concurrent care on the patient and family’s quality of life as well as the cost of care. It has the potential to strengthen the bridge between hospice and palliative care—and may be another good reason to consider a partnership or expansion into palliative care.
- Undaunted by the ‘death panel’ debacle of last summer, Representative Earl Blumenauer has also re-introduced legislation calling for Medicare and Medicaid to cover voluntary consultations about end-of-life care planning between patients and their physicians. NHPCO worked with the Congressman to help advance this valuable legislation, including a formal letter of support.
I know that running a hospice program today is not easy, given the regulatory and economic challenges of our times. As one colleague admitted, “it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds.” But it is far too critical a time to let that happen. This new decade holds much promise—if we are all poised and ready to be part of it.
Don
Monday, June 14, 2010
A Message from Don Schumacher, June 2010
Becoming a Larger Part of the Care Continuum
My opening plenary at the Management and Leadership Conference in April touched on many issues that, as an industry, we must be keenly aware of—and address together. In the limited space I have here, I’d like to talk about one of the issues of increasing import right now. That is, finding additional ways to serve more people in our communities.
I actually raised this issue when I became NHPCO’s president/CEO in 2002. As an industry, we were far too dependent on reimbursement from the very fragile Medicare system—and we still are today. While hospice payment reform will be the ultimate catalyst for change, my hope is that all providers will begin taking steps now to assess the needs in their community and explore ways to utilize their skills to meet their broader community’s needs. This is what I mean when I speak of becoming a larger part of the ‘care continuum.’ Much of my plenary address was devoted to this issue and I truly believe it is the very crux of our future success or demise as an industry.
The diversification or expansion of our services is, of course, not a quick or easy task to undertake. It requires planning and a thoughtful business strategy. But it is doable—there are programs which are now demonstrating just how doable it is.
Some hospices are now offering adult day care and home-diversion programs, others have become PACE providers, and still others are expanding into palliative care. In some cases, these providers are partnering with other organizations and in other cases they are going it alone. So I ask that you study the work now being done; explore various reimbursement models, including community-based waiver programs; and identify and begin dialog with potential partners in your community. Our cover story this month shares the process that Pathways Hospice followed to develop its community grief center in Fort Collins, Colorado—an excellent example of how one program assessed a community need and, building on a core strength, expanded its services. Our thanks to Nancy Jakobson, director of the center, for sharing her program’s experience with us.
In the coming months, NHPCO will be providing tools and resources to help you in this process. Our specialty conference in August, “Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Care Needs of Patients/Families” will also serve as a dynamic forum to help jumpstart discussions among providers.
I encourage every provide-member to find additional ways to become a larger part of the care continuum. If we don’t step up, others will—leaving our industry a very marginalized component of the nation’s new healthcare system.
Don
Note: Don’s monthly message appears in NewsLine; members can access this month’s and previous issues at www.nhpco.org/newsline.
My opening plenary at the Management and Leadership Conference in April touched on many issues that, as an industry, we must be keenly aware of—and address together. In the limited space I have here, I’d like to talk about one of the issues of increasing import right now. That is, finding additional ways to serve more people in our communities.
I actually raised this issue when I became NHPCO’s president/CEO in 2002. As an industry, we were far too dependent on reimbursement from the very fragile Medicare system—and we still are today. While hospice payment reform will be the ultimate catalyst for change, my hope is that all providers will begin taking steps now to assess the needs in their community and explore ways to utilize their skills to meet their broader community’s needs. This is what I mean when I speak of becoming a larger part of the ‘care continuum.’ Much of my plenary address was devoted to this issue and I truly believe it is the very crux of our future success or demise as an industry.
The diversification or expansion of our services is, of course, not a quick or easy task to undertake. It requires planning and a thoughtful business strategy. But it is doable—there are programs which are now demonstrating just how doable it is.
Some hospices are now offering adult day care and home-diversion programs, others have become PACE providers, and still others are expanding into palliative care. In some cases, these providers are partnering with other organizations and in other cases they are going it alone. So I ask that you study the work now being done; explore various reimbursement models, including community-based waiver programs; and identify and begin dialog with potential partners in your community. Our cover story this month shares the process that Pathways Hospice followed to develop its community grief center in Fort Collins, Colorado—an excellent example of how one program assessed a community need and, building on a core strength, expanded its services. Our thanks to Nancy Jakobson, director of the center, for sharing her program’s experience with us.
In the coming months, NHPCO will be providing tools and resources to help you in this process. Our specialty conference in August, “Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Care Needs of Patients/Families” will also serve as a dynamic forum to help jumpstart discussions among providers.
I encourage every provide-member to find additional ways to become a larger part of the care continuum. If we don’t step up, others will—leaving our industry a very marginalized component of the nation’s new healthcare system.
Don
Note: Don’s monthly message appears in NewsLine; members can access this month’s and previous issues at www.nhpco.org/newsline.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
June 2010 Palliative Care Grand Rounds
The June Palliative Care Grand Rounds, a "monthly blog carnival" highlighting blog post focusing on hospice, palliative care and grief matters, is being hosted this month by Julie Rosen at the Schwartz Center Blog. Check it out today!
The views expressed in the Palliative Care Grand Rounds are the sole responsibility of the authors of each blog highlighted and does not necessarily reflect the views of NHPCO, this blog or its editors.
The views expressed in the Palliative Care Grand Rounds are the sole responsibility of the authors of each blog highlighted and does not necessarily reflect the views of NHPCO, this blog or its editors.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wear a White Ribbon to Raise Awareness of Advance Care Planning
Fifth Anniversary of Terri Schiavo’s Death:
Wear a White Ribbon to Raise Awareness of Advance Care Planning
Wear a White Ribbon to Raise Awareness of Advance Care Planning
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Reminds People, “It’s About How You LIVE”
(Alexandria, Va) – Five years ago national attention was riveted as the husband and parents of Terri Schiavo waged a very public legal battle regarding who had authority to determine if she would have wanted artificial means to prolong her life. While many Americans learned about the importance of planning for critical healthcare decisions before a crisis, two-thirds of the public have not completed an advance directive.
As the fifth anniversary of Ms. Schiavo’s death approaches on March 31, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization is encouraging all Americans to wear a white ribbon to increase awareness of advance care planning. The ribbon also reminds people of the importance of both documenting wishes by completing an advance directive, and talking with their loved ones about their care decisions before a medical crisis.
An individual’s preferences for the kind of medical care they would or would not want are very personal and important decisions. Advance care planning lets you decide the kind of healthcare you want at the end of your life—and helps you make your wishes known.
“It doesn’t matter whether you want every medical intervention available up until the day you die, or whether you want to spend the final period of your life receiving what many call ‘comfort care,’—it should be your decision,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.
“Another critical piece of advance care planning includes talking about your decisions with your loved ones, healthcare providers, clergy, and others important to you,” Schumacher added.
People are occasionally confused by the terms associated with advance care planning. One aspect of an advance directive, called a living will, lets you explain the care you would want. An advance directive also includes a healthcare power-of-attorney which enables you to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf should you not be able to speak for yourself.
The advance care planning ribbon was created by NHPCO’s consumer-engagement program, Caring Connections, to help people focus on the message: “It’s About How You LIVE.” The vision of the LIVE campaign is to motivate people to take at least one step along a continuum of learning, implementing, voicing and engaging in end-of-life issues before a crisis arises.
Advance Care Planning Ribbon Campaign materials are available online and include pledge cards, flyers, Powerpoint presentations and more. (Note: Advance Care Ribbon lapel pins are available from NHPCO's Marketplace.)
Two weeks after this anniversary, annual National Healthcare Decisions Day will be observed in communities across the country. This national day of awareness, held on April 16 every year, is promoted by national, state, and local organizations including healthcare providers, advocacy groups, attorneys, and other organizations. Learn more about this day of outreach at nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org.
More information about advance care planning is available at caringinfo.org/planningahead or by calling the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO, Vice President of Communications
703/837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Los Angeles Times Series on End-of-Life Care
There is a great series of three articles on end-of-life care that appears in the Los Angeles Times. I was interviewed for the article, “Hospice care helps patients and loved ones” that ran in print January 25. The writers for the pieces spoke with many well known names in the field. There are some very poignant photographs that accompany the series as well.
Media attention to the range of issues involving care at the end-of-life are always important and this series, which is available on the LA Times website, will certainly provide a great deal of helpful information to those not familiar with some of the issues involved in care at the end of life.
“Hospice care helps patients and loved ones: More patients use the service for end-of-life care. But what is it? “
January 25, 2010
“Study: Doctors delay communicating end-of-life care issues with terminally ill patients “
January 25, 2010
“Choices at the end of life”
January 22, 2010
I was pleased to see that NHPCO's Caring Connections website, www.caringinfo.org, was offered as a resource for those looking for advance directives and information on advance care planning.
Media attention to the range of issues involving care at the end-of-life are always important and this series, which is available on the LA Times website, will certainly provide a great deal of helpful information to those not familiar with some of the issues involved in care at the end of life.
“Hospice care helps patients and loved ones: More patients use the service for end-of-life care. But what is it? “
January 25, 2010
“Study: Doctors delay communicating end-of-life care issues with terminally ill patients “
January 25, 2010
“Choices at the end of life”
January 22, 2010
I was pleased to see that NHPCO's Caring Connections website, www.caringinfo.org, was offered as a resource for those looking for advance directives and information on advance care planning.
Friday, January 22, 2010
NHF Donates $15,000 for Haitian Earthquake Relief
$15,000 for Haitian Earthquake Relief
Usings funds from our Disaster Relief Fund, we were able to donate an initial $15,000 to Haitian earthquake relief. Three organizations doing on-the-ground work in Haiti have each received $5,000: Holy Angels Hospice, Partners in Health, and the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (Albert Schweitzer Hospital). We invite you to donate directly to these organizatons or make a contribution to NHF's Disaster Relief Fund.
Just like everybody who has been watching the heartbreaking images from Haiti, NHF’s board and staff have reacted with horror and sadness to the tragedy unfolding in that nation,” said J. Donald Schumacher, President & CEO. “We were so grateful that past donations to the NHF Disaster Relief Fund allowed us to respond quickly with cash to these three fine organizations. It feels good to know we are doing something tangible to help in the wake of such devastation.”
Holy Angels Hospice & Orphanage is located in Port-au-Prince. Although much of the capital city has been destroyed, their facility is still standing. Holy Angels is in dire need of financial resources to ramp up service provision. Prior to the earthquake, they focused exclusively on caring for children. With the enormous need created by the earthquake, Holy Angels plans to expand their services.
Partners in Health (PIH) is a Boston-based international health agency that has been working in Haiti for more than 20 years. PIH works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. The work of PIH has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world. Right now in Haiti, one of PIH’s main goals is to help with pain relief. PIH has deep roots and a major presence in Haiti, particularly in the Central Plateau region that sits northeast of Port-au-Prince.
The Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) is located 42 miles outside of Port-au-Prince and escaped damage, although buildings even further away from the capital city were destroyed. According to the hospital director, the 120-bed hospital went over capacity within minutes following the earthquake and the staff of 200 immediately shifted into a mass casualty protocol. With so many of the injured arriving with broken or crushed bones, the x-ray machines and operating rooms are in constant use.
Knowing that the need for assistance is both immediate and long-term, NHF will monitor the situation in Haiti and make additional donations during the long period of rebuilding.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
What Does the Future Care Continuum Look Like?
Create the future care continuum for those facing the end-of-life by lending your expertise to a conference devoted to creating a seamless system of care. Serve as faculty for the National Conference on Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Care Needs of Patients/Families, in Boston, MA from August 5 – 7, 2010. National experts and local providers will gather in Boston to explore best practices and innovative models and your voice is needed. Submit a proposal for a 30, 60 or 90 minute session that demonstrates significant work and achievement in meeting one or more of the conference objectives and that features innovative program models, methods, strategies and approaches to care for children, adults and seniors in the last phase of life. The Call for Proposals is open through February 8 and will not be extended.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wishing You a Peaceful Holiday Season
As the year comes to a close, I would like to thank each one of you, our members, who have offered so much support to NHPCO throughout this very busy year. There have been issues, large and small, that we have had to confront together and I think we’ve risen to the challenge time and time again.
I am so proud of the spirit of collaboration that is so palpable within our community. For this willingness to work together and support one another, I am indeed grateful.
During this holiday season, I encourage you to cherish time spent with your families and loved ones. On a personal note, this holiday season will be particularly poignant for me as I prepare to welcome my first grandchild.
We care for people on a daily basis, most often during one of life’s most challenging journeys. I hope that every one of you find the same peace and kindness that you so generously provide to the people you serve. Enjoy the special gifts found in quiet moments of reflection and in unexpected acts of kindness.
On behalf of the NHPCO board of directors, our staff and our affiliate organizations, I wish you a peaceful holiday season and a happy New Year!
Don
**********
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
New Facts & Figures - Concern over short stays.
NHPCO Cites Concern Over Growing Short Length of Service in New Facts and Figures on Hospice Care in the U.S.
New Report on Hospice Care in America Released as November’s National Hospice/Palliative Care Month Begins
(Alexandria, Va) – More than 35 percent (35.4) of patients served by hospices in 2008 died or were discharged in seven days or less reports the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. This reflects a 4.6 percent increase from 2007, when 30.8 percent of patients had what is considered a short hospice experience.
Patients and families receiving care for seven days or less are often unable to take full advantage of the range of benefits that the hospice interdisciplinary team provides. These benefits include psychosocial support and spiritual care for patients and their families as well as pain management and symptom control,
While the average length of service increased from 67.4 days in 2007 to 69.5 days in 2008, the jump in patients receiving care for a short time is of concern to hospice providers and NHPCO.
Only 12.1 percent of those served died or were discharged with service of 180 days or more.
These statistics are featured in the report, “NHPCO Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America,” which was released by NHPCO as the hospice and palliative care community begins to mark National Hospice/Palliative Care Month, an annual month of awareness and outreach celebrated every November.
NHPCO emphasizes the value of hospice care over the last months of a person’s life, not just the last days.
“More awareness of the care options available when facing a serious or life-limiting illness—among both the public and healthcare professionals—is still needed,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.
“The advance care planning provision that has been so hotly debated in health care reform discussions could be an important mechanism for helping dying Americans avoid hospice experiences that are too short to fully help them or their family caregivers.”
Learning about options before a patient and family are faced with a health crisis is strongly recommended by NHPCO. Hospices frequently provide information to community members interested in advance care planning.
Additional information about hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is available from NHPCO’s Caring Connections at www.caringinfo.org or by calling the HelpLine at 800-658-8898.
“NHPCO Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America,” is available in the News Room at www.nhpco.org.
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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Vice President of Communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Friday, August 14, 2009
Misinformation, Health Care Reform, and the Media
A Message from J. Donald Schumacher
August 14, 2009
Misinformation, Health Care Reform, and the Media
As many people know, NHPCO has been working actively to clarify misinformation among national and regional media regarding health care reform legislation. An important part of our outreach has been to correctly explain the advance care planning provision and stress the value of this benefit for all Americans.
NHPCO leadership have spoken with reporters and producers with all the major network news outlets, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, as well as the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, and many others.
Some highlights include NHPCO's Kathy Brandt interview on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and Jon Keyserling’s interview on CNBC. NHPCO also provided information for the new feature that debuted on ABC Evening News with Charlie Gibson, "Fact Check," where the inaugural issue on this new segment was the misinformation about the advance care planning provision.
It's difficult to hear false and misleading statements in the media but rest assured that we are responding as effectively as possible. NHPCO offers some information that may be helpful. This includes:
• Talking Points on advance care planning and health care reform.
• NHPCO’s press release from August 7.
• NHPCO’s analysis about the advance care planning provision in the House’s bill.
NHPCO’s Caring Connections has some useful information about advance care planning that helps explain what it is, including a new piece that uses metaphor to explain the concepts:
• What is Advance Care Planning
• Healthcare Agents: Choosing One and Being One
• Preparing Your Advance Directives
• NEW - Are You Traveling without a Map? A layperson's guide to advance care planning (PDF)
There have been any number of excellent news reports, articles and op-eds that clarify the misinformation but those are often overshadowed by the conflict. Here are some links of interest that people may be interested in looking over:
• "Honest Talk About the End," Newsweek, by Eleanor Clift, 07/31/09.
• "Elderly Americans should read the health care bill: It won't kill them," Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Connie Schultz, 08/02/09.
• "Getting health care healthy: Accepting death outside the hospital," * Chicago Tribune, by Anne Moore, 08/05/09.
• "Health Care Reform: The Assault on Truth," AARP Bulletin Today, 08/14/09.
• “Here’s the truth, Granny,” Obit Magazine, by Judy Bachrach, 08/11/09.
• "Health Care: Will Section 1233 Hasten Patient Deaths?" American Center for Law & Justice (from Christianity Today), 08/11/09.
• "Three Myths about the Ethics of Health Care Reform," Association of Bioethics Program Directors.
• "Advance-directives section fueling concern and, hospice officials say, misunderstanding," Winston-Salem Journal, 08/13/09.
• “While others rant, hospice keeps helping,” Orlando Sentinel, 08/14/09.
• “Doctors Providing End-Of-Life Counseling See Benefit In Current Controversy,” Kaiser Health News, 08/14/09.
At NHPCO, we will continue to do our best to provide accurate information that we hope will help Americans understand the value of advance care planning.
The importance of patient wishes have always been integral to the hospice philosophy of care and we understand why the provision in the House bill would only serve to benefit Americans. We also understand how complicated and challenging issues surrounding death and dying are for many people. And when faced with what seems like sweeping change in health care reform discussions, it is understandable that many people are passionate—and frightened. Yet, I have faith that in the days ahead, the truth about caring for people at the end of life and the importance of advance care planning will begin to spread where there has been misinformation and false accusation.
To cite our outreach materials, hospice and palliative care are about how you live. Making one’s wishes know is an important part of life’s journey.
I encourage all hospice and palliative care providers to continue with the important work they do to help patients and families and their broad communities. I am proud to be working with such a dedicated community—all those providing hospice and palliative care.
Thank you.
J. Donald Schumacher
President and CEO
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
August 14, 2009
Misinformation, Health Care Reform, and the Media
As many people know, NHPCO has been working actively to clarify misinformation among national and regional media regarding health care reform legislation. An important part of our outreach has been to correctly explain the advance care planning provision and stress the value of this benefit for all Americans.
NHPCO leadership have spoken with reporters and producers with all the major network news outlets, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, as well as the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, and many others.
Some highlights include NHPCO's Kathy Brandt interview on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and Jon Keyserling’s interview on CNBC. NHPCO also provided information for the new feature that debuted on ABC Evening News with Charlie Gibson, "Fact Check," where the inaugural issue on this new segment was the misinformation about the advance care planning provision.
It's difficult to hear false and misleading statements in the media but rest assured that we are responding as effectively as possible. NHPCO offers some information that may be helpful. This includes:
• Talking Points on advance care planning and health care reform.
• NHPCO’s press release from August 7.
• NHPCO’s analysis about the advance care planning provision in the House’s bill.
NHPCO’s Caring Connections has some useful information about advance care planning that helps explain what it is, including a new piece that uses metaphor to explain the concepts:
• What is Advance Care Planning
• Healthcare Agents: Choosing One and Being One
• Preparing Your Advance Directives
• NEW - Are You Traveling without a Map? A layperson's guide to advance care planning (PDF)
There have been any number of excellent news reports, articles and op-eds that clarify the misinformation but those are often overshadowed by the conflict. Here are some links of interest that people may be interested in looking over:
• "Honest Talk About the End," Newsweek, by Eleanor Clift, 07/31/09.
• "Elderly Americans should read the health care bill: It won't kill them," Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Connie Schultz, 08/02/09.
• "Getting health care healthy: Accepting death outside the hospital," * Chicago Tribune, by Anne Moore, 08/05/09.
• "Health Care Reform: The Assault on Truth," AARP Bulletin Today, 08/14/09.
• “Here’s the truth, Granny,” Obit Magazine, by Judy Bachrach, 08/11/09.
• "Health Care: Will Section 1233 Hasten Patient Deaths?" American Center for Law & Justice (from Christianity Today), 08/11/09.
• "Three Myths about the Ethics of Health Care Reform," Association of Bioethics Program Directors.
• "Advance-directives section fueling concern and, hospice officials say, misunderstanding," Winston-Salem Journal, 08/13/09.
• “While others rant, hospice keeps helping,” Orlando Sentinel, 08/14/09.
• “Doctors Providing End-Of-Life Counseling See Benefit In Current Controversy,” Kaiser Health News, 08/14/09.
At NHPCO, we will continue to do our best to provide accurate information that we hope will help Americans understand the value of advance care planning.
The importance of patient wishes have always been integral to the hospice philosophy of care and we understand why the provision in the House bill would only serve to benefit Americans. We also understand how complicated and challenging issues surrounding death and dying are for many people. And when faced with what seems like sweeping change in health care reform discussions, it is understandable that many people are passionate—and frightened. Yet, I have faith that in the days ahead, the truth about caring for people at the end of life and the importance of advance care planning will begin to spread where there has been misinformation and false accusation.
To cite our outreach materials, hospice and palliative care are about how you live. Making one’s wishes know is an important part of life’s journey.
I encourage all hospice and palliative care providers to continue with the important work they do to help patients and families and their broad communities. I am proud to be working with such a dedicated community—all those providing hospice and palliative care.
Thank you.
J. Donald Schumacher
President and CEO
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monthly Message from NHPCO's President and CEO Don Schumacher
July 2009
Exploring Multiple Pathways to Earlier Referrals
Our cover story this month draws needed attention to the myths surrounding palliative care. Much like hospice, palliative care is not being fully utilized within our nation’s healthcare system due to sheer misunderstanding on the part of patients and physicians. As the author notes, there are nearly one million patients who are dying in hospitals or other institutions each year who are unaware of the palliative care services available to them—care that would not only help them, but would also reduce hospital and pharmacy costs.
While it’s certainly our collective responsibility to help educate our communities about palliative care, we are missing a very important opportunity if we don’t do more—if we don’t expand into palliative care ourselves. In one of my first conference plenary addresses as president/CEO of NHPCO, I urged members to “think outside the Medicare Hospice Benefit box” and explore palliative care as a pathway to earlier referrals. I was not asking members to do something I had not done myself. While president/CEO of a hospice program in Buffalo, I was one of the first providers to integrate palliative care into our continuum of care and saw firsthand the many benefits of such expansion.
Today, with healthcare reform very much a reality and with CMS now looking at ways to serve more Americans more cost effectively, there is even greater reason to expand our expertise into other cost-effective services. Palliative care is a natural fit for hospice providers.
Opportunities at the National Level
This month’s secondary feature recaps findings from NHPCO’s recent Economic Impact Survey. Understandably, most programs reported a reduction in revenue, with reasons ranging from reductions in average daily census to expected reductions in philanthropic contributions and changes in payment rates. First, on behalf of NHPCO, my thanks to all of you who took time to respond. Secondly, NHPCO hears you.
While NHPCO can’t address all of the factors that are impacting your bottom line, we are committing significant resources to the one that poses the greatest threat to the majority of members—Medicare Hospice Benefit rates. In partnership with The Alliance for Care at the End of Life, protecting these rates remains our top priority (see page 16 for an update on our advocacy efforts). However, we are also exploring other ways to improve your bottom line through expansion of the Benefit. NHPCO’s Public Policy Committee recently approved two potential demonstration projects to examine concurrent care and transitional care, both of which would enable hospice providers to build relationships with patients and families earlier in the illness trajectory and, in so doing, improve hospice utilization.
A favorite expression of mine reminds us that there are, indeed, many paths up a mountain. In today’s hospice environment, we must be open—and willing—to explore them all.
Exploring Multiple Pathways to Earlier Referrals
Our cover story this month draws needed attention to the myths surrounding palliative care. Much like hospice, palliative care is not being fully utilized within our nation’s healthcare system due to sheer misunderstanding on the part of patients and physicians. As the author notes, there are nearly one million patients who are dying in hospitals or other institutions each year who are unaware of the palliative care services available to them—care that would not only help them, but would also reduce hospital and pharmacy costs.While it’s certainly our collective responsibility to help educate our communities about palliative care, we are missing a very important opportunity if we don’t do more—if we don’t expand into palliative care ourselves. In one of my first conference plenary addresses as president/CEO of NHPCO, I urged members to “think outside the Medicare Hospice Benefit box” and explore palliative care as a pathway to earlier referrals. I was not asking members to do something I had not done myself. While president/CEO of a hospice program in Buffalo, I was one of the first providers to integrate palliative care into our continuum of care and saw firsthand the many benefits of such expansion.
Today, with healthcare reform very much a reality and with CMS now looking at ways to serve more Americans more cost effectively, there is even greater reason to expand our expertise into other cost-effective services. Palliative care is a natural fit for hospice providers.
Opportunities at the National Level
This month’s secondary feature recaps findings from NHPCO’s recent Economic Impact Survey. Understandably, most programs reported a reduction in revenue, with reasons ranging from reductions in average daily census to expected reductions in philanthropic contributions and changes in payment rates. First, on behalf of NHPCO, my thanks to all of you who took time to respond. Secondly, NHPCO hears you.
While NHPCO can’t address all of the factors that are impacting your bottom line, we are committing significant resources to the one that poses the greatest threat to the majority of members—Medicare Hospice Benefit rates. In partnership with The Alliance for Care at the End of Life, protecting these rates remains our top priority (see page 16 for an update on our advocacy efforts). However, we are also exploring other ways to improve your bottom line through expansion of the Benefit. NHPCO’s Public Policy Committee recently approved two potential demonstration projects to examine concurrent care and transitional care, both of which would enable hospice providers to build relationships with patients and families earlier in the illness trajectory and, in so doing, improve hospice utilization.
A favorite expression of mine reminds us that there are, indeed, many paths up a mountain. In today’s hospice environment, we must be open—and willing—to explore them all.
Don
###
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Worldwide Palliative Care
New International Alliance Launched to Address Urgent Needs of Palliative Care Patients Worldwide
(Alexandria, Va – NHPCO) – Today marks the launch of the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA), a new global action network designed to focus exclusively on hospice and palliative care development worldwide.
More than 100 million people and their families worldwide need palliative care and support each year, however, it is estimated that only seven per cent actually receive it. The need for palliative care is often greatest in low and middle income countries where more than 70 percent of all cancer deaths occur and where the HIV burden is the highest.
The WPCA is an alliance of national and regional hospice and palliative care organizations, bringing together people around the world with a shared vision of universal access to quality palliative care. This includes the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. With more than 34,000 members, NHPCO is the preeminent leadership organization in the U.S. representing hospice and palliative care providers and professionals.
“WPCA will provide a global voice to achieve the goal of universal access to quality palliative care,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO, who is attending the launch of the WPCA at the 4th Worldwide Summit of National Associations of Hospice and Palliative Care in Vienna, Austria, today.
“Hospice and palliative care is still unavailable to many of those in need, especially in the developing world, with millions of people dying in pain and distress every year,” said Dr Cynthia Goh, co-chair of the WPCA, from the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network. “Only 15 percent of the world’s countries have hospice and palliative care that is integrated with general healthcare so the formation of the WPCA is a tremendously positive step forward in helping to meet an overwhelming need.”
National hospice and palliative care organizations have been informally meeting every two years since 2003 to address this need—this group has now formally become the WPCA.
“The formation of the WPCA signifies the coming together of global palliative care leaders. Members of the WPCA will work together to support the development of hospice and palliative care services throughout the world so that all who need such care can access it. The WPCA also offers an opportunity to celebrate our diversity and share and learn from that richness to help provide palliative care for millions of people worldwide,” commented David Praill, co-chair of the WPCA, from the UK’s Help the Hospices.
For more information about WPCA, visit www.helpthehospices.org.uk/wpca
NHPCO Contact:
(Alexandria, Va – NHPCO) – Today marks the launch of the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA), a new global action network designed to focus exclusively on hospice and palliative care development worldwide.
More than 100 million people and their families worldwide need palliative care and support each year, however, it is estimated that only seven per cent actually receive it. The need for palliative care is often greatest in low and middle income countries where more than 70 percent of all cancer deaths occur and where the HIV burden is the highest.
The WPCA is an alliance of national and regional hospice and palliative care organizations, bringing together people around the world with a shared vision of universal access to quality palliative care. This includes the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. With more than 34,000 members, NHPCO is the preeminent leadership organization in the U.S. representing hospice and palliative care providers and professionals.
“WPCA will provide a global voice to achieve the goal of universal access to quality palliative care,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO, who is attending the launch of the WPCA at the 4th Worldwide Summit of National Associations of Hospice and Palliative Care in Vienna, Austria, today.
“Hospice and palliative care is still unavailable to many of those in need, especially in the developing world, with millions of people dying in pain and distress every year,” said Dr Cynthia Goh, co-chair of the WPCA, from the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network. “Only 15 percent of the world’s countries have hospice and palliative care that is integrated with general healthcare so the formation of the WPCA is a tremendously positive step forward in helping to meet an overwhelming need.”
National hospice and palliative care organizations have been informally meeting every two years since 2003 to address this need—this group has now formally become the WPCA.
“The formation of the WPCA signifies the coming together of global palliative care leaders. Members of the WPCA will work together to support the development of hospice and palliative care services throughout the world so that all who need such care can access it. The WPCA also offers an opportunity to celebrate our diversity and share and learn from that richness to help provide palliative care for millions of people worldwide,” commented David Praill, co-chair of the WPCA, from the UK’s Help the Hospices.
For more information about WPCA, visit www.helpthehospices.org.uk/wpca
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WPCA Contact:
Bansree Takodra
Help the Hospices
Ph: 020 7520 8251
NHPCO Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO
703-837-3139
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
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