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 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
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