(Alexandria, Va) – Five hospice organizations from across the nation have been chosen as grant recipients in the third year of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Reaching Out grants program. The grantees are:
• Guardian Hospice – Franklin, Tennessee
• Hope Hospice & Palliative Care – Medford, Wisconsin
• Hospice of Central Iowa – West Des Moines
• Mercy Hospice – Roseburg, Oregon
• Mountain Hospice – Belington, West Virginia
Funded through a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Reaching Out grants were created to support innovative programs committed to increasing access to hospice and palliative care for rural and homeless Veterans.
“These grants serve a two-fold purpose,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. “They support specific, community-based programs and the lessons learned will help the VA in discovering new ways to reach veterans who are homeless or living in rural areas and in need of quality care as they near the end of life.”
Throughout 2011, grantees will be implementing outreach models in their communities designed to expand and increase the quality of care and services provided to Veterans coping with life-limiting illness.
The models guiding the work to be done in 2011 were originally developed by Reaching Out grantees in 2009 and 2010. The 18 grantees who were part of year one and two of the Reaching Out grants program focused on establishing partnerships between community hospices and VA facilities – all with the ultimate goal of increasing access and improving quality of care for Veterans.
In addition to the distinguished organizations receiving grant awards this year, work continues by the organizations that were 2010 Reaching Out grant recipients: Arkansas Hospice, Inc.; California Hospice Foundation; Delaware Hospice, Inc.; Hospice of the Bluegrass; Hospice of Chattanooga, Inc.; and LINK of Hampton Roads, Inc.
Grant reviewers from the field evaluated forty proposals submitted to NHPCO.
“All of us at NHPCO and the VA appreciate the enthusiastic response to the Reaching Out program and we thank our current and previous grantees for their continuing dedication to serving Veterans", added Schumacher.
As part of the initiative to reach more Veterans in need of hospice and palliative care, NHPCO in collaboration with the VA created the We Honor Veterans website (www.WeHonorVeterans.org) offering information and resources for organizations interested in better serving Veterans at the end of life.
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Media Contact:
Jon Radulovic, 703-837-3139 or jradulovic@nhpco.org.
Emil Zuberbueler, 703-647-6687 or ezuberbueler@nhpco.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.
We Honor Veterans, a program of NHPCO in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, provides educational tools and resources that promote Veteran-centric educational activities, increases organizational capacity to serve Veterans, supports development of strategic partnerships, and increases access and improve quality, www.WeHonorVeterans.org
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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
Friday, March 26, 2010
A Closer Look at the Health Care Reform Provisions Impacting Hospice
Earlier this week, NHPCO's Public Policy/Advocacy Team sent you an important update on the passage of the health reform legislation and next steps for the hospice community. NHPCO wants to share what we know about the various provisions impacting the hospice community. In some cases, you will see that there is not yet much information. Many of the provisions will be implemented by the Health and Human Services Secretary, and administered through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). But, in order to do that, we believe that the first order of business for the Administration will be to appoint a CMS Administrator to delve into the details of implementation and oversight.
Visit NHPCO's Advocacy page for more information on the provisions that will be significant to hospice.
Visit NHPCO's Advocacy page for more information on the provisions that will be significant to hospice.
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
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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
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For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
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