Twelve Tips to Help a Grieving Loved One during the Holidays

The holidays are quickly approaching, and while many people look forward to yearly traditions, gatherings with family and friends and the general good feelings associated with the season, some people dread the holidays.

NHPCO offers twelve practical tips from hospice professionals:
1. Be supportive of the way the person chooses to handle the holidays. Some may wish to follow traditions; others may choose to change their rituals. Remember, there is no right way or wrong way to handle the holidays.
2. Offer to help the person with baking and/or cleaning. Both tasks can be overwhelming when someone is experiencing acute grief.
3. Offer to help him or her decorate for the holidays.
4. Offer to help with holiday shopping or give your loved one catalogs or suggest online shopping sites that may be helpful.
5. Help your loved one prepare and mail holiday cards.
6. Invite the person to attend a religious service with you and your family.
7. Invite your loved one to your home for the holidays.
8. Ask the person if he or she is interested in volunteering with you during the holiday season. Doing something for someone else, such as helping at soup kitchens or working with children, may help your loved one feel better about the holidays.
9. Donate a gift or money in memory of the person’s loved one. Remind the person that his or her special person is not forgotten.
10. Never tell someone that he or she should be “over it.”  Instead, give the person hope that, eventually, he or she will enjoy the holidays again.
11. If he or she wants to talk about the deceased loved one or feelings associated with the loss, LISTEN. Active listening from friends is an important step to helping him or her heal. Don’t worry about being conversational…. just listen.
12. Remind the person you are thinking of him or her and the loved one who died. Cards, phone calls and visits are great ways to stay in touch.
In general, the best way to help those who are grieving during the holidays is to let them know you care. They need to be remembered, and they need to know their loved ones are remembered, too.

More information about grief and loss is available from NHPCO’s Caring Connections at www.CaringInfo.org.

NHPCO Presents Awards Celebrating Hospice Palliative Care

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization bosted its 13th annual Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive this week in Orlando, Florida. More than 1,200 professionals gathered at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. Throughout the week, NHPCO presented a number of awards celebrating outstanding contributions to hospice and palliative care.

Distinguished Researcher Award
Holly G. Prigerson, PhD, was presented with the NHPCO Distinguished Researcher Award created to recognize an outstanding body of research that has contributed to the enhancement of hospice and palliative care.

Prigerson is internationally known for her work on bereavement and end-of-life care. She is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Much of Prigerson’s research has been on psychosocial factors that influence the quality of life and care received by terminally ill patients, and factors influencing family caregivers both before and after the death of a loved one.  

Volunteers are the Foundation of Hospice Award
This award recognizes exemplary hospice volunteers in three categories of service: Patient/Family Support; Organizational Support; and Teen Service. The volunteers selected for this recognition best reflect the universal concept of volunteerism in its truest sense: Serving as an inspiration to others.
The 2012 award recipients and their specific areas of service:

• Chuck Mirasola, a volunteer with the Hospice and Palliative Care Unit at Florida’s Bay Pines VA for “Patient/Family Support.” He has given more than 12,500 hours of volunteer service to the Bay Pines VA, with eight years of service to patients and families on the Hospice and Palliative Care Unit.
• Richard W. Jett, Jr, CPA, a volunteer with Hospice of East Texas in Tyler for “Organizational Support.” He has been a volunteer for 30 consecutive years – without interruption of service to the hospice. This includes three terms as a board member and one term as board chair.
• Deanna Wright, a volunteer with Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado in Grand Junction for “Teen Service.” She began her service with hospice at the age of 12 and has been a dedicated volunteer involved in many aspects of the organization for the past six years.

Advancing End-of-life Care Access Award
As part of its efforts to recognize the important work of caring for Veterans, NHPCO presented its inaugural Advancing End-of-life Care Access Award to VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Dayton.

VITAS of Dayton began its Veterans initiative three and a half years ago to ensure that information about hospice is readily available to Veterans and their families that are facing serious and life-limiting illness. VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Dayton is a Level IV Partner in the We Honor Veterans program – the highest level a hospice can attain.

“One of the most important things we can do is shine a light on individuals and organizations in the hospice palliative care community who are advancing the field of  hospice and palliative care,” said NHPCO President and CEO J. Donald Schumacher.

National Hospice Month Proclamation 2012

Hospice Palliative Care Offers: Comfort. Love. Respect.

As the nation’s oldest and largest leadership association representing hospice and palliative care providers and professionals, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization issues the following proclamation declaring November 2012 as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month.

WHEREAS, every year more than 1.58 million Americans living with life-limiting illness, and their families, receive care from the nation’s hospice programs in communities throughout the United States;

WHEREAS, hospice and palliative care offer the highest quality of care to patients and families and bring comfort, love and respect to all those they serve;

WHEREAS, hospice allows people to spend their final months surrounded by family and loved ones at home – wherever home may be;

WHEREAS,  hospice and palliative care professionals—including physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, counselors, health aides, and clergy—providing comprehensive and compassionate care that make the wishes of each patient and family a priority;

WHEREAS, more than 468,000 trained volunteers contribute 21 million hours of service to hospice program annually;

WHEREAS, through pain management and symptom control, caregiver training and assistance, and emotional and spiritual support, patients are able to live as fully as possible through the journey at life’s end;

WHEREAS, the commitment of more than 1,600 hospice providers, NHPCO and the Department of Veterans Affairs have allowed the innovative program, We Honor Veterans, to thrive and ensure that Veterans find the compassion, care and dignity they deserve at the end of life;

WHEREAS, the provision of quality hospice and palliative care reaffirms our belief in the essential dignity of every person, regardless of age, health, or social status, and that every stage of human life deserves to be treated with the utmost respect and care;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the leadership of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization do hereby proclaim November 2012 as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and encourage all people to learn more about options of care and to share their wishes with family, loved ones, and their healthcare professionals.

 

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More information about hospice month is available at www.CaringInfo.org/hospicemonth.

 

NHPCO Members will find outreach materials online at www.nhpco.org/outreach.

 

Comfort, Love and Respect that Hospice Offers is Focus of November’s National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

“Comfort. Love. Respect.” 2012 Theme Inspired by Actress and Hospice Advocate Torrey DeVitto

 

Every year, more than 1.58 million people living with a life-limiting illness receive care from hospice palliative care providers in the U.S., reports the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. During National Hospice and Palliative Care Month this November, providers across the country are raising awareness of the many benefits of hospice palliative care.

More than traditional medical care

Hospice palliative care provides expert pain management, symptom control, emotional support, and spiritual care to patients and family caregivers when a cure is not possible. Care is provided by a highly trained team of professionals and volunteers.

Most hospice care in the U.S. is provided in the home – allowing people to be with their families and loved ones in comfortable surroundings at the end of life.

Research by NHPCO has found that 94 percent of families who had a loved one cared for by hospice rated the care as very good to excellent.

 Hospice makes sure that people receive comfort, love and respect during one of life’s most significant experiences – the journey at life’s end,” said J. Donald Schumacher,PsyD, president and CEO of NHPCO. “The compassionate way that hospice helps maximize the quality of life is at the center of this year’s hospice month theme.”

DeVitto creates theme

The 2012 outreach theme for National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, “Comfort. Love. Respect.” is based on the firsthand experience of actress and NHPCO Hospice Ambassador Torrey DeVitto who created the phrase for a t-shirt she designed for NHPCO and the National Hospice Foundation earlier this year.
 
DeVitto, widely recognized for her roles on the hit television series “The Vampire Diaries” and “Pretty Little Liars” has been a hospice volunteer for five years and became NHPCO’s ambassador in 2011.

“As a hospice volunteer myself, I’ve seen firsthand how dedicated individuals provide companionship, support, and a shoulder to lean on at a time when it’s needed most,” remarked DeVitto. “I’m working to help younger people understand the value of hospice and hopefully to get involved as volunteers with their local hospices.”

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.

 

Resources for outreach

• NHPCO members will find materials for hospice and palliative care month at nhpco.org/outreach.
• Non-member organizations will find some hospice and palliative care month materials at CaringInfo.org/hospicemonth.

The “Comfort. Love. Respect.” t-shirt designed by Torrey DeVitto is available for purchase from the NHPCO Marketplace www.nhpco.org/Marketplace  or by calling 1-800-646-6460.  All proceeds from the t-shirt sales benefit national hospice outreach efforts.

 

Hospice Ambassador Torrey DeVitto.

 

 

 

NHPCO Partner on Choosing Wisely Campaign

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) has joined the list of consumer communication partners for Choosing Wisely®, a national campaign launched in April by the ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports promoting informed healthcare decision making.

The goal of Choosing Wisely is to promote conversations between physicians and patients about utilizing the most appropriate tests and treatments and avoiding care that is unnecessary.

In April nine leading medical specialty societies announced lists of “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question”. Since then, 20 additional specialty societies, including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, have joined with the ABIM Foundation to develop evidence-based lists of tests and procedures physicians and patients should talk about for various medical conditions. These lists will be announced in early 2013.

Consumer Reports is spearheading efforts to translate this critical healthcare information for consumers and is working with many other consumer and healthcare groups, such as NHPCO, to disseminate the information using patient-friendly language.

"Consumer Reports is very excited that NHPCO is promoting patient education and helping to improve patient relationships with physicians as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign. The campaign is a great way to help get these important messages about appropriate use of medical tests, treatments, and procedures out to a diverse population, and we are pleased that they will be partnering with us in this initiative," said John Santa, MD, MPH, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.

For more information on Choosing Wisely, visit: www.consumerhealthchoices.org/campaigns/choosing-wisely or www.choosingwisely.org.

NHPCO Announces Mary J. Labyak Institute for Innovation

The National Center for Care at the End of Life Will be Home to the New Mary J. Labyak Institute for Innovation

Institute Will Focus on Making a Powerful Difference in End-of-Life Care through Education, Leadership, and Outreach

As part of its mission to lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life,  NHPCO has announced the creation of the Mary J.Labyak Institute for Innovation.

The Institute, which is named after the late hospice pioneer, Mary J. Labyak, is designed to continue her legacy of listening, learning and innovating.

Labyak, who passed away in February 2012, was one of the most widely recognized innovators working on behalf of hospice and palliative care in the U.S. The Institute bearing her name will continue her work by developing and promoting new strategies to ensure the best possible care for patients and families—and by always keeping the needs of patients and families at the center of hospice care.

 “More than 40 years ago, innovators such as Mary took the core of an idea and built the foundation upon which today’s hospice and palliative care providers serve millions of patients and families each year,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of NHPCO. “With the creation of this Institute, we take a giant step forward in ensuring that the innovation that changed the health care landscape so many years ago continues to improve the quality of health care delivered today.”

The Institute is a part of the National Center for Care at the End of Life which also houses NHPCO and three affiliate organizations.

The Institute is comprised of 10 Centers that will work collaboratively to advance the care continuum through education, leadership, and resource dissemination. Each Center will determine gaps in practice, identify resources, and develop and disseminate tools to deliver the best possible care to patients and families. The 10 Centers are:

·         Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care

·         Clinical Excellence

·         Consumer and Caregiver Engagement

·         Ethical Practice

·         Expanding the Continuum

·         Grief and Bereavement

·         Leadership Development

·         Organizational Excellence

·         Spiritual Care

·         Veterans’ Care

The Institute was started with seed funding from Mary Labyak’s estate and memorial gifts in her honor, as well as an investment by NHPCO. The National Hospice Foundation, the philanthropic affiliate of NHPCO, is seeking additional support for the Institute and its work.

For more information on the Mary J. Labyak Institute for Innovation, visit nhpco.org/Innovation.

NHPCO Hospice Action Network on Sequestration - "Fiscal Cliff"

Congress returns to Washington today for a few short weeks of work prior to an election recess scheduled to begin in October.  There are a few “must-do” items they need to address during September, but the majority of legislative activity will be punted until after the November elections.  Despite this delayed legislative timeline, political posturing and public debate on the “fiscal cliff” has already begun and is expected to kick into high gear with this week’s anticipated report from the Obama Administration on their plans for the implementation of sequestration.

Have questions regarding the “fiscal cliff” and/or sequestration?  Wondering what they even are and how they might affect hospice?  NHPCO's Office of Public Policy has prepared an in-depth analysis for you to be “in the know” before these issues start moving on the Hill. 

Whatever the turnout of the elections, or the Administration’s implementation plan, NHPCO and the Hospice Action Network have been working for months to educate key policy makers on how these huge economic packages could impact access to high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care throughout the nation.  You’ll be hearing more about these efforts and how you can get involved in the coming days and weeks.  In the meantime, this briefing paper gives you just enough information to be prepared for the future – in your program, and as a Hospice Advocate. 

The issues surrounding the “fiscal cliff” are complex and there are many moving parts.  We invite you to download our issue brief, "Policy Analysis: The Fiscal Cliff."