(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
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Hospice Community Disappointed in Administration’s Decision and Reminds All Americans of the Value of Advance Care Planning
(Alexandria, Va) – “We are surprised that the Administration has decided to reverse the decision to include voluntary advance care planning consultations as part of a Medicare beneficiaries’ annual wellness exam,” remarked J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Despite this action, NHPCO strongly encourages all Americans to think about their wishes for care at the end of life and engage in advance care planning. This includes having discussions with healthcare providers and family members, completing an advance directive (which includes a living will and healthcare proxy), and making sure their loved ones understand their wishes.
“Frankly, we are somewhat disappointed that the regulatory guideline making this part of the annual Medicare exam and compensating the physician for taking time to talk about personal preferences has become such a political issue,” continued Schumacher. “It's simply about educating patients about the types of decisions they might need to consider in future healthcare situations, and then supporting them as they make their own choices based on their values, beliefs and preferences.”
The opportunity for this voluntary consultation with a physician has been part of the “welcome to Medicare” exam since 2008.
Research has shown that patients who discuss their care options when facing a serious or life-limiting illness report a higher quality of life, less hospitalizations and fewer visits to the emergency department. Family caregivers have also been shown to benefit from discussions held between physicians and patients.
Far too often, patients and their families are forced to make decisions in times of crisis; these voluntary advance care planning consultations would have facilitated informed conversations prior to the onset of an illness or medical crisis.
“Death and dying can be a difficult topic for people to deal with – this includes politicians crafting legislation, healthcare providers caring for patients, and people who may be confronting a serious illness. But as hard as this can be, it’s far more difficult for a patient and family to face a medical crisis without a prior understanding of an individual’s wishes and how quality of life might be addressed. Knowing a loved one has engaged in discussions with a knowledgeable physician can bring comfort to patients and families—and that can be quite a gift at a challenging time,” Schumacher said. “Having this option spelled out in Medicare regulations would have raised awareness of advance care planning and potentially opened the door for valuable conversations.”
NHPCO emphasizes that advance care planning is not about discontinuing treatment, saving money, or having someone else make decisions for you; it’s about making sure your wishes are known and then honored, regardless of whether you choose every medical intervention available, discontinue non-productive treatments, or something in between.
There is concern among hospice providers that the debate about this regulation and last year’s “death panel” rumors will cause additional confusion to members of the public and make them even more suspicious of advance care planning.
Hospice and palliative care providers are skilled in helping people understand issues of importance when facing a serious or life-limiting illness and can be important resources for those looking to learn more or make their wishes known.
NHPCO’s Caring Connections offers information on care at the end of life and provides free, state-specific living will and healthcare proxy forms: Visit www.caringinfo.org or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
Despite this action, NHPCO strongly encourages all Americans to think about their wishes for care at the end of life and engage in advance care planning. This includes having discussions with healthcare providers and family members, completing an advance directive (which includes a living will and healthcare proxy), and making sure their loved ones understand their wishes.
“Frankly, we are somewhat disappointed that the regulatory guideline making this part of the annual Medicare exam and compensating the physician for taking time to talk about personal preferences has become such a political issue,” continued Schumacher. “It's simply about educating patients about the types of decisions they might need to consider in future healthcare situations, and then supporting them as they make their own choices based on their values, beliefs and preferences.”
The opportunity for this voluntary consultation with a physician has been part of the “welcome to Medicare” exam since 2008.
Research has shown that patients who discuss their care options when facing a serious or life-limiting illness report a higher quality of life, less hospitalizations and fewer visits to the emergency department. Family caregivers have also been shown to benefit from discussions held between physicians and patients.
Far too often, patients and their families are forced to make decisions in times of crisis; these voluntary advance care planning consultations would have facilitated informed conversations prior to the onset of an illness or medical crisis.
“Death and dying can be a difficult topic for people to deal with – this includes politicians crafting legislation, healthcare providers caring for patients, and people who may be confronting a serious illness. But as hard as this can be, it’s far more difficult for a patient and family to face a medical crisis without a prior understanding of an individual’s wishes and how quality of life might be addressed. Knowing a loved one has engaged in discussions with a knowledgeable physician can bring comfort to patients and families—and that can be quite a gift at a challenging time,” Schumacher said. “Having this option spelled out in Medicare regulations would have raised awareness of advance care planning and potentially opened the door for valuable conversations.”
NHPCO emphasizes that advance care planning is not about discontinuing treatment, saving money, or having someone else make decisions for you; it’s about making sure your wishes are known and then honored, regardless of whether you choose every medical intervention available, discontinue non-productive treatments, or something in between.
There is concern among hospice providers that the debate about this regulation and last year’s “death panel” rumors will cause additional confusion to members of the public and make them even more suspicious of advance care planning.
Hospice and palliative care providers are skilled in helping people understand issues of importance when facing a serious or life-limiting illness and can be important resources for those looking to learn more or make their wishes known.
NHPCO’s Caring Connections offers information on care at the end of life and provides free, state-specific living will and healthcare proxy forms: Visit www.caringinfo.org or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
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.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Things we are grateful for this year
For three years running now, many of us bloggers have participated in what we’ve called a “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace [www.engagewithgrace.org] – a movement
aimed at making sure all of us understand, communicate, and have honored our end-of-life wishes.
The rally is timed to coincide with a weekend when most of us are with the very people with whom we should be having these unbelievably important conversations – our closest friends and family.
At the heart of Engage With Grace are five questions designed to get the conversation about end-of-life started. We’ve included them at the end of this post. They’re not easy questions, but they are important – and believe it or not, most people find they actually enjoy discussing their answers with loved ones. The key is having the conversation before it’s too late.
This past year has done so much to support our mission to get more and more people talking about their end-of-life wishes. We’ve heard stories with happy endings … and stories with endings that could’ve (and should’ve) been better. We’ve stared down political opposition. We’ve supported each other’s efforts. And we’ve helped make this a topic of national importance.
So in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, we’d like to highlight some things for which we’re grateful.
Thank you to Atul Gawande for writing such a fiercely intelligent and compelling piece on “letting go” [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande]– it is a work of art, and a must read.
Thank you to whomever perpetuated the myth of “death panels” for putting a fine point on all the things we don’t stand for, and in the process, shining a light on the right we all have to live our lives with intent – right through to the end.
Thank you to TEDMED [http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2010/10/engage-with-grace.html] for letting us share our story and our vision.
And of course, thank you to everyone who has taken this topic so seriously, and to all who have done so much to spread the word, including sharing The One Slide.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Don't Wait to Talk About Hospice
With Release of PBS FrontlineSeries and Dartmouth Atlas Report, NHPCO Reminds People of the Importance of Advance Care Planning
(Alexandria, Va) – An intimate journey into the edge of life is how this evening’s episode of the PBS series Frontline has been described. Frontline’s "Facing Death" will air this evening (11/23/10) at 9:00pm on most PBS stations.
In this groundbreaking film, doctors, patients and families at one of New York’s biggest hospitals speak with remarkable candor about the increasingly difficult choices people are making at the end of life: when to remove a breathing tube in the ICU; when to continue treatment for patients with aggressive blood cancers; when to perform a surgery; and when to call for hospice.
This follows the release of a report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project looking at care for patients with advanced cancer at the end of life that identified gaps between patient wishes and care received.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization urges members of the public to learn about advance care planning and discuss wishes with family members.
“It’s an all too common situation. A family is at the bedside of a loved one who is seriously ill and nearing the end of life,” remarked J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. “Each member of the family has a different idea of what should be done and what the patient would have wanted.”
Far too many people wait until they are in the midst of a health care crisis before thinking about what options are available or what care they or their loved ones would have wanted. Hospice professionals deal with these challenging situations every day – that’s what they are trained to do.
When a family is coping with a serious illness and a cure is no longer possible, hospice provides the type of care most people say they want at the end of life: comfort and dignity. Considered to be the model for high-quality, compassionate care for people with a life-limiting illness, hospice care includes expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support. Care is provided by an inter-disciplinary team of professionals and trained volunteers. The wishes of the patient and family are always at the center of care.
Most hospice care is provided in the home – where the majority of Americans have said they would want to be at this time. Care is also provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospice centers.
Care is paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans and HMOs.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization reports that more than 1.56 million people received care from our nation’s hospices last year.
Hospice providers can help with information about care options and choices and ensure you live as fully as possible throughout your entire life. They will make sure your loved ones receive support as well.
One of the best ways to make sure you and your loved ones benefit fully from hospice, should you ever need this care, is to talk about it before it becomes an issue.
For more information on advance care planning and hospice, visit NHPCO’s Caring Connections at caringinfo.org or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
Caring Connections is one of the recommended resources included with the education tools PBS has made available online for “Facing Death.”
Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO, Vice President of Communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org
(Alexandria, Va) – An intimate journey into the edge of life is how this evening’s episode of the PBS series Frontline has been described. Frontline’s "Facing Death" will air this evening (11/23/10) at 9:00pm on most PBS stations.
In this groundbreaking film, doctors, patients and families at one of New York’s biggest hospitals speak with remarkable candor about the increasingly difficult choices people are making at the end of life: when to remove a breathing tube in the ICU; when to continue treatment for patients with aggressive blood cancers; when to perform a surgery; and when to call for hospice.
This follows the release of a report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project looking at care for patients with advanced cancer at the end of life that identified gaps between patient wishes and care received.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization urges members of the public to learn about advance care planning and discuss wishes with family members.
“It’s an all too common situation. A family is at the bedside of a loved one who is seriously ill and nearing the end of life,” remarked J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. “Each member of the family has a different idea of what should be done and what the patient would have wanted.”
Far too many people wait until they are in the midst of a health care crisis before thinking about what options are available or what care they or their loved ones would have wanted. Hospice professionals deal with these challenging situations every day – that’s what they are trained to do.
When a family is coping with a serious illness and a cure is no longer possible, hospice provides the type of care most people say they want at the end of life: comfort and dignity. Considered to be the model for high-quality, compassionate care for people with a life-limiting illness, hospice care includes expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support. Care is provided by an inter-disciplinary team of professionals and trained volunteers. The wishes of the patient and family are always at the center of care.
Most hospice care is provided in the home – where the majority of Americans have said they would want to be at this time. Care is also provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospice centers.
Care is paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans and HMOs.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization reports that more than 1.56 million people received care from our nation’s hospices last year.
Hospice providers can help with information about care options and choices and ensure you live as fully as possible throughout your entire life. They will make sure your loved ones receive support as well.
One of the best ways to make sure you and your loved ones benefit fully from hospice, should you ever need this care, is to talk about it before it becomes an issue.
For more information on advance care planning and hospice, visit NHPCO’s Caring Connections at caringinfo.org or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898.
Caring Connections is one of the recommended resources included with the education tools PBS has made available online for “Facing Death.”
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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO, Vice President of Communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org
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
November 2010 Palliative Care Grand Rounds
The 2010 November Palliative Care Grand Rounds (PCGR), highlighting blog post focusing on hospice, palliative care and grief matters, is being hosted this month by Compassion & Choices 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.
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