Author: Merikokeb Wondafrash

August 3, 2021

2021 Interdisciplinary Conference Goes Totally Virtual

After careful consideration, the NHPCO Board of Directors and leadership team have decided to change the 2021 Interdisciplinary Conference to an entirely virtual event.

As the surge of COVID-19 expands throughout the country and hospice and palliative care organizations continue working through the ongoing pandemic, NHPCO feels that an in-person gathering would not be responsible at this time. Our Interdisciplinary Conference will take place but not onsite in Memphis, TN.

While the opportunity to gather as a provider community will be missed, the IDC21 will offer a robust, virtual professional development experience. Participants can expect inspiring and informative keynote presentations, educational sessions in eight different focus areas, presentation of the Volunteers are the Foundation of Hospice Awards, an online exhibit hall, and the opportunity to network with other conference participants.  IDC21 content will be available on-demand through December 31, 2021, making this an event that can fit your schedule through the rest of this year.

Registration for IDC21 is temporarily off-line as staff make necessary adjustments.

If you have already registered for IDC21, the NHPCO staff will reach out to you shortly with further details. Additionally, staff will be contacting our exhibitors, sponsors, and faculty with additional information.

Thank you – we hope you’ll be a part of the Virtual IDC21.

NHPCO Team

If you have not yet seen NHPCO’s Statement on Vaccinations, we would like to share it with you now.

For Immediate Release:
July 28, 2021

A statement from NHPCO upon the introduction of the Expanding Access to Palliative Care for Seniors Act

(Alexandria, Va) – “NHPCO thanks Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) for introducing Expanding Access to Palliative Care for Seniors Act, which directs the implementation of a demonstration model for community-based palliative care,” said Edo Banach, President and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “COVID-19 has highlighted the critical need for additional support for patients and their families across the nation and we appreciate our champions for leading the charge.”

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, NHPCO has voiced the critical need for a community-based palliative care benefit. The time is now for CMMI to build off the successes of its Medicare Care Choices Model to establish clear criteria for core community-based palliative care services in the U.S. and improve access to needed care for Medicare beneficiaries experiencing serious illness in our most vulnerable communities,” Banach added.

Community-based palliative care provides people with a serious illness with interdisciplinary care in their homes. There is a significant evidence base to support the need for a CMMI supported community-based palliative care effort that would lead to improved quality and cost outcomes for beneficiaries experiencing serious illness. This is especially important for seriously ill patients with comorbidities who are at higher risk when battling conditions such as COVID-19.

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Learn more about palliative care and coping with serious illness on NHPCO’s consumer-focused website CaringInfo.org.

Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973

To:          NHPCO Membership
From:    NHPCO Leadership Team
Date:     July 29, 2021

NHPCO Supports Vaccinations for Member Organizations and Ongoing Educational Efforts

We continue to face a public health crisis unprecedented in our lifetimes. Sixteen months after the national Public Health Emergency brought on by coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared, it remains in place having been extended on July 19, 2021. This is a clear reflection of the ongoing severity of the pandemic. Infection numbers are rising once again in several states across the country with the greatest severity seen in states with low vaccination levels. The delta variant now accounts for the overwhelming percentage of hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. and public health officials are concerned that other variants might further expand the pandemic.

The evidence demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the three vaccines that have been approved by the Food & Drug Administration for emergency use reinforces the importance of vaccinations among the American public as one of the most effective strategies for defeating the COVID-19 pandemic.

NHPCO strongly encourages all hospice and palliative care provider staff and volunteers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, recognizing that there should be allowances made for medical exemptions and accommodations for deeply held religious beliefs. Additionally, NHPCO supports healthcare providers that adopt mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies.

NHPCO asks that all provider organizations continue efforts to support vaccinations for your teams. Consideration of a COVID-19 vaccination policy for your organization may be beneficial if one is not already in place. It is important to consult with your legal counsel and/or compliance staff to determine if any state-level laws may affect the implementation of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

We know that our members have been working hard to ensure that staff have the flexibility needed to secure a vaccination along with any necessary time to recover from possible side effects – we applaud these organizations for this sensitivity and awareness.

Educational efforts to provide the public with reliable information to help them understand the science regarding FDA approved vaccinations and to make well-informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccinations should continue in communities across the country.

NHPCO continues to work to support the hospice and palliative care community in response to the ongoing pandemic and Public Health Emergency.

NHPCO has created a number of free resources to help providers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit nhpco.org/coronavirus.

Thank you.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
Alexandria, Virginia

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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973

Statement from NHPCO
July 28, 2021

(Alexandria, Va) – The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) has issued a statement in response to lawmakers’ consideration of reallocating the Provider Relief Fund established to address needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic towards infrastructure purposes.

“As more Americans become infected with the Delta variant and our healthcare providers and workforce are still struggling to recover from the last COVID-19 wave, now is not the time to divert critical healthcare dollars to infrastructure. While improvements in our country’s infrastructure are important, we cannot risk losing access to critical hospice and palliative care for patients and their families. To do so would be shortsighted and reckless,” Edo Banach, NHPCO President and CEO.

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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973

For Immediate Release:
July 15, 2021

Hospices Earning Recognition in 2^nd Quarter of NHPCO’s Quality Connections Program

NHPCO Congratulates Calvert Hospice, First Provider to Earn All Four Quality Connections Rings

(Alexandria, Va) – As the results from the 2^nd quarter of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Quality Connections program are tabulated, NHPCO celebrates the QC participants who have earned rings at this point in the inaugural year of the program.

NHPCO has created a Quality Connections map of the United States that lists participating hospice programs who have made advances in the Quality Connections program to date.

Of the many hospice organizations participating in the program, particular recognition goes out to Calvert Hospice based in Prince Frederick, Maryland.  Calvert Hospice is the first QC participant to earn all four rings in this innovative program that focuses on continuous quality improvement.

“While many quality metrics are focused primarily on medical and nursing care, we found tremendous value in the true interdisciplinary nature of the Quality Connections program.  Completing all four rings requires representation of the full scope of services that are necessary to provide high-quality hospice care, and we are grateful to NHPCO for developing this program with a focus on the variety of interdisciplinary expertise that contributes to being a quality hospice provider,” said Calvert Hospice’s Interim Executive Director Sarah Simmons, RN, MSN, CHPN.

The four rings are based on foundational pillars:  Education, Application, Measurement, and Innovation. Each Ring has specific activities incorporating practical resources to progressively track and improve both clinical and organizational quality.

“As Quality Connections was created over the course of the past year, the team at NHPCO was anxiously waiting to see how our members would respond to the structure of the program and the focus on these four pillars. As we mark the second quarter of Quality Connections, we are pleased to see how engaged participating hospice organizations have been,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. “These hospice providers that have earned rings are proving that their commitment to quality is real and is part of their organizational culture.”

Quality Connections is a benefit of NHPCO provider membership. For organizations that already have an established quality improvement program, QC can build on and streamline what they already have in place. If a provider needs to enrich their quality improvement efforts, QC will provide the guidance and resources they need.

“The commitment of our Quality Connections participants matters to those they serve and to the payers and other providers that they work with,” Banach added.

NHPCO thanks the Quality Connections Gold Level Sponsors Curitec and Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services as well as Silver Level Sponsor ADVault, Inc. for their support to advance continuous quality improvement.

As of June 30, 2021, the following organizations have earned rings.

Earning Four Rings:

Calvert Hospice (Education, Application, Measurement, Innovation)

Earning Three Rings:

Heart’s Way Hospice (Education, Application, Measurement)

Earning Two Rings:

Bluegrass Care Navigators (Education, Application)
BridgingLife Hospice (Education, Application)
Caring Circle (Education, Application)
Delaware Hospice, Inc. – Delaware Office (Application, Innovation)
Harbor Hospice (Education, Application)
Hope Healthcare (Education, Application)
Hospice & Community Care (Education, Application)
Hospice of the Chesapeake (Education, Application)
Hospice of West Tennessee (Education, Application)
Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care (formerly Joliet Area Community Hospice) (Education, Measurement)
Notre Dame Hospice (Education, Application)
Partners In Home Care-Hospice (Education, Application)
Providence Hospice of Seattle (Education, Application)
Serenity Hospice and Home (Education, Application)
St. Croix Hospice (Education, Application)
Suncoast Hospice (Education, Innovation)
Tidewell Hospice, Inc. (Education, Application)
Trellis Supportive Care (Education, Application)
UnityPoint at Home (Education, Application)
VITAS Healthcare (Education, Application)
VNA Hospice and Palliative Care of Southern California (Education, Application)
Yolo Hospice (Education, Application)

Earning One Ring:

Arizona Care Hospice (Application)
Arkansas Valley Hospice, Inc. (Education)
Avow Hospice (Education)
BSA Hospice of the Southwest (Education)
Carris Health-Rice Hospice (Education)
CentraCare Hospice (Education)
Community Hospice Care (Education)
East End Hospice (Education)
Freedom Hospice (Education)
Good Shepherd Hospice (Education)
Goodwin House Palliative Care and Hospice (Education)
HealthPartners Hospice & Palliative Care (Education)
HoriSun Hospice, Inc. (Education)
Hospice & Community Care (Education)
Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo, Inc. (Education)
Hospice of Douglas County – A Division of Horizon Public Health (Education)
Hospice Of Dubuque (Education)
Hospice of Hilo dba Hawaii Care Choices (Education)
Hospice of Humboldt (Education)
Hospice of Huntington (Education)
Hospice of Jackson County, Inc. (Education)
Hospice of Limestone County (Education)
Hospice of North Idaho (Education)
Hospice of Southern West Virginia, Inc. (Education)
Hospice of the Ozarks (Education)
Hospice of the Panhandle (Education)
Hospice of the Red River Valley (Education)
Hospice of Yuma (Education)
Hospice Services Of NWKS (Education)
Interim Hospice of the Twin Cities (Education)
Intrepid USA Healthcare Services (Education)
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice (Education)
Lakeside Hospice, Inc. (Education)
MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care Program (Education)
Northern Illinois Hospice (Education)
Pathways (Education)
Presbyterian Homes Hospice, Inc. (Education)
ProMedica Hospice (Education)
Providence St. Joseph Health – Home and Community Services (Measurement)
Sangre De Cristo Community Care (Education)
Seasons Hospice (Education)
Southwest Medical Hospice (Education)
Tabitha Hospice (Education)
The Elizabeth Hospice (Education)
Topkare Hospice, Inc. (Education)
Transitions LifeCare (Education)
Trustbridge, Inc. (Education)
Unity Point Hospice (Education)
UnityPoint Hospice, Cedar Rapids (Education)
Upland Hills Health Hospice (Education)
UVMHN Home Health & Hospice (Education)
Village Hospice (Education)
Visiting Nurse Association of NWI (Education)
VITAS Healthcare Chicago South (Education)

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To learn more about hospice care or for information to help people coping with serious illness, please visit NHPCO’s CaringInfo.org.

Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2021

NHPCO Diversity Advisory Council Resource Promotes High Quality Care

(Alexandria, Va) – Today, in recognition of Pride Month, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) released a new resource, LGBTQ+ Resource Guide, with content developed by NHPCO’s Diversity Advisory Council (DAC). The guide was released in conjunction with a DAC social media day, where NHPCO’s social media platforms were used to share information about disparities that exist in hospice and palliative care.

The topics covered in the resource guide include LGBTQ+ healthcare disparities, serving LGBTQ+ patients in your community, and strategies for reaching out to LGBTQ+ communities.

NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach noted, “NHPCO is committed to helping underserved communities access the person-centered care they deserve. Hospice providers have a history of meeting the unique needs of diverse communities going back to the early days of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s when compassion, dignity, and care were so desperately needed by those marginalized at the time. With a strong foundation and the support of resources like this LGTBQ+ resource guide, we hope all hospices and palliative care providers will provide the best care possible to LGBTQ+ patients and families.”

The resource guide emphasizes the importance of open communication and allowing patients to self-identify who they are and who is important in their lives.

“That’s what we really want to do when we’re serving our patients, is

to show that we respect them, we hear them, we see them just as they are,” said Edie Moran, social worker with Prospero Health in Chicago and member of NHPCO’s Diversity Advisory Council. Moran was featured in a panel discussion about caring for LGBTQ+ people with a serious illness, which was shared on DAC’s social media day.

NHPCO thanks SAGE and Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholar Carey Candrian, PhD for their contributions to the guide.

Download the LGBTQ+ Resource Guide (PDF).

Additional free resource materials from NHPCO are available at nhpco.org/diversity.

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If you need information or support related to caregiving or serious illness care, visit newly updated consumer-focused website, CaringInfo.org.

Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973

For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2021

Website offers information on range of topics that include advance care planning, caregiving, palliative care, hospice, grief and more

(Alexandria, Va) – The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) is proud to announce the launch of the new and expanded CaringInfo.org website. CaringInfo.org, a program of NHPCO, is a consumer-focused website that offers information on a breadth of topics related to serious illness and end of life. The site includes information on hospice, palliative care, grief and bereavement, caregiving, planning ahead, and more.

The mission of CaringInfo.org is to provide consumers with unbiased, easy to understand information to help people make informed decisions about care and services for themselves or their loved ones. The website was first launched in 2006 as part of NHPCO’s Caring Connections community engagement program funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The new CaringInfo.org builds on its success over the last 15 years. It is easier to navigate, uses clear and simple language, and connects users to a variety of resources and support.

“All too often we hear people say, ‘I wish I had known about choices I could have made earlier in the course of my illness.’ Our hope is that with the new CaringInfo.org, more people will learn about the care options available to them before a crisis happens and they will feel prepared and empowered to get the care they want when they want it,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach.

One of the most utilized resources from CaringInfo has been the state-specific advance directive forms that can be downloaded free-of-charge, along with information explaining the value of advance care planning. More than 1.5 million directives have been downloaded from CaringInfo in the past decade.

In addition to the updated website, NHPCO will be updating the PDF topic-specific informational guides and one-pagers available on CaringInfo throughout the year.

The creation of the new CaringInfo was supported by funding from the Cambia Health Foundation.

Learn more by visiting www.CaringInfo.org.

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Contact:
Jon Radulovic

For Immediate Release:
June 11, 2021

(Alexandria, Va) – Reflecting on the experience of the hospice and palliative care provider community throughout the course of the past year’s global pandemic, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s board has issued a statement for providers, Allocation of Scare Resources During a Pandemic.

This document is designed as a resource for hospice and palliative care leaders and their organizations when facing future resource allocation decisions. One of the most difficult ethical questions in health care is the fair allocation of scare resources.

The purpose of this document is to:

• • • Assist hospice and palliative care leaders and organizations to (re)familiarize themselves with a small set of ethical concepts as they face resource allocation decisions.
    • Introduce four principles of healthcare ethics and place them in the context of resource allocation.
    • Guide leaders and their organization through a compact decision-making and discernment model, mainly as a means to raise attention to a handful of foundational questions central to the topic.

Download the Statement on Resource Allocation.

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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973

For Immediate Release: 
May 25, 2021 

NHPCO Congratulates Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on Confirmation to Serve as CMS Administrator

Brooks-LaSure to Lead Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

(Alexandria, Va) – The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) congratulates Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on her historic confirmation today as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator. Brooks-LaSure is the first Black woman to lead CMS.

“CMS plays a critical role to our nation’s hospice and palliative care provider community, and we are pleased to welcome Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as the new Administrator and applaud her confirmation today,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. “She understands the inner workings of government and has a deep appreciation for health advocacy. We look forward to partnering with Administrator Brooks-LaSure as the hospice and palliative care community continues their hard work to ensure access to care in response to the pandemic and to support our mission to advance person- and family-centered care for all Americans.”

NHPCO is the leading organization representing integrated, person-centered healthcare, NHPCO gives ongoing inspiration, practical guidance, and legislative representation to hospice and palliative care providers so they can enrich experiences for patients and ease caregiving responsibilities and emotional stress for families.

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Media Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Communications Team
Direct:  571-412-3973

For Immediate Release:
May 10, 2021

NHPCO Launches New Community-Base Palliative Care Certificate Program Available On-Demand

“CBPC: Beyond the Business Case – Operating, Organizing & Sustaining Your Program” is NHPCO’s Latest Signature Program

(Alexandria, Va) – Community-Based Palliative Care Certificate Program: Beyond the Business Case – Operating, Organizing & Sustaining Your Program is the latest addition to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s collection of online, on-demand certificate programs.

This new program focuses on operationalizing and sustaining a community-based palliative care program. Participants will learn about delivery model evolution as well as the use of metrics to demonstrate program value. Additionally, participants will learn the importance of identifying and grooming future leaders, explore how key partnerships are essential to sustainability, and benefit from a deep dive into reimbursement, compliance considerations, and payer/provider relationships. Tools and resources will be provided to enable participants to implement an action plan. The program offers 11 CE/CME hours.

“Whether you are just beginning or have a mature palliative care offering, this certificate program offers a wealth of practical knowledge,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. “And I’m pleased that experts from mature programs will share their wisdom as part of this on-demand course.”

The seven modules of the CBPC Certificate Program cover:

• • • Introduction and Overview
    • Eligibility
    • Services
    • Accountability
    • Metrics and Measurement
    • Lessons from the Field
    • Payment: Medicare Fee-for-Service
    • Value-based Payment

“NHPCO originally offered this as a two-day, in-person training held as part of our annual conferences,” said Lori Bishop, NHPCO’s Vice President of Palliative and Advanced Care. “Even before the pandemic hit, we began exploring ways we could make this valuable program more accessible to a wider range of people – as one of our newest signature programs, I think we’ve got it.”

Two other NHPCO signature programs are available as on-demand offerings:

Hospice Compliance Certificate Program – covers the basics of health care compliance, including developing a compliance program, compliance risk assessment, compliance policies and procedures, anonymous reporting, and more. The online, on-demand version of the course offers 15.5 CE/CME hours of content that is hospice-specific and applicable to the real world.  The in-person HCCP programs were sell-out events at previous NHPCO conferences.

Hospice Quality Certificate Program – launched in January 2021, this signature program addresses the connection between compliance and quality outcomes. Topics include the nuts and bolts of hospice quality measurement, self-assessment, continuous performance improvement, the federal hospice and quality reporting program, and best practices to apply to your hospice program. This course offers 14 CE/CME hours of content. For hospice programs that are participating in NHPCO’s Quality Connections, HQCP will count toward earning the education ring.

Not to be confused with professional certification, the signature programs offer a certificate of completion which demonstrates a professional’s commitment to learning and staying up-to-date on the latest issues relevant to compliance, quality, and community-based palliative care.

These professional development programs are available through the Education section of the NHPCO website are designed to provide the education needed to thrive in today’s complex health care landscape.  More details are available online.

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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
NHPCO Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973