Program areas at NHPCO
Resources for Hospice and Palliative Care providers-continued the development of quality connections, a National quality improvement program that supports Hospice and Palliative Care providers in the delivery of high-quality, person-centered Care; dozens of hospices opted in within months. Over the first 2 years of inception, the program grew by 38%, with more than double the number of providers achieving the highest level of National recognition.-launched the second version of the bitesize qi group, a rich resource of a quality community, quality improvement tools and inventory of multiple process improvement projects across the country.-launched a new integrated Care management certificate program.-created and released several Palliative Care "grab & go" toolkits. -hosted one in-person and one virtual conference, bringing our sector-leading educational content. In the spring we hosted the leadership and advocacy conference, and in the fall, we held the interdisciplinary conference. -held 25 webinars to provide Hospice and Palliative Care professionals with the opportunity for continuing education from anywhere. -developed and launched online companion programs for our Hospice compliance certificate program and our Hospice quality certificate program. Provided the annual nhpco facts & figures report, which provides an overview of key data around Hospice Care delivery. -maintained and fostered more than 15 online communities (mynhpco) to support key professional disciplines, practices, and professional interests within Hospice and Palliative Care providers. In addition to targeted online discussions, mynhpco communities hosted 80 virtual "chats," fostering peer-to-peer learning and sharing among more than 5,100 participants. -rolled out an updated version of the survey of team attitudes and relationships (star) performance measurement tool.-simplified and made available to Hospice providers the Hospice measures of excellence dataset with rolling 8 quarters of datasets, which replaces the National Hospice dataset.-revised and published the most updated version of the nhpco Hospice standards of care-simplified and updated the bereavement survey (egss) for Hospice providers.-continued to provide frequent updates on covid-19, including a weekly email, which were made available free to both members and non-members.
Education and advocacy on issues impacting the Hospice and Palliative Care community and patients -led the Hospice community in calling for reforms to protect beneficiaries against fraudulent hospices.-successfully advocated for extensions of the public health emergency including essential telehealth policies.-advanced advocacy on expanding access to community based Palliative care.-advocated for additional support for workforce through investments in education, training, and immigration reforms.-submitted 22 comment letters to inform key us government agencies about the perspectives of the Hospice and Palliative Care community on important regulations impacting patients across the nation.
Support for expanded, equitable access to Hospice and Palliative care-in partnership with the u.s. department of veterans affairs, nhpco's we honor veterans program supported over 5,000 community providers across the country to ensure that america's veterans and their families receive the specialized Care they deserve for serious illness and end of life. -published a new lgbtq+ resource guide, developed by nhpco's diversity advisory council, to help Hospice and Palliative Care providers Care for lgbtq+ patients. -published a spanish-language edition of the nhpco inclusion and access toolkit, which is designed to provide information, resources, and strategies for organizations seeking to cultivate culture of inclusion.-updated the black and african american outreach guide, previously published in 2008, to help Hospice and Palliative Care providers equitably serve black and african american patients needing serious-illness and end-of-life Care.
Public education-continued to grow and improve content on caringinfo.org, a specialized website designed to provide free resources to educate and empower patients and caregivers to make decisions about serious illness and end-of-life Care and services. Significantly increase in average monthly visitors to caringinfo compared to the previous year. -engaged with local and National media to educate the public about Hospice and Palliative Care. Nhpco resources and spokespeople were cited in stories in outlets as varied as the new york times and the citrus county (fl) chronicle, from us news & world report to the white lake (mi) beacon, from bloomberg to palo alto (ca) online. -completed a 2-year series of monthly project echo series in quality improvement in Hospice and Palliative Care with National and global reach (13 countries).
Support for Hospice volunteer and community engagement -honored exemplary Hospice volunteers from across the country through our annual volunteers are the heart of Hospice awards program. -working in partnership with the u.s. department of veterans affairs (va), nhpco's we honor veterans program supported over 100 statewide and community-based hospice-veteran partnerships (hvps); these hvps engage coalitions of va facilities, community hospices, state Hospice organizations, and others to provide leadership, technical assistance, and program development to ensure excellent end-of-life Care for the veterans and their families in the hvp's area. -offered members a suite of ready-to-use tools, resources, and guidance to engage their communities in conversations around National Hospice and Palliative Care month.