Program areas at NHPCO
Resources for Hospice and Palliative Care providers-continued 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. Over 300 programs now participate and content continues to be developed and added. -initiated the quality innovation network with 50 charter members. This network was established to share and advance quality improvement best practices and as a catalyst for promoting culture of quality across the Hospice and Palliative Care community.-assessed need and implemented process improvement changes for how participants submit data for measures of excellence program.-integrated Care management certificate program continues provided support and guidance for those paricipating in the vbid innovation model.-hosted a virtual interdisciplinary conference in spring and an in person leadership conference in fall, bringing clincians and leaders in our field together through our sector-leading educational content.-held virtual webinars to provide Hospice and Palliative Care professionals with the opportunity for continuing education from anywhere.-continued to enhance and deliver 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, adding a 'rural and a 'workforce' community. 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.-grew utilization of the recently updated survey of team attitudes and relationships (star) performance measurement tool.-streamlined the process for submitting data to measures of excellence dataset.-in collaboration with quality council, continuosly reviewed the standards of quality document.
Education and advocacy on issues impacting the Hospice and Palliative Care community and patients-continued to lead the Hospice community in calling for reforms to protect beneficiaries against fraudulent hospices and communicated with cms and legislative leaders to advance reforms.-continued to advocate for appropriate extensions of the public health emergency including essential telehealth policies.-advanced advocacy on expanding access to community based Palliative Care. Collaborated with the National coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care to plan a convening with focus on concurrent Care. -advocated for additional support for workforce through investments in education, training, and immigration reforms.-submitted more than 30 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.-advanced discussions and action taken with congress and cms on program integrity to mitigate fraud and abuse.- continued to promote safe and appropriate use of teleheath in meeting patient and family needs through Hospice and Palliative Care services.
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.-created and provided "equity where it matters" series in conjunction with diversity advisory council and project echo.-translated caring info web site and advance directive documents in spanish. -created and offered 12-week series 'equity where it matters' with approximate average of 100 participants per session using project echo format and process.
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. Translated entire website into spanish. Continue to see a significant 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. Worked with carter center to respectfully and appropriately share president jimmy carter's choice to enter Hospice and share it the decision publicly. Range of efforts and communications to advance understanding of Hospice and end of life Care providing education and advanced 'the conversation' nationally. Nhpco resources and spokespeople were cited in stories in broad scope of outlets.-advanced collaboration with alzheimers association and others to advance 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 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.-with the va, implemented a community-based nursing facility project to improve quality outcomes. Collaboration of select Hospice programs and va nursing facilities would use education and implementation of best practices to advance culture of quality and quality outcomes in nursing facilities. -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.