As you gather with loved ones this holiday season, seize the opportunity to ensure you are in the driver’s seat when it comes to your care. We at NHPCO are here to help you make informed decisions and take the steps to make sure your wishes are followed at end of life. Start the Conversation Discussing and determining your preferences for health care is called Advance Care…
As families gather this holiday season, they often find themselves in some uncomfortable conversations: politics, religion, or when they plan to have kids. For some, end-of-life planning can be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be. It is important to to communicate your wishes to family. We at NHPCO are here to help you and your family make informed decisions and take the steps to make sure your wishes are followed at end of life. This process of discussing and determining your preferences for health care is called Advance…
You should know that grief is often exacerbated around the holidays which can make this time of year especially difficult for you. As we enter the holiday season, consider these strategies, from “What’s your Grief?” to help you cope. Keep in mind, this advice is not one-size-fits-all. Take what works for you and leave the rest. As you navigate this holiday season be gentle with yourself…
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Hospice Action Network welcome Graciela and Nathan, our new interns. They have joined our team to develop resources to support hospice and palliative care providers and patients experiencing grief as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Graciela Rayome is a second-year Master of Public Health candidate at the University of Delaware with a concentration in Health Policy and Management.…
As the beltway is entrenched in a busy time of the year, focusing on a big infrastructure and reconciliation package, funding the government and raising the debt-ceiling, the Hospice Action Network is working closely with the hospice and palliative care champions on the Hill, and within the Department of Health and Human Services, to advance…
Palliative care is patient and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and treating suffering. Palliative care throughout the continuum of illness involves addressing physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and to facilitate patient autonomy, access to information and choice. Right now, Medicare beneficiaries are in need, because they cannot access…
A Look Back at 2020 2020 presented a year of challenges, dominated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and with the staunch support of hospice and palliative care advocates, the Hospice Action Network worked tirelessly to ensure that hospices have the resources they need to continue to provide high quality care during this public health emergency. On March 27, 2020, the House passed…
Black communities are grieving. They have been hit doubly hard in recent months, first by COVID-19, which takes black lives at two times the rate it kills white people, and then by the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbrey, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. While much of the country is still under stay-at-home orders, and many…