The Coalition Edition, Special COVID-19 Issue

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE

“Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.”
- Maya Angelou

Message from our Executive Director

Our Coalition is enormously proud of all the hospice and palliative care professionals on the front lines caring for COVID-19 patients and all seriously ill patients at risk for COVID-19. This pandemic has changed the way hospice and palliative care is delivered, there is no escaping that fact. However, the critical skills inherent to the profession, pain and symptom management, and effective communication to patients and families are now more important than ever. To quote my friend and colleague, Joe Rotella, MD, Chief Medical Officer, AAHPM, despite the lack of touch and face to face meetings, “the caring doesn’t stop”.

Our goal with this special issue is to highlight the free COVID-19 resources that have been created by each of our member organizations to provide guidance to anyone caring for people with serious illness and their families during this pandemic. A detailed list of all the interdisciplinary resources available from each organization is located on a specific Coalition webpage.

Of special note is our upcoming free virtual COVID-19 Town Hall in the ‘Special Announcement’ section below.

We appreciate the dedicated and extraordinary advocacy, education and service our member organizations and their staff are doing to combat this pandemic and provide as many resources as possible to health care professsionals on the front lines. The Coalition will continue to post more resources on our COVID-19 webpage as they become available.

We wish each of you good health and please stay safe,

Amy Melnick, MPA
Executive Director
National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
COALITION TOWN HALL

COVID-19 Town Hall:
Conversation with Coalition Leaders
April 2, 11:30-12:30 ET

The Coalition is sponsoring a free virtual Town Hall with national hospice and palliative care leaders to discuss COVID-19 field response, address top concerns and answer key questions from professionals in the field.

Moderator: Joe Rotella, MD, Chief Medical Officer, AAHPM
Panelists: Diane Meier, Director, CAPC, Edo Banach, NHPCO, CEO Ginger Marshall, CEO, HPNA, Allie Shukraft, Chair, SWPHN

Objectives

REGISTER HERE (Note: Registration/space is limited.)

COALITION MEMBER AND OTHER COVID-19 RESOURCES

The Coalition created a COVID-19 Resources webpage, that combines helpful
links, fact sheets and other resources that have been created by our member organizations to provide information and guidance to the field on the outbreak of COVID-19. Below are specific links of each Coalition member organization that will direct you to their respective COVID-19 webpage and resources.

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative (AAHPM)
Association of Professional Chaplains (APC)
Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC)
HealthCare Chaplaincy Network (HCCN)
Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA)
National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC)
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
Physician Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (PAHPM)
Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN)
Supportive Care Coalition (SCC)

Other helpful COVID-19 resources include:

Follow #pallicovid hashtag on Twitter, and #pedpccovid (for pediatrics)

Sign up for free updates and education events (available for anyone):
- CAPC (Virtual office hours: Navigating the Impact of COVID-19 in Palliative Care)
- NAHC (Virtual town hall series, Wednesdays, March 25-April 29, 1-2 pm Eastern)
- NHPCO (Ongoing email updates)
- SWHPN (Social Work Open Discussion, Monday thru Thursdays, 7:00 pm Eastern)
- Palliative Care and COVID-19: Implications for Clinical Practice – Part Two, April 2, 2020, 9:00 am – 10:00 am ET REGISTER HERE
Continue to check the Coalition’s COVID-19 webpage for more updates and resources.