 On behalf of our Coalition team, we wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. It’s time to renew, recharge and reconnect!
There is something always very appealing to me about starting a new year and I am excited to announce the launch of the Coalition’s new strategic framework for the next three years. The plan was developed by our Board over the past eight months after receiving, reviewing, and incorporating feedback from many (internal and external) stakeholders, including some of you!
- Our Mission: We improve the care of people with serious or life-limiting illnesses by convening the field, advocating for equitable policies and improved health outcomes, establishing best practices, and sharing resources.
- Our Vision: All patients, families and caregivers who need it will have equitable access to quality hospice and palliative care.
More details will be published in our upcoming Impact Report that will be available soon on our website.
We look forward to a year of renewal, recharging the way we work and reconnecting with you and our field in old ways and new.
Amy Melnick, MPA |
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Coalition Submits Recommendations to NIH/NINR re: Palliative Care Research
On December 13, the Coalition submitted a letter to the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) recommending changes to their proposed 2022-2025 Strategic Framework that urges continued focus on palliative care research. Read the Coalition’s full comments and recommendations.
Coalition Meets with CMMI re: Quality Measures Recommendations
In late November, the Coalition’s Advocacy Strike Team met with officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to discuss policy recommendations that the Coalition submitted calling for high priority quality measures to be used in any model designed for people with serious illness.
The recommendations prioritized the following five guiding principles:
- Focus on what matters most to patients and families,
- Address healthcare inequities and social determinants of health,
- Support a thriving workforce,
- Build on the best and broadest measures available today or in development, and
- Minimize data collection burden on participating providers.
Read the Coalition’s letter to CMMI.
Coalition Praises the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Provider Protection Act
The Coalition praises the passage of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (HR 1667), which unanimously passed the US Senate on August 6, 2021 and passed the House of Representatives on December 8, 2021. The Coalition endorsed this legislation earlier this year that aims to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals. Read more about the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act and the HR 1667 legislation.
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One of the Coalition’s goals is to share resources that will improve health equity and benefit the field. Below are two survey opportunities that we request you share with your patients and colleagues as appropriate.
 Survey Opportunity: LGBTQ+ Patients Living with Serious Illness
Dr. Cathy Berkman, Professor at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services and Director of the Palliative Care Fellowship, and Dr. Gary Stein, Professor at Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University are launching a study, called Project Respect, to examine the experience of seriously ill LGBTQ patients and their spouses, partners, and widows. The study will gather evidence that can be used to promote respectful, compassionate, and non-discriminatory hospice and palliative care for the LGBTQ community through research, policy recommendations, and advocacy. Learn more HERE.
Please help by reaching out to LGBTQ+ patients and families and distributing the Project Respect flyer so we can all gain more insights about their experiences when receiving care.
Survey Opportunity: Health Equity for Black Patients Living with Serious Illness
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is conducting a comprehensive environmental scan to identify initiatives aimed at improving the care of Black patients living with serious illness, and their families. Responses will help identify and disseminate promising practices.
Please share this questionnaire with relevant colleagues across your organization. The questionnaire should take less than 5 minutes to complete. And, as a thank you for completing it, you will be entered into a raffle to win one of ten $100 gift cards. All contact information will remain strictly confidential.
Click here to complete the questionnaire.
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Pediatric Palliative Care Task Force Holds First Annual Meeting
The National Pediatric Palliative Care Task Force (PPCTF) held its first annual meeting (virtual) on November 18-19. Courageous Parents Network founder, Blyth Lord, opened the meeting with an inspiring keynote about the importance of this interdisciplinary and inter-organizational gathering.
The meeting events included a panel discussion on state and national pediatric palliative care legislation and policies with Judi Lund-Person, Vice President, Regulatory and Compliance at NHPCO, Stacie Sinclair, Associate Director, Policy and Healthcare Transformation at CAPC, and Conrad Williams, Medical Director, Palliative Care, at Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Health.
The two-day agenda also included concentrated time for the three PPCTF workgroups – Payment & Finance, Needs Assessment, and Knowledge and Awareness – to continue developing and advancing their work on key priorities.
A strategic framework is being created that synthesizes the robust output from the meeting and that will govern and guide the Task Force’s work for the new year.
Learn more about the PPCTF’s activities and progress in the 2021 Holiday edition of PPC NOW and share it widely with your colleagues!
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The Coalition congratulates the 
