A Proclamation from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
WHEREAS, in a year that has been beset with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S. hospice and palliative care community has met this challenge and continued to serve patients and families in need of the person-centered care they provide;
WHEREAS, for more than 40 years, hospice and community-based palliative care providers have helped provide comfort and dignity to millions of people, providing person- and family-centered care in an increasingly fragmented and broken health care system;
WHEREAS, the interdisciplinary team model at the core of hospice and palliative care provision involves a wholistic approach to treatment, including expert medical care and symptom control, as well as attending to the patient’s emotional, spiritual and psycho-social needs, and provides family services like respite care and bereavement counseling;
WHEREAS, palliative care delivers expertise to improve quality of life and relief from pain, can be provided at any time during an illness, and hospices are some of the best providers of community-based palliative care;
WHEREAS, 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries living with life-limiting illness, and their families, receive care from the nation’s hospice programs through the Medicare hospice benefit every year in the U.S.;
WHEREAS, hospice and palliative care organizations are advocates and educators about advance care planning that help individuals make decisions about the care they want;
WHEREAS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have pledged to put patients first in all of its programs – including hospice – ensuring a coordinated and patient-led approach to care, protecting patient choice and access to individualized services based on a patient’s unique care needs and wishes.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the NHPCO Board of Directors do hereby proclaim November 2020 as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month and encourage citizens to increase their understanding and awareness of care at the end of life, discuss their end of life wishes with their families, and observe this month with appropriate activities and programs.
Board of Directors
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
November 1, 2020
NHPCO’s CaringInfo.org website offers more information about hospice care, palliative care, advance care planning, and grief & loss.
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