Hospice Care’s Impact Wins Award
October 14, 2011 | By: Communications Department
From a field that began with 64 contestants in four major categories, hospice care won Modern Healthcare’s Big Impact Tournament. Hospice care defeated contenders such as electronic health records and patient safety advocacy. Voters decided hospice care has had the biggest impact on the healthcare delivery system over the past 35 years.
“Much of what now is considered integral to quality healthcare has roots that can be traced back to hospice,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “It is heartening to see that the readers of Modern Healthcare recognize the innovative contributions of hospice during a time when reducing hospital re-admissions and other hallmarks of quality are being discussed as essential elements of quality, cost-effective care.”
Innovations that are hallmarks of hospice care include:
• Patient-centered care that focuses on the wishes and priorities of those being cared for;
• Home and community-based care that empowers patients to receive care at home, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other settings;
• Caregivers who support families and teaching them to care for their loved ones at home; and
• Interdisciplinary, holistic care that focuses on pain management, symptom control, psychosocial and spiritual support.
In the US, hospice began as a volunteer-driven, grassroots movement in the late 1970s. Today, hospice is an integral part of the healthcare landscape that cares for more than 1.5 million patients every year.
“Innovation never stops within the hospice field with many hospice organizations working to develop the continuum of care that builds on the many benefits of hospice and would bring more seamless care delivery to all individuals facing serious and life-limiting illness,” Schumacher added.
From the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization