December 2007

December 2007

Welcome to Connections.  The current edition of Connections and archives of previous editions are located at www.caringinfo.org under the 'community' tab.  Please forward this e-newsletter to your staff, coalition members and other organizational partners using the 'pass this on to a friend' prompt at the bottom.

Partnering for Children Campaign Launched... As previously reported, the new campaign Partnering for Children was officially launched November 29 at the Clinical Team Conference. A joint effort between NHPCO, Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition (CHPCC), and the National Hospice Foundation, the campaign is designed to help get the word out about compassionate, family-centered healthcare for children with life-threatening conditions. CHPCC Board President Melissa Gilbert delivered the opening plenary session at CTC that launched the campaign. Partnering for Children is focused on engaging partners in an effort to improve pediatric palliative care and hospice. Activities will include: community engagement, resources for parents, siblings and caregivers, a virtual resource library, and national media outreach. The first national article about campaign spokesperson Melissa Gilbert was carried by Reuters News Service on November 23. Additionally, the local ABC affiliate and local radio in New Orleans featured events from the event. Learn more and sign-up to be a part of this important campaign at www.partneringforchildren.org.

Wear an inspirational bracelet to show your support for the Partnering for Children campaign!  100% of the net proceeds from every bracelet go directly to improving the care and quality of life for children with life-threatening conditions. 

LIVEpartners & caringinfo have merged... If your Web site has a link to caringinfo.org or livepartners.org please be sure to update your link.  Check out the Caring Connections' newly updated consumer Web site, www.caringinfo.org, which is now more user-friendly and incorporates the old content from both caringinfo.org and livepartners.org into one site.  Please note:  The community outreach resources that were posted on livepartners.org are now at www.caringinfo.org (under "Community") so please delete your Web link to www.livepartners.org.   

National Healthcare Decisions Day Set for April 16, 2008... Join other national, state and community organizations to ensure that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions. To learn more, visit www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org. Sign up your organization to ensure you receive timely communications about the NHDD activities and to confirm your commitment to this initiative.

New Workplace Outreach Guide Available... Caring Connections' new It's About How You LIVE-At Work Outreach Guide is now available to help your hospice and/or coalition engage local businesses in your community.  The Outreach Guide can be downloaded for free at www.caringinfo.org (under 'Community' then click 'Workplace Outreach,').  The Outreach Guide is a valuable supplement for hospices to use with the new It's About How You LIVE-At Work: Employer's Guide to Work-Life Programs and Policies and educational brochures that are now available for purchase at NHPCO's Marketplace.  For more information about Caring Connections' new It's About How You LIVE – At Work initiative, visit caringinfo.org (under 'Business') or call 800/658-8898.

Unplugged Released in Paperback... NHPCO Senior Fellow Bill Colby's book, Unplugged: Reclaiming Your Right to Die in America, has just been released in paperback. The book was chosen by the Library Journal as one of the best consumer books in 2006, and was the national winner of the American Writers Association's Medical Book of the Year, Trade Category.

Hospice Month Partnership with Hospice Pharmacia... In recognition of National Hospice Care Month, Hospice Pharmacia and NHPCO have partnered to develop a public education and awareness campaign. The goal of the campaign is to disseminate consumer friendly information that will enhance knowledge and demystify misconceptions about hospice care. An informational brochure will be distributed with each package of medication delivered to hospice patients and their families during the month of November. This brochure will reach over 120,000 residences throughout the United States. Hospice Pharmacia is the market leader in comprehensive pharmacy services for hospice, providing expert clinical consultation and medication distribution services throughout the United States and Guam. Palliative care-trained pharmacists are available 24/7 to support medication care planning and to respond to the needs of nurses, patients, and physicians. Hospice Pharmacia shares the risk of medication costs and ensures appropriate use of medication. To view a copy of this brochure or to learn more about Hospice Pharmacia, visit www.hospicepharmacia.com.

New Resources from Caring Connections... Check out the new educational brochures from Caring Connections at www.caringinfo.org (under 'Resources')! A few to name are: Advice for Physicians Caring for Dying Patients, A Guide for Working Caregivers and Helping Children Cope with the Death of a Loved one. These brochures and others are great for patient/family education and community outreach, and are available for a single copy download at the Caring Connections Web site and purchase through NHPCO's Marketplace.

Free Chinese-American Outreach Guide for hospices and coalitions available from Caring Connections, with the assistance of the Chinese-American Coalition for Compassionate Care (CACCC) of California and HomeReach Hospice of Columbus, Ohio.  The Guide can be downloaded from the newly updated caringinfo.org (click on the 'Community' tab).

Check Out NHPCO's New Inclusion and Access Toolbox... The Toolbox is designed to give you new tools and resources to create an inclusive hospice organization.  Foundations of inclusive care are described in each chapter to help you meet the needs of your unique communities. Preview the Inclusion and Access Toolbox, featuring the Business Case for Inclusion and excerpts from each chapter or order your copy of the Toolbox from NHPCO's Marketplace.

Register now for NHPCO's 23^rd Management and Leadership Conference... Advocacy in Action: Mobilizing People and Organizations to Lead Change is the topic of this year's MLC. The conference dates are April 10-12, 2008 in Washington, DC at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Also featuring the 4^th National Hospice Foundation Gala. For more information on the MLC, visit NHPCO's website.  

Call for Proposals Open for NHPCO's 2nd Conference on Access to Hospice and Palliative Care... The 2008 Access conference is taking place August 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in Minneapolis, MN. The topic is Access: Obstacles, Options and Opportunities. The submission deadline for proposals is January 18, 2008. For more information, visit NHPCO's website.

Caring Connections Provides It's About How You LIVE – At Work Outreach Training in Kentucky... The Kentucky Association of Hospice and Palliative Care sponsored statewide workplace outreach training for their hospice members on September 28 which featured Caring Connections' It's About How You LIVE-At Work resources. For more information about resources for workplace outreach, visit www.caringinfo.org (under 'Community').  

If you have community engagement resources that you would like to include in "Connections," please contact Helen Ennis at Hennis@nhpco.org.