The Medicare Hospice Benefit provides a person-centered approach to care, offering services based on a person’s unique care needs and wishes. Hospice offers a team-oriented approach to treatment that includes expert medical care, comprehensive pain management, and emotional and spiritual support.
November is National Hospice & Palliative Care month. We want to do our part to raise awareness for Hospice and Palliative Care. Hospice care can do wonderful, remarkable things and those who work in the industry know first hand. That is why we wanted to share some stories that highlight the gift of hospice and support the value of the Medicare hospice benefit and guaranteeing access for all americans.
Hospice care helps people focus on living.
For more than 35 years, the Medicare hospice program has helped people spend their final months at home, surrounded by family and friends, with comfort and dignity. In an increasingly fragmented health care system, hospice shows how health care can – and should – work at its best.
At the VNA Hospice and Palliative care of Southern California we strive to provide the highest quality of care to patients, families and their caregivers. This includes being experts at pain management and patient comfort at the end-of-life when it matters the most. We wholeheartedly support the efforts of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHP) and urge you to support the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) by following the link below:
About PCHETA
PCHETA would expand opportunities for interdisciplinary education and training in palliative care, including through new education centers and career incentive awards for physicians, nurses, physician assistants, social workers and other health professionals. The bill would also implement an awareness campaign, to inform patients and healthcare providers about the benefits of palliative care and hospice and the services available to support individuals with serious illness, as well as direct funding toward palliative care research to strengthen clinical practice and health care delivery (Access a bill summary).PCHETA enjoys broad support from 35 state organizations and over 50 national organizations, including the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the National Alliance for Caregiving, the Association of Professional Chaplains, and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
September was National Pain Awareness Month
September was National Pain Awareness Month. There is a misconception that pain is a natural part of aging or illness. There is almost always a reason why somebody is experiencing pain, whether that be physically, emotionally, or psychologically.
Find out more about how we manage pain at the end-of-life.
