Last week I had the great pleasure of attending the National Hospice and Palliative Care’s annual leadership conference in Washington, DC with my new Board Chair, Myra Hill.
In the words of my fellow hospice professional Andrew Reed, “Doing Hospice and doing it well have never been easy things. Hospice isn’t a fun place right now with CR8358 (courtesy of the Paperwork Reduction Act), Medicare Part D scuttles, increasing scrutiny with mechanisms designed by people that don’t understand really what we do…We are not getting a lot of love at present and it can be a bit disheartening. I want to simply say that “we, our movement, is doing very good and meaningful work” and that within tough times are the opportunities to shine!
“Though our movement is not feeling the love now, I want to express my love and admiration for the leaders and staff/volunteers that are devoted to our cause. I believe that hospice people are some of the best people in the world. When I compare working with hospice people to folks from other flavors of healthcare and other industries, we are a different breed! We are not as jaded. It will only stay “special” as long as we have “special” leaders with big hearts, little egos, captivating visions, energy and the business acumen to navigate through a hostile healthcare world. Now is the time to do our most significant hospice work.”
Well said, Andrew. Hospice Savannah will continue to “shine” and be here to help the terminally ill, the bereaved and those needing help with chronic life-limiting illnesses. As our logo says, “We are people with a gift for Helping” and I am proud to be part of the leadership team.