Children's Hospice International Founder Ann Armstrong-Dailey Inducted Into The National Association for Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ann Armstrong-Dailey, founding director of Children's Hospice International (CHI), a leading organization in children's hospice and palliative care, has been inducted into The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) Hall of Fame, it was announced.

Ms. Armstrong-Dailey, and four other inductees, was announced at the 2014 NAHC Annual Meeting & Exposition held in Phoenix, AZ, at the Phoenix Convention Center, on October 19-22, 2014. The Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame honors those who have devoted their lives to the care and service of others.

NAHC President Val J. Halamandaris, said: "Ann Armstrong-Dailey has been a true pioneer in promoting hospice and palliative care for children. What she has done is meaningful, visionary and simply historic."

Said Ms. Armstrong-Dailey: "I am incredibly honored to be inducted into The Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame – and I am proud of all CHI has achieved over the past 30 years.  What was only a dream so many years ago -- to provide children with the same standard of hospice and palliative care, with hope for a cure -- is now the modern mindset and the standard approach to helping children in crisis."

Through the efforts of CHI, most of the over 3,000 hospices in the U.S. will now consider accepting children. Also, approximately 450 programs have children-specific hospice, palliative or home care services.

"Ann Armstrong is what President Teddy Roosevelt used to declare as the person in the arena, always being a good citizen. She took that to a higher level than any other citizen through her work with Children's Hospice International. She is a tremendous friend and has always found time to be America's best advocate for children in need. I will always remember her persistence, drive and diplomatic skills in getting the job done. I applaud her for her commitment," said the Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was awarded CHI's "Mattie Stepanek Award" -- named after the extraordinary children's health and world peace champion, New York Times best-selling author and poet, Mattie Stepanek -- for his distinguished service on behalf of children's health in 2005.

Earlier this year, Armstrong-Dailey applauded the re-introduction of the Children's Program of All-Inclusive Coordinated Care (ChiPACC) Act of 2014 in the United States Congress by U.S. Reps. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina and Jim Moran of Virginia. The legislation (H.R. 4605) would provide states with the flexibility to establish a ChiPACC program through a state plan option. The ChiPACC program is a collaborative model of care developed by CHI with technical assistance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which provides critical services through individualized treatment plans for Medicaid eligible children with serious, life-threatening conditions.

U.S. Rep. Moran, who introduced the ChiPACC bill in previous sessions of Congress, said, "No one has done more to improve access to pediatric care services for sick children and their families than Ann Armstrong Dailey.  It's been a privilege to work with her to secure the highly-specialized coordinated treatment plans children with life-threatening diseases need." 

Said U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), a nurse and the lead Republican sponsor of H.R. 4605, "We are so fortunate to have someone like Ann Armstrong-Dailey who has made it her life's mission to support and uplift sick children and their families at a time when they need it most. Ann was influential in building support for my ChiPACC Act, Children's Hospice International Program All-Inclusive Care. Her induction into the 2014 Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame is so very well-deserved."

"On behalf of all of the families and children that have been a part of CHI, I am happy to accept this honored recognition. It was only possible because of the many people – from former First Lady Barbara Bush, who served as CHI Honorary Chairwoman, to HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) and many others – who have helped Children's Hospice International and promoted our cause with passion and vigor throughout the years," said Armstrong-Dailey. She also thanked the attorneys at Arnold and Porter for their pro bono assistance.

The other 2014 inductees into the Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame include:

• Rosemary Johnson Hurzeler, President and CEO, The Connecticut Hospice, Branford, CT
• Sister Mary Giovanni, President and CEO, Angela Hospice and Home Care, Inc., Livonia, MI
• Susan Levine, Executive Director, Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, AZ
• The Hon. Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Portland, OR

Past inductees into the Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame include: Mother Teresa, President William J. Clinton, Sen. Frank E. Moss (D-UT), Sen. Claude Pepper (D-FL), Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Lillian D. Wald, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. Robert J. Dole (R-KS), Hon. Rosalynn Carter, Dame Cicely Saunders, and Mike Vance.

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is a nonprofit organization that represents the nation's 33,000 home care and hospice organizations. NAHC also advocates for the more than two million nurses, therapists, aides and other caregivers employed by such organizations to provide in-home services to some 12 million Americans each year who are infirm, chronically ill, and disabled.

Children's Hospice International is a living memorial to Ensign Alan H. Armstrong and his shipmates lost aboard the U.S.S. Frank E. Evans DD754 on June 3, 1969 – known as the "lost 74" – during the conflict in Vietnam. Armstrong is the brother of CHI Founder Ann Armstrong-Dailey.

SOURCE Kirsten Fedewa & Assoc. for Children's Hospice International

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