NPHI Summit Ignites Hospice Innovation to Benefit Communities

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Partnership for Hospice Innovation (NPHI) gathered leaders of member hospices and their partners from across the country at its first annual Igniting Innovation Summit from October 9-11, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. "Those patients, families, and communities served by our nation's non-profit hospice programs will benefit from this event as the attendees return to their communities with a stronger ability to leverage the distinct value their programs provide by using the enhanced learnings and tools from the Summit to advance quality care," Tom Koutsoumpas, President & CEO of NPHI. 

The National Partnership for Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is a collaborative of non-profit, community-integrated, hospice and palliative care providers from across the United States who play a unique role as a crucial safety net for the sickest, most vulnerable patients in the communities they serve.

During this three-day meeting, attendees came together to discuss critical healthcare topics and consider innovative ways to improve advanced illness and end of life care. "The opportunity [the Summit] afforded all NPHI members to learn the latest information, explore new ideas, and validate best practices was so appreciated. For me, the biggest take away was the feeling of confidence that the NPHI movement will truly impact the way advanced illness care and end-of-life care will be delivered, setting a new course for NPHI hospices that will be sustainable in the future," Mary Ann Boccolini, President & CEO of Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice.

The keynote addresses were delivered by:

• Mark Schoeberl, Executive Vice President, Advocacy & Health Quality, American Heart Association
• Dave Coronna, Managing Director of Strategic and Creative Development, Burson-Marstellar (a leading global public relations and communications firm)
• Dr. Thomas Cornwell, CEO, Home Centered Care Institute; Founder, HomeCare Physicians, Northwestern Medicine
• Torrie Fields, Senior Program Manager for Advanced Illness and Palliative Care, Blue Shield of California

Participants were energized by rapid-fire Ted-style "Spark-rounds" on member hospice innovations and had the opportunity to dive deeply into core topics including palliative care, inpatient hospice care, bereavement services, volunteer utilization, programs for special populations, and the Medicare Care Choices Model.

The presentations and discussion provided participants with valuable tools to build on their already excellent standards of care and improve the experience of patients in their communities. The NPHI team is pleased to call the event a success and is enthusiastic for its second annual summit scheduled to take place in Chicago, IL in 2018.

SOURCE National Partnership for Hospice Innovation (NPHI)