NHPCO Congratulates 'We Honor Veterans' Grant Recipients for 2011

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five hospice organizations from across the nation have been chosen as grant recipients in the third year of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Reaching Out grants program.  The grantees are:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110105/DC25260LOGO)

• Guardian Hospice – Franklin, Tennessee
• Hope Hospice & Palliative Care – Medford, Wisconsin
• Hospice of Central Iowa – West Des Moines
• Mercy Hospice – Roseburg, Oregon
• Mountain Hospice – Belington, West Virginia

Funded through a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Reaching Out grants were created to support innovative programs committed to increasing access to hospice and palliative care for rural and homeless Veterans.

"These grants serve a two-fold purpose," said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. "They support specific, community-based programs and the lessons learned will help the VA in discovering new ways to reach veterans who are homeless or living in rural areas and in need of quality care as they near the end of life."

Throughout 2011, grantees will be implementing outreach models in their communities designed to expand and increase the quality of care and services provided to Veterans coping with life-limiting illness. 

The models guiding the work to be done in 2011 were originally developed by Reaching Out grantees in 2009 and 2010.  The 18 grantees who were part of year one and two of the Reaching Out grants program focused on establishing partnerships between community hospices and VA facilities – all with the ultimate goal of increasing access and improving quality of care for Veterans.

In addition to the distinguished organizations receiving grant awards this year, work continues by the organizations that were 2010 Reaching Out grant recipients: Arkansas Hospice, Inc.; California Hospice Foundation; Delaware Hospice, Inc.; Hospice of the Bluegrass; Hospice of Chattanooga, Inc.; and LINK of Hampton Roads, Inc.

Grant reviewers from the field evaluated forty proposals submitted to NHPCO. 

"All of us at NHPCO and the VA appreciate the enthusiastic response to the Reaching Out program and we thank our current and previous grantees for their continuing dedication to serving Veterans," added Schumacher. 

As part of the initiative to reach more Veterans in need of hospice and palliative care, NHPCO in collaboration with the VA created the We Honor Veterans website (www.WeHonorVeterans.org) offering information and resources for organizations interested in better serving Veterans at the end of life.

Media Contact:

Jon Radulovic, 703-837-3139 or [email protected].

Emil Zuberbueler, 703-647-6687 or [email protected].

SOURCE National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization