Spiritual Care Coordinator Goes to Capitol Hill

Silverado Hospice Dallas/Fort Worth sent our very own spiritual care coordinator, Steve Roland, to Washington, DC as part of the Hospice Action Network (HAN) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). Representatives of this network traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for legislation that will help hospice reach and care for more people in the years to come.

In Washington, Steve joined almost 300 national members of the NHPCO who descended on our Nation’s Capital in support and promotion of two significant hospice initiatives. The first initiative was to influence our legislators to focus the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on testing the new hospice payment system prior to a hospice-side roll-out in October.  The second goal was to gain co-sponsorship within the Senate and House to drive the Hospice Care Planning Act. The Care Planning Act of 2015 calls for provisions to assist in navigating complex healthcare needs and address challenges in advance care planning. Advocates discussed hospice payment reform testing and program integrity measures. Representatives of HAN and the NHPCO spent their time in Washington marching the Hill as well as meeting with senators and members of Congress with the intent of garnering support for the legislation that would make this possible.

Steve shared, “As it turns out the timing of this event could not have been better.  There is a hospice measure in both the House and the Senate right now. I have been so honored to come to this event, but much more than that, it has reminded me again why we do what we do.”

Both of the bills with regard to these initiatives are currently still being worked out and debated in Senate and House.