Welcome to The Greater Washington Partnership for
Palliative and End-of-Life Care, working to bring families,
providers, health professionals, consumers and the
public together to improve care for patients and families
coping with advanced illness and end-of-life issues.  

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ensure that Patients in Pain May Access the
Medication They Need -- Submit Comments to the FDA by June 30, 2009. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may soon issue new Risk
Evaluation and Management Strategies (REMS) for certain opioid pain
management medications that could restrict patient access to them or remove
them from the market.  The FDA welcomes comments and letters on the  REMS by
June 30, 2009.  To review the issues and policies related to the REMS that the
FDA is currently considering, please click here.  We encourage all interested
parties to write the FDA to inform them of the need of patients in pain to access
medications that alleviate their symptoms.  To submit comments to the FDA,
please click here to use their online form or mail a letter to Division of Dockets
Management (HFA305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room
1061, Rockville, MD 20852.  All comments on this issue, whether submitted online
or by mail, must include the following label: Docket No. FDA-2009-N-0143.

"Quality of Life for the Children" -- September 11 and
12, 2009 -- Third Annual National Conference on Pediatric Palliative Care from the DC Pediatric Palliative Care Collaboration.  Register
Now!  The 2009 Quality of Life for the Children brings together national and
international experts in providing comprehensive care to children and their families
with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. The conference will disseminate
state-of-the-art information on quality of care for pediatric patients.  For more
information, view the conference brochure.  To register online, please click here.  

Apply for the 2010 Circle of Life Award by August 9,
2009.  The American Hospital Association's Circle of Life Award honors innovation in palliative and end-of-life care.  For more information, including judging
criteria and an application packet, please click here to visit the Circle of Life Award
website; completed application packets are due by August 9, 2009.  Winners of the
2009 Circle of Life Award will be publicized on the Circle of Life Award website in
mid-July.  The Partnership would like to congratulate Washington DC's Providence
Hospital on earning a 2008 Circle of Life Citation of Honor, as well as the
Partnership's own Outstanding Palliative Care Award in 2006.

"Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009"
introduced by Virginia Senator Mark Warner.  The “Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009” will help seniors and their families make
more informed medical decisions about end-of-life planning.  Read more.

Leading Palliative Care Physician Invited to White
House Discussion on Healthcare Reform.  Dr. Diane E. Meier of the Center to Advance Palliative Care was invited by the White House to participate in
the third and final discussion of a series of roundtables on healthcare reform
between physician stakeholders.

JSSA offers Fall 2009 Training Institute for mental
health professionals.  JSSA will host a Training Institute for mental health professionals (including LCSW-Cs, LCSWs, psychologists, counselors, education
professionals, and psychiatric nurses) from September - December 2009.  Each
educational program is eligible for CEUs.  For more information, including a list of
topics, please consult this brochure from the JSSA Training Institute.  

Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines for Palliative
Care. The National Consensus Project has released its second edition of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care.  The Guidelines have been
revised to offer the most current information on preferred practices for high quality
palliative care.  Visit the NCP website to learn more or obtain a copy of the
Guidelines.

"One Journey, Many Voices."  Video on End-of-Life
Care Available Online.  Tell Us What You Think!  The Greater Washington Partnership collaborated with AARP in producing "One Journey, Many
Voices," a thirty-minute video offering a rich, diverse array of perspectives on
serious illness and the end of life.  This extraordinary video is now available online
through our website.  After you watch the video, we'd love for you to tell us what you
think via our online feedback form.

New Medicare Specialty Code for Hospice and
Palliative Care.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a new physician specialty code for Hospice and Palliative Care. The
new physician specialty code will be 17 and goes into effect October 1, 2009.
Physicians self-designate their Medicare physician specialty on the Medicare
enrollment application (CMS-855I).

DC Coalition on Long-Term Care to Develop Findings
on Nursing Assistive Personnel.  As of Summer 2009, the DC Board of Nursing will regulate nursing assistive personnel.  To guide and stimulate the
Board's thinking on nursing assistive personnel, the DC Coalition on Long-Term
Care will submit findings to the Board, especially regarding the skills and training
requisite for nursing assistive personnel at various stages of their career.  For
more information or to get involved in this initiative, please contact Vera Waltman
Mayer at vmayer at iona dot org.

The Montgomery County, Maryland offers a report
and analysis of their November 2008 Senior Summit online at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/sentmpl.asp?
url=/content/pio/senior/summit.asp.  Click here to read more about Montgomery
County's recent research and planning into how County services can better meet
the needs of local seniors.

Partnership To Offer Presentations for Senior Citizens
on Palliative Care Beginning Summer 2009.  The Partnership will conduct presentations at local community organizations and senior centers on how
palliative care can help senior citizens improve their quality of life beginning in
Summer 2009.  Please contact us to schedule a presentation at your facility.

DC Offers Up-To-Date Information On Stimulus  
Funds.  The DC government has created a new website, recovery.dc.gov, to inform the public about its efforts to apply for and allocate funds made available
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  An FAQ is also
available on health-related funds at the following link: http://recovery.dc.
gov/recovery/cwp/view,a,11,q,462367.asp.

New Partnership Website.  Exciting changes are happening
at www.gwpartnership.org! The Partnership will launch a new and improved website in early 2009.

Talk With Us About How to Improve the Comfort Care
Order.  The Partnership's Public Policy Committee is currently interviewing health care professionals and community members about how the DC Comfort
Care Order could be made easier for patients and families.  Would you like to
share your thoughts with us?  Please contact us to schedule an interview.

New E-Newsletter on "Seniors and Caregivers" in
Montgomery County, MD.  The Montgomery County government has created a new e-newsletter on "Seniors and Caregivers."  Subscribes will receive
automatic updates on events and meetings, new or modified programs, benefits
and services, changes in policies and/or laws, and other relevant information for
seniors and caregivers in Montgomery County.  To subscribe to this e-newsletter,
please visit https://ext01.montgomerycountymd.
gov/entp/s1p/esubpublic/newsubscriber.do.

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare   
Services (CMS) officially recognize Hospice and Palliative Medicine as a medical sub-specialty.  This recognition will simplify and improve
reimbursement for hospice and palliative care services.  Read more...

DC Develops Ombudsman Office for Medicaid
Program.  The District of Columbia is developing an Ombudsman Office that will work to ensure the safety and well-being of Medicaid beneficiaries in need of
care and services to which they are entitled, as well as promote excellence and
confidence in the DC Medicaid program. To read more about the new DC
Ombudsman Office, including a list of services to be provided, please click here.

DC, MD, and VA rated above national average in
access to hospital-based palliative care.  The Center to Advance Palliative Care has awarded the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia a
grade of B, by comparison with a national average of C, in a new report card
ranking the availability of  hospital-based palliative care state by state.  The
Partnership urges the region to continue working to lead the nation in advancing
the availability and the quality of palliative care services.  Read the report card.

LACRC Researches Latino Hospice Use in DC.
The Latin American Cancer Research Coalition (LACRC) has completed a research paper funded by the National Cancer Institute on Latino hospice use in
Washington DC.  The research paper is available here on the Partnership website,
with permission from Barbara Kreling, PhD, MPH, Cancer Control Program,
Lombardi Cancer Center.  Read the research paper.
Please join the Partnership and support our efforts to
make real changes in palliative and end-of-life care in
Greater Washington. Contact us for more information.
The Greater Washington Partnership for Palliative and End-of-Life Care
The Greater Washington
Partnership for Palliative
and End-of-Life Care:



Programs and Activities:









Resources and
Information:






Get involved:



Contact the Partnership: