Call for Proposals

NHPCO’s National Conference on
Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Care Needs of Patients/Families

Main Conference: August 5-7, 2010
The Westin Boston Waterfront, Boston, MA

Submission Deadline: February 9, 2010

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Alan Curtis Kay

If the 2009 national discussion regarding health care reform teaches us nothing else, we know for certain that the models and systems of care for people in the last years of life are likely to change significantly in the coming years.   Who would have thought when health care reform discussions began that advance care planning provisions would have dominated the public discourse for so long?  And while there was much contention, all sides of the debate agree that 25% of Medicare costs are spent in the last year of life. 

We open this Call for Proposals more uncertain about the future of end-of-life care than perhaps we’ve ever been.

Our choices are to see what policy makers create-or don’t create - that might influence the provision of care in the last years of life or to proactively invent the models and care continuums that meet the unmet needs we see every day.  

NHPCO believes that hospice and palliative care is the answer to the end-of-life conundrum because we focus on alleviating suffering and empowering patient autonomy.   Hospice and palliative care professionals:

• provide the highest quality of care AND saves the health care system money;
• honor wishes to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging treatment for some patients AND wishes to continue life-prolonging treatments in others; and
• nurture hope for a pain-free day, a last walk in the garden , a final sunset AND we provide evidence-based, holistic pain and symptom management.

We can pay for a range of services through a diversified business plan that encompasses reimbursement, fundraising and a mix of services that allows us to reduce our reliance on the Medicare Hospice Benefit for our survival. 

We can are inventing the future of the end-of-life care continuum, one community at a time.   Now is the time to expand the care continuum of providers who can meet the unique needs of patients and families traversing this continuum so that future health care reform talks turn to us instead of talking about us. 

The 2010 Conference on Developing the End-of-life Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Needs of Patients/Families will provide opportunities for presenters and attendees to:

• Identify innovative approaches that expand hospice and palliative care service delivery;
• Develop new care delivery models to expand services to pre-hospice patients;
• Integrate the indispensible and essential components of hospice and palliative care into all care settings and delivery systems;
• Discuss regulatory issues that impact the provision of waiver, PACE and other non-Medicare Hospice Benefit models of care;
• Participate in the development and implementation of advocacy strategies to engage, influence and promote an expanded end-of-life care continuum;
• Develop business plans for expanded care delivery outside the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

Participate in this novel conference by submitting a proposal to present at the 2010 Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Needs of Patients/Families conference.  Join hospice and palliative care leaders from across the country who will gather in Boston, MA to invent the future of the care continuum for people in the last years of life. 

Presentations at this conference must promote the provision of high quality care; development of new care delivery models; effective change management; indispensible and essential components of hospice and palliative care; innovative approaches to expand the reach of the hospice and palliative concept of care;    expanding access to underserved populations; fiscally-responsible business development; principles of partnership and cooperation; exploring new models of care and methods of reimbursement; securing new funding sources; supporting staff through program design, implementation and evaluation. Conference sessions will promote the importance of creating a seamless continuum of care that addresses the complex needs of patients and their family caregivers in the last years of life. 

Showcase your innovative programs and leadership in this next wave of healthcare reform – created by hospice and palliative care providers. Let’s invent the future of end-of-life healthcare for Americans. 

Important Dates    

Submission Deadline (midnight ET):  February 9, 2010
Proposal Notification:  late March (through email)

Target Audience
Leadership, management and clinical care staff working in hospice, palliative care, the aging network and the broader healthcare continuum will comprise the audience for this conference, including all levels of staff at hospice and palliative care programs, hospitals, long-term care facilities, senior living communities, PACE programs, adult day service providers, Area Agencies on Aging, home health providers, care managers, and individual practitioners invested in meeting the care needs of people in the last years of life and their family caregivers.   Attendees will include CEOs and executive directors, administrators, directors, clinical managers, clinicians, finance and development managers/coordinators, quality and performance improvement professionals, marketing and public relations managers/coordinators, educators, researchers, funders, policy makers, insurance providers and others interested in creating a new end-of-life care continuum. 

Selection of Conference Faculty
Preconference and plenary speakers are invited by NHPCO staff based on the conference learning objectives and educational needs assessments.  Concurrent presentations are selected through this Call for Proposals.  Preference is given to those with leadership experience and national, regional or state presentation experience; a detailed description of each presenter’s education, qualifications, familiarity with the audience and presentation experience is required. 

NHPCO seeks proposals from a wide variety of professionals involved in end-of-life care. Where programs are direct providers of hospice and palliative care, however, preference is given to members of NHPCO.

Types of Presentations 
The 2010 Developing the End-of-life Care Continuum Conference Planning Committee is seeking proposals in the following categories:

Workshops: 90 minute interactive sessions that demonstrate participant involvement in the learning experience. Workshops present in-depth exploration and application of a topic. A very limited number of 90 minute sessions will be included in this conference.

Concurrent Sessions: 60 minute presentations that provide time for questions/answers. Concurrent sessions provide brief overviews, present findings with application suggestions, review regulatory changes or highlight industry trends.

Paper Presentations: 30 minute presentations of innovative concepts.  Please note that each paper will be paired with at least one other paper and presented in one time slot. 

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships with Commercial Companies    

NHPCO programs are noncommercial. NHPCO endorses the Standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), which specifies that sponsors (i.e. NHPCO) of continuing medical education/continuing education activities disclose relevant financial relationships* with commercial interests* whose products or services are discussed in educational presentations.

NHPCO has implemented a process where everyone who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity must disclose all relevant financial relationships they have with any commercial interest. (This includes NHPCO, as we disclose all educational grants we receive for our conferences, for example, to attendees.) If it is determined that a conflict of interest* exists as a result of a financial relationship faculty has, NHPCO will work with the faculty to resolve the conflict prior to the conference. Any faculty who refuse to disclose relevant financial relationships will be disqualified from presenting at this conference.

Under no circumstances should NHPCO’s national conference be used as a place for promotion of a faculty member’s product, service or monetary self-interest. NHPCO takes the responsibility for ensuring that conferences are free from commercial bias very seriously, and may decline all future proposals from a presenter that does not abide by this policy.

* See below for a glossary of terms.

Presentation Expectations                                                             
All presentations made at NHPCO conferences must adhere to ACCME’s content validation value statements. Specifically, all suggestions or recommendations involving clinical medicine and practice must be based upon evidence that is accepted within the medical profession.

In addition, all scientific research referred to, reported or used in a conference session must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis.

NHPCO faculty is expected to refrain from overt statements, harsh language or pointed humor that disparages the rightful dignity and social equity of any individual or group.

Conference Schedule
In order to achieve a balanced conference program, NHPCO will determine the days and times that sessions are scheduled.  Presenters must be able to speak on the day assigned.  Concurrent sessions scheduled on August 4-6, 2009 will be 60 or 90 minutes in length.  NHPCO reserves the right to change the length of any session. If this occurs, faculty will be notified and asked to adjust their objectives and content accordingly.

AREAS OF EMPHASIS AND TOPIC IDEAS

You will be asked to select one of the Areas of Emphasis identified below when submitting your proposal. The list of topic ideas, however, is not exclusive; it is meant to stimulate your thinking. The Conference Planning Committee is particularly interested in proposals that address the conference theme from individual, organizational, community, state, regional or national perspectives.  

In order to allow an independent evaluation of the relevance and potential effectiveness of the presentation, and to afford us the opportunity to apply for continuing education credit for professional disciplines, submissions must include the following:

• A completed “Presenter Profile” for each presenter, which includes the presenter’s:
  • Current position,
  • Current contact information with email address,
  • Highest degree earned and institutions attended,
  • Familiarity with audience and subject matter,
  • Presentation experience, particularly in a conference setting;
• A title for the presentation that informs the reviewer of the subject matter;
• Area of emphasis and topic area; 
• Presentation level (novice, proficient or expert);
• Presentation type: paper presentation (30 minutes) concurrent (60 minutes) or workshop (90 minutes);
• A brief (paragraph) description of the session that will be used to promote it if it is selected;
• A brief abstract, which includes a complete outline of the content including;
  • What gap in knowledge, practice or outcomes underlies the need for this session? (i.e. what do you want to
  • influence or change by teaching this session and why is that important to the field?);
  • Two or more measurable learning objectives (written from the perspective of what participant will learn rather than what the presenter will teach);
  • Teaching strategies and methodology;

Presentations should demonstrate measurable impact and results.  Your emphasis should be on the application of the concept or solution presented using simulations, exercises, and tools that enhance the learning experience.  Feedback received from previous conferences indicates that attendees are looking for “real-world” examples of what works and “how-to” suggestions to implement new ideas and programs. 

Proposal Review, Selection and Notification Process

NHPCO’s proposal review and selection process ensures a rigorous review of every proposal submitted by members of the Conference Planning Committee.  This Committee is comprised of hospice and palliative care professionals from NHPCO’s Professional Education Committee, National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals (NCHPP), Council of States, NHPCO committees and other education, hospice and palliative care and aging service leaders with demonstrated successes in caring for people in the last years of life.

Proposals will be reviewed carefully based on the following criteria:

Topic is innovative, relevant and/or related to management and leadership in hospice and palliative care and related to the conference theme, objectives and goals;

• Topic is innovative, relevant and/or related to developing a continuum of care at the end of life and related to the conference objectives and goals;
• Time allocation and presentation content are well organized, with an accurate presentation level;
• Presenter has appropriate and relevant speaking/teaching experience;
• Learning objectives are measurable and achievable, (Click on sample here);
• Likelihood of significant interest in the session;
• Quality of practical information: tools, tips, practices, etc. that attendees will be able to implement and/or utilize following the presentation.

The Conference Planning Committee encourages proposals from different companies and organizations representing diverse points of view.  Proposals are selected on the basis of information submitted.  Speakers, session titles, and content are expected to correspond to the proposal.  Any speaker substitutions, deletions, or additions must be approved by NHPCO.  NHPCO reserves the right to edit accepted presentations for publication on NHPCO’s Web site and in conference materials.

All materials provided in conference sessions must be reviewed by NHPCO prior to the conference. As a result, deadlines for session handouts and slides are scheduled well in advance of the conference. Materials not submitted to NHPCO for review in advance may not be shown or provided in conference sessions.

It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to speak at an NHPCO conference.  By sharing your expertise, you make a valuable contribution to the end-of-life care field.  If your proposal is selected, we ask that you view this opportunity as an important commitment and ensure that you are able to deliver the session barring extreme circumstances. 

Electronic Communications
All potential presenters who submit a proposal will receive e-mail notification of their proposal’s status. Once the selection of proposals is complete, a Letter of Understanding (LOU) and other faculty information will be accessible to presenters.  An electronic message will be sent to all presenters whose proposals were accepted with a link to the Conference Faculty Web site.  This Web site will include all deadlines and required information needed for the conference. The majority of communication with faculty is electronic.

Presenter Registration Discount
As a nonprofit association, NHPCO does not provide honoraria for concurrent session presentations.  Speakers must cover all of their individual travel and living expenses. Primary presenters chosen from the Call for Presentations to present in any capacity will receive a 25% discount on the conference registration fee.  NHPCO does not reimburse presenters for travel, lodging or other expenses. 

Audio Visual Equipment
NHPCO provides laptop computers and standard audio-visual equipment for all presentations. Additional information will be provided on the Faculty Web Site.

Click here to submit a proposal

*Glossary of Terms Commercial Interest The ACCME defines a “commercial interest” as any proprietary entity producing health care goods or services, with the exemption of non-profit or government organizations and non-health care related companies. Financial relationships Financial relationships are those relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit.  Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected.  ACCME considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner. Relevant financial relationships  ACCME focuses on financial relationships with commercial interests in the 12-month period preceding the time that the individual is being asked to assume a role controlling content of the CME activity. ACCME has not set a minimal dollar amount for relationships to be significant.  Inherent in any amount is the incentive to maintain or increase the value of the relationship. The ACCME defines “’relevant’ financial relationships” as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest. Conflict of Interest Circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of a commercial interest with which he/she has a financial relationship.