Jan Jones  Interview Responses

Nominees were asked to provide written responses to the following questions prior to their interview with the Governance Committee.

A. What do you see as the top three roles of a board member of a national organization?

1. Participate in the Strategic Planning Process  and support the staff in implementing the approved plan. 
2. Be the eyes and ears of those in the field in order to communicate the needs and desires of the members. 
3. Be the liaison to those in the field to support and advocate for the goals of NHPCO with the membership. 

What goals do you hope to achieve through NHPCO board service?  

1. Keep the Hospice Medicare Benefit intact. 
2. Support programs and legislation which will best serve seriously ill persons in our country. 
3. Communicate and support hospice and palliative care internationally. 
4. Encourage innovation. 
5. Ensure the resources are available to accomplish strategic objectives.

B.  The profile of the hospice industry has evolved over the past 10 years and some changes have led to tension between providers.  What do you see as the role of the NHPCO Board with regard to an increasingly diverse membership?  (Increased competition, new entrants, rural vs. urban needs, other post-acute providers adding hospice services, and hospice provider tax status.)

One of the ways the Board can address this diversity is to strive for such on the Board itself.  This helps to ensure representation of all of these areas in the field.  To that end I have worked in both urban and rural settings in Miami and in Nashville during my tenures as CEO and cover additionally diverse areas now in my role as CEO of Elizabeth Hospice in San Diego (Indian reservations, culturally diverse populations, urban and rural settings).  

Competition is not foreign to me as I have served in both CON and non- CON states, both of which had competitive environs.  I have found it to be stimulating in helping my programs to be more innovative in their thinking so embrace fair competition as something to help a program grow – providing educational programming regarding business ethics and competition is a role the Education and Ethics Committees of the Board can address so as a Board Member I would encourage that inclusion on programs to be offered.

As a Board Member it would be crucial to keep all providers at the same table in ensuring consistent messaging to legislators and the public at large so I would be looking for the similarities in the diverse providers, rather than the differences and supporting solid providers regardless of tax status and communicating that message to my peers.