Providing care and services that are responsive to the needs and exceed the expectations of those we serve.

General Information

Articles of Interest

• Beresford, Larry. Patient and Family Centered Care. NHPCO. Newsline. September, 2006.

Helpful Organizations

• Caring Connections
• The Institute for Family-Centered Care
• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Resources to Meet Requirements of NHPCO's Quality Partners Program
  • AAHPM Position Statements
  • AAHPM Educational Events
  • AAHPM Journal
  • AAHPM Educational Products

Hospice Operations

Availability of Services

Coordination of Care

• Traveling Patient Toolkit  (NHPCO, 2006)

Care Planning

• What is Patient Focused, Family Centered Medical Care?
  • Chapter Two of Resource Guide: Achieving Quality of Care At Life’s End by Joan M. Teno. This chapter focuses on the components of Patient Focused, Family Centered Medical Care and identifying opportunities to improve. The entire toolkit is made available through TIME: Toolkit of Instruments to Measure End-of-Life Care, the website is published by Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Medical School.
• Guidelines for Spiritual Care in Hospice  (NHPCO, 2001)
  • The Guidelines for Spiritual Care in Hospice has been in the works for many years. It has benefited from the insights, thoughts, and prayers of innumerable people. In some ways, these guidelines arise out of everyone who has taken an interest in the spiritual caregiver section of the National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals. There has been much listening, and much concentration and consolidation of what was heard. We hope that what results in the document is an inspiration to the continuing improvement in spiritual caregiving in hospice.
• Teaching Patient-centered Care
  • Article by Gary R. Gray, DO which describes techniques for being patient centered. (Fam Med 2002; 34(9):644-5)
• Fast Fact and Concept #017; Patient-Centered Interviewing: Understanding The Illness Experience
  • Bruce Ambuel reviews the four dimensions: Feelings, Ideas, Function, and Expectations (FIFE) when assessing a patient. Document is provided by EPERC.

Bereavement

• Guidelines for Bereavement Care in Hospice  (NHPCO, 2002)
  • Guidelines for Bereavement Care in Hospice gathers the collective knowledge, expertise, experience, practice and wisdom of over 80 hospice professionals whose work takes them to the very depths of human experience. These guidelines do not replace applicable local, state, and federal regulations and standards, but enhance them. They provide information that will help hospice bereavement professionals put regulations and standards into practice, ensuring that they are including and addressing what we consider to be essential components of an effective hospice bereavement program.

Help Desk

If after reviewing the online resources you need additional assistance, contact quality@nhpco.org or the Quality Team at 703-837-1500.