For Immediate Release:
March 11, 2021

Secretary Leon Panetta to Speak at Upcoming NHPCO Conference

Panetta will offer a live address on Friday, March 26

(Alexandria, Va) – Secretary Leon Panetta will join the line-up of speakers for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) upcoming 2021 Leadership and Advocacy Conference, March 22 – 26. Secretary Panetta will deliver a live address on Friday, March 26 at 12:30 p.m. EST during this virtual conference that draws leaders and senior managers from across the hospice and palliative care provider community.

A pioneering champion for hospice care in the United States Congress, while he was a member of the House of Representatives, Panetta was instrumental in getting the Medicare Hospice Benefit legislation passed in 1982. Sponsored and championed by Representative Panetta (D-CA) and Representative Bill Gradison (R-OH) in the House and Senator Bob Dole (D-KS) in the opposite chamber, hospice would not be what it is today without their efforts. Secretary Panetta will share some reflections as we approach the 40th anniversary of the benefit.

“The advocacy of these men has made a difference in the lives of millions of Americans who have availed themselves to the person- and family-centered care that hospice brings to more than 1.5 million Americans every year,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. “We are honored that Secretary Panetta will be addressing the provider community at our conference.”

          Secretary Leon Panetta

Secretary Panetta served as White House chief of staff in the Bill Clinton administration. In 2009 he assumed the role as CIA Director and then U.S. Secretary of Defense under President Obama. In 2013, he returned as Chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, which he founded with his wife Sylvia in 1997.

NHPCO’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference is the premier conference for hospice and palliative care leaders, and safely brings our community together to learn, collaborate. Online registration for this virtual event is open online.

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Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Communications
Ph: 571-412-3973