Thank you for your ongoing support of the Oregon Hospice & Palliative Care Association. Your membership in the Association enables us to meet the challenges we face together—every year more than ever!

It continues to be a challenging time to be working in hospice and palliative care. Even during an ongoing pandemic, we remain committed to being an organization which grows and changes to offer more support and services to all our members. Here are a few of our recent activities and plans for the future:

• Working diligently during the PHE over its 3+ years to keep up with the ever-changing rules, waivers and guidance documents published by CMS, HHS, the CDC and the state.
• Continuing to offer regular networking opportunities to Regulatory/QAPI staff, Inpatient Hospice Directors/Managers, Hospice Volunteer Coordinators and Hospice Medical Directors, Physicians and NPs.
• Offering complimentary webinars and networking meetings about regulatory topics of interest and providing recordings and slides which can be shared with staff at hospice programs.
• Planning a series of educational and networking meetings at locations around the state, in lieu of hosting a fall conference.
• Making website changes that better serve both the public and our member providers.
• Working with the Oregon Health Authority to create draft Oregon Administrative Rules for Palliative Care Services to be covered by Oregon’s CCOs.
• Participating on national and local committees, advisory groups and panels and coalitions, providing OHPCA with more opportunities to influence, network and gain useful information to share with our members and other organizations and agencies.
• Providing bereavement support services to children and families  through “In This Together – Supporting Children and Families in Grief”, co-supported with Legacy Hospice Services and Providence Portland Hospice programs.

Nothing in the past could compare to the challenges hospice and palliative care programs have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes in our workforce over the past several years. With the Public Health Emergency now officially over as of May 11, we know that we will continue to face the challenges of payment reform, (including value-based purchasing models such as “VBID”), ever-increasing scrutiny by the MACs and other CMS “subcontractors”, continued change and expansion in quality reporting requirements and all of the “usual” challenges in providing care for dying Oregonians and their families. We must continue to address the challenges of providing hospice and palliative care during this unprecedented time of workforce shortages and reimbursement challenges.

Our goal remains to help you lead through the challenges. Our small size means that we can be both flexible and available to you, our members! It is our goal to:

• Be available to you when you need us, including for regulatory support and guidance.
• Be responsive to your requests.
• Keep you informed about our complex industry and the changes being proposed.
• Provide great education and networking opportunities.
• Advocate for your interests with external stakeholders who have the power to affect our work.

These are services and benefits you receive as a member of the Oregon Hospice & Palliative Care Association. For these reasons, we invite you to be a Professional Provider member for 2023-2024. Thank you for your many contributions to the residents of our state.

Best Regards,

Barb Hansen, MA, RN, CEO

ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP

Individual Member

Individual Members are individuals that have an interest in hospice and palliative care.

Member benefits include discounted registration rates at Oregon and Washington hospice and palliative care organization conferences and events, subscription to weekly Hospice News Network, inclusion on mailing list for educational opportunities, fundraising events, etc. Individual members are non-voting members.

Dues: $50 per Year