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JOB OPPORTUNITY

Executive Director, Specialist

Odyssey Healthcare

Milwaukee Area - requires 70% travel with company paid expenses - see attached.

NEW CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT

In the Federal Register published August 6, 2009 CMS issued its final rule adopting a MedPAC recommendation regarding a process for certification and recertification of terminal illness. This was included in the Hospice Wage Index for 2010. Please see page 9 of the August newsletter to read the new certification rule.

You will need to do some education of your usual referring physicians about this change as well as your Medical Director, and to educate new referring physicians as you begin your relationship with them. The narrative must be composed by the physician performing the certification or recertification and not by other hospice personnel. In the case of the initial certification, either the attending physician or the hospice medical director is required to compose and sign the clinical narrative.

This rule went into effect October 1, 2009.

Copies of the templates are attached.

COALITIONS

Attached is a listing of the coalitions from our recent survey.

NEW SOURCES

HOPE has been included in Care.com's new Senior Care Directory. Care.com is the premiere source of trustworthy care options for every family member: children, elderly parents, and even pets. The new Senior Care Directory provides a comprehensive listing of resources by state in seven categories: housing resources, transportation resources, home care, end-of-life care, legal resources, and financial planning and management. https://www.care.com/senior-care-directory-p1071-find.html

HPNA, the largest association of its kind, represents over 9,200 members nationally and internationally. The association furthers the growth and professional development of its membership through research, education, special interest groups, chapters and the association's bi-monthly journal JHPN-Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing They can be reached at www.hpna.org or Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, One Penn Center West, Suite 229, Pittsburgh, PA 15276-0100, phone 412.787.9301, fax 412.787.9305.

PORTRAITS OF HOPE

Portraits of Hope is a traveling display of photographs depicting hospice life throughout Wisconsin. This outreach project is an attempt by HOPE and its member licensed hospices to demystify end-of-life care by celebrating hospice patients, families, staff and volunteers. This display will be traveling throughout Wisconsin through 2009. Look for the announcement that it's coming to your area.