NHPCO NewsLine Fall 2020 - 18

continued

accommodate the patient's fear
of virus transmission from the
hospice team. Initiating
additional contact with patients
and their families via telehealth
even if in-person visits are made
could increase their perception of
a quality experience.
The point is that quality of care is
a patient/family perception and
providers cannot assume their
provision is meeting expectations
unless they determine the
expectations on a continuous
basis. Hospices must figure out
how to recognize and assess the
quality of care experience in eyes
of the patient and family.
Leveling Staff Expectations
During the time of this COVID-19
PHE, hospices must continue and
improve focused efforts on
individualizing patient care.
Because circumstances differ
across the country regarding the
level of impact of COVID,
hospices must extend
individualization to how they as
an agency are addressing and
providing care. There is not a
blanketed and standardized
format for care provision.
Hospice leadership must utilize
critical thinking in determining
how to best meet the needs of
patients in their communities
while balancing meeting the
needs of their staff. Hospice
leadership must be mindful and
intentional in providing guidance
and education to staff. And they
cannot hold staff accountable

18

Newsline / Fall 2020

Hospice leadership must be mindful and
intentional in providing guidance and
education to staff.
unless they provide the information, tools, and resources for staff to
meet their responsibilities.
Staff need to be educated and prepared to enact the organization's
emergency preparedness program for any event including a pandemic.
The more educated the staff the more in control they feel about their
responsibilities and their ability to deliver safe care. In the case of the

COVID-19 Resources from NHPCO
NHPCO has developed a library of resources to help hospice and
palliative care providers navigate the constantly evolving
regulatory changes for delivery of care in the time of COVID-19.
NHPCO staff have worked with hospice experts in the field to
develop content that is relevant and timely.
A partial list of new or updated downloadable resources available
to all providers at www.nhpco.org/coronavirus include:
*	
COVID-19 Illness Tracking Tool for Employees
*	
COVID-19 Bereavement Considerations
*	
Social Isolation: Impact on Health and Interventions
*	
Social Isolation and Palliative Medicine - an article by Dan
Hoefer
*	
COVID-19 Resource for Telehealth RN Case Manager and Triage
Visits, thanks to Sutter Health AIM Program
*	
COVID-19 Patient-Family teaching sheets, compiled by NHPCO

http://www.nhpco.org/coronavirus https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Employee-Screening-Tool.pdf https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Bereavement-Considerations.pdf https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Social-Isolation.pdf https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Social-Isolation-Hoefer-article.pdf https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Resource-Telehealth-RN-Case-Manager-and-Triage-Visits.pdf https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19-Resource-Telehealth-RN-Case-Manager-and-Triage-Visits.pdf https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/COVID-Pt-family-teaching-sheets_Apr-2020.pdf

NHPCO NewsLine Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NHPCO NewsLine Fall 2020