NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 12

continued from previous page

services went into action, many community provider
organizations began to track the activity. As the extent
of the tragedy became apparent, staff at Infinity
Hospice Care took action.
Accounting for Staff and Patients
At 5:30am, the organization's emergency response phone
tree was activated to contact all staff and ensure that all
patients were accounted for. By 9:00am, 120 staff and all
patients & families had been contacted. Fortunately, no
one working for or being cared for at the hospice was
killed or severely injured, yet almost everyone knew
someone who was affected by the shooting.
The organization's emergency phone tree had been put
into place in preparation of the new Condition of
Participation (that went into effect on November 15, 2017).
At the time it was being developed, staff thought it was a
lot of work for something that might not ever be used.
However, it was used - sooner than anyone could have
imagined - and it worked just as it had been designed.
Staff Support at UMC Trauma Center
Once staff and families were accounted for, and the
scope of the shooting became clear, hospice staff
wanted to step up and make their skills available.
University Medical Center is the only LEVEL I trauma
center in Nevada. A number of clinical professionals at
Infinity Hospice are credentialed to work at UMC. Many
of them responded to offer support. As it turned out,
serving food to the UMC medical professionals who
were in disaster response mode was one of the critical
needs at that time. Ensuring that these professionals
had nourishment as they responded to the growing
number of shooting victims was not a job that could be
delegated to any volunteer - staff from Infinity were
more than willing to do what they could to keep the
medical personnel functioning as effectively as possible.
An Important Skill Set
Hospice and palliative care professionals are trained at
dealing with issues surrounding death, dying, and loss
- while this is obvious to those in the field, there are
some outside of the community unfamiliar with the
skills of the interdisciplinary team. Professionals in our

12

NHPCO NewsLine | Winter 2017

field know how to listen, to coordinate, and to refer, all
in response to the individual needs of the person being
cared for. These are abilities that are valued in times of
emergency response. As part of their response, Infinity
Hospice made sure that they were included on a list of
service providers developed by the City Crisis
Management Team.
The site of the tragedy was one familiar to everyone. The
number of people traumatized by this shooting was
extensive. What has become apparent in the weeks and
months following the shooting are the wide range of
individuals in need of support. Many who were present
at the tragedy but did not sustain physical injuries were
unsure if there needs warranted support, particularly
given the scale of the situation. Many without physical
injuries felt that they should not use resources that might
be needed for the severely injured.
Hospice staff volunteering through coordinated efforts
of the Red Cross created an intake form that nurses and
social workers used to assess the needs of those seeking
assistance. A 24/7 counseling call line was set up.
Active listening, an innate skill for hospice
professionals, was essential during this period and
allowed for the quick identification of needs and
necessary referrals.
The Extend of Trauma
As one would expect, hospices have stepped up to provide
counseling support to the community and in the short
time since the shooting they have served many
traumatized individuals. The impact on people's lives has
varied greatly. For example, many of those working at the
outdoor music venue were contract employees, so with
the closure of that entertainment space, they have lost
their employment and means of supporting their families.
Many of those same employees do not have access to EAP
or human resource departments to help them deal with
the trauma of that night. Hospices are meeting these
needs and more. Weekly support groups have been
established and will continue as long as they are needed.
Some of the professionals who responded to the scene and
have taken advantage of counseling services and support



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017

Table of Contents
NHPCO Strategic Vision
Message from Edo
Hospice Lessons Learned
Las Vegas Tragedy
Facts and Figures: Hospice Care
Baystate Health (display ad)
Strategic Accomplishments
State Hospice Profiles (display ad)
Other Side of Conversation
Social Security Disability in Hospice
2018 Webinar Series (display ad)
New Videos
Two Premiere Events
The Coalition
ACP Online Certificate
Meet Zinnia Harrison
Consolo (display ad)
Successful Outreach
We Honor Veterans in 2017
Creative Arts Contest
Content Licensing (display ad)
Member News
Career Center (display ad)
Council of States Spotlight
News from NHF
2018 NHF Gala (dsiplay ad)
News from We Honor Veterans
Pet Peace of Mind (display ad)
Lighthouse of Hope (display ad)
Online Resources
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - intro
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 1
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Table of Contents
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 3
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - NHPCO Strategic Vision
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Message from Edo
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Hospice Lessons Learned
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 7
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 8
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 9
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 10
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Las Vegas Tragedy
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 12
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 13
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Facts and Figures: Hospice Care
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 15
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 16
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 17
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 18
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Baystate Health (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Strategic Accomplishments
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 21
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 22
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 23
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 24
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - State Hospice Profiles (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Other Side of Conversation
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 27
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 28
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 29
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Social Security Disability in Hospice
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 31
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 32
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 2018 Webinar Series (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - New Videos
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Two Premiere Events
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - The Coalition
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - ACP Online Certificate
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Consolo (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Successful Outreach
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - We Honor Veterans in 2017
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 41
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Creative Arts Contest
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 43
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 44
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Content Licensing (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Member News
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 47
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 48
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Career Center (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Council of States Spotlight
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 51
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - News from NHF
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - 2018 NHF Gala (dsiplay ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - News from We Honor Veterans
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Lighthouse of Hope (display ad)
NHPCO NewsLine Winter 2017 - Online Resources
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