NewsLine - August 2011 - (Page 1)

The Monthly Membership Publication of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization August 2011 Marketing Hospice: Ethical Practices T here are approximately 5,000 hospices in operation across America today. And, while marketing hospice was once considered “in poor taste” among many providers, nearly all hospices now engage in some form of marketing. They have to. The key is doing it the right way— through the practice of ethical marketing. The core elements of marketing— branding, market segmentation, advertising, messaging—are not inherently bad or unethical. Marketing is only viewed negatively when an organization misrepresents its services or its ability to meet people’s needs, or dishonestly portrays its competition. Conversely, engaging in ethical marketing practices reflects well on the hospice and on the industry. Until now, however, there was no industry standard to serve as a guide and model. That changed on June 13 when NHPCO released the position statement and commentary, “Hospice and Palliative Care: Ethical Marketing Practices.” Developed by the NHPCO Ethics Committee, approved by the NHPCO board of directors, and two years in the making, the document focuses on six key components: Access to Care; Competition; Customer Service Excellence and Boundaries; Hospice and Palliative Care Organizations as Referral Sources; New Trends in Marketing and continued on next page Inside Helping Children Grieve Dr. Kelly Rhoades discusses what grieving children need from adults when someone they love is dying, with case studies and suggestions to help you apply the information to your practice. Partnering to Provide PACE Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro has partnered with a health system, a homehealth agency and a retirement community to bring PACE services to its community. President/CEO Patricia Soenksen discusses the innovative collaboration. Plus… • A Message From Don on the Spirit of Generosity So Unique to Hospice • Hospice Outreach: Tailoring the Message to the Audience • Back into the Spotlight: Hospice Care Behind Prison Walls • New Pediatric Palliative Care Training Module • WHV: Earning Your Stars May be Easier Than You Think • Free Online Videos About Hospice Care Available • Member News and Notes • Regulatory Tip of the Month • Upcoming NHPCO conferences, Webinars and more The Voice of NCHPP How can you improve customer service and after-hours response times while also managing a growing census? Nurse Section leader, Teresa Wheatley, shares what worked at Hospice of Lancaster. http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=4701 http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=4701

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NewsLine - August 2011

Marketing Hospice: Ethical Practices
A Message From Don
We Earned Our Merit Badge in Clinical Excellence (display ad)
Recruiting Problems? HMR (display ad)
Helping Children Grieve
ChiPPS: A Gold Mine for Pediatric Palliative Care Resources
The Voice of NCHPP
Providing Seamless Hospice Care
Hospice in the Continuum: Partnering to Provide PACE
Collaboration. Big Picture Perspective. Masterful Results (display ad)
We Honor Veterans Products from Marketplace (display ad)
Back into the Spotlight: Hospice Behind Prison Walls
Free Online Videos About Hospice Care
WHV: Earning Your Stars May be Easier Than You Think
Hospice Outreach: Tailoring Your Message to Your Audience
New Pediatric Training Module
Member News and Notes
Regulatory Tip of the Month
Educational Offerings
Back Cover

NewsLine - August 2011