CAHSAH: California Association for Health Services at Home

Salus Homecare is a contributing member of CAHSAH, which is a home care trade association with over 600 members and over 1,000 agencies. The types of care giving organizations that belong to CAHSAH include home care agencies, licensed home health agencies, Medicare-certified home health agencies, hospice providers and private duty providers. CAHSAH also includes medical equipment businesses, home infusion pharmacy providers and interdisciplinary professional services organizations. The CAHSAH membership includes companies that provide ancillary products and services such as technology management, financial consulting, insurance and business services.

Members of CAHSAH are committed to promoting the best practices in the delivery of home care services. The organization achieves this through home care education, establishment of standards of quality and the promotion of guides to ethical conduct. All of these activities are designed to enhance the quality of home health services for the general population. CAHSAH takes a leading role in working with state governmental agencies and the public by acting as a credible source of information and an advocate for home health issues. CAHSAH educational programs are developed by the members and serve as a platform to share invaluable field experience on the latest developments in home care services. Topics include: depression in the hospice patient and family, the aide’s role in understanding skin, hair and nail conditions, personal home care aide training and the latest in rehab techniques. Professional education includes a hospice administrator certificate program, a home care administration certificate program and a home care executive certificate program More information Here.

CHAPCA believes that at the center of hospice and palliative care is the belief that each of us has the right to die pain-free and with dignity, and that our families will receive the necessary support to allow us to do so.

The Programs and Services of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association are designed to improve access to quality hospice and palliative care services through education, public policy and public awareness.

The California Hospice and Palliative Care Association advocates with legislators on behalf of those facing life-threatening illness by promoting availability and access to quality end-of-life care.  CHAPCA represents the interests of hospice and palliative care providers in California The CHAPCA. The Legislative Committee annually reviews legislation of interest to the hospice community and takes positions on legislation.

The California Hospice and Palliative Care Association is active in numerous partnerships with targeted groups to provide more information about death and dying, a better understanding of hospice and palliative care, and to assure access to hospice.  A few of the areas where CHAPCA is making a difference in the community are collaboration with:

• California schools and development of a brochure to assist teens in dealing with grief.
• The California Medical Association resulted in legislation that required Physicians to complete 12 hours of continuing medical education on end of life care including Pain Management and Treatment of the Terminally Ill and Dying Patient.
• Development of a program through AARP for Seniors that fostered conversation between family and loved ones.
• Service to Veterans through the Veteran and Hospice Palliative Care (VAHPC) Community Outreach Workgroup, establishing an active California Hospice Veteran Partnership steering committee. In addition we worked closely with the Veterans Administration to ensure  that all Veterans in California have Hospice as a covered benefit.
• In partnership with California Assisted Living Association, CHAPCA jointly advocated with the California Department of Social Services to improve hospice service in Assisted Living Facilities.
• With the Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition, CHAPCA is beginning a project to identify best practices in hospice services to children.

We Honor Veterans, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), invites hospices, state hospice organizations, Hospice-Veteran Partnerships and VA facilities to join a pioneering program focused on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgment. By recognizing the unique needs of America’s veterans and their families, community providers, in partnership with VA staff, will learn how to accompany and guide them through their life stories toward a more peaceful ending.

We Honor Veterans provides educational tools and resources in advancing these goals:

• Promote Veteran-centric educational activities
• Increase organizational capacity to serve Veterans
• Support development of strategic partnerships
• Increase access and improve quality

We Honor Veterans also provides tiered recognition to organizations, known as Partners, that demonstrate a systematic commitment to improving care for veterans. There are four levels that partners can achieve in the program. Partner organizations assess their ability to serve veterans and, using resources provided as part of the program, integrate best practices for providing end-of-life care to veterans into their organization.

The goal of the program is simple – to care for and honor those who have served when they reach the end of life. By working through the partner levels and participating in community partnerships and collaborations, partner organizations are able to educate, engage, and expand awareness to Veterans and their families. A vast majority of Veterans are not enrolled in VA and may not be aware of end-of-life services and benefits available to them, including the Medicare Hospice Benefit and VA-paid hospice care.

As they achieve each Level, organizations will have the ability to promote their increasing commitment to Veterans by displaying the We Honor Veterans affiliation in their facilities, on their websites, in printed community outreach and educational materials and through social media outlets. This allows community members, including Veterans to easily identify organizations that have made a commitment to offer veteran-specific care and services provided by a competent and highly skilled workforce.

For more information, visit Wehonorveterans.org

Learn more about Salus’s partnership here

The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) promotes high-quality, compassionate care for everyone who is seriously ill or nearing the end of life.

To create a community where people explore their wishes for care towards the end of life, express these wishes, and have their wishes honored. Goal is to transform healthcare so that medical care is aligned with individual patient’s preferences—that people get the care they need and no less, and the care they want and no more.

CCCC is an interdisciplinary partnership of thought-leaders from healthcare systems and organizations, government agencies, consumer organizations, and the general public. Through advocacy, education, and resource development, we’re working to ensure organizations and communities have the information, resources, and tools to expand palliative care across the continuum of care.

The Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition (CHPCC) became a division of CCCC in 2015. This strategic unification combined two of the nation’s leading nonprofits dedicated to promoting access to high-quality compassionate care for all who are seriously ill or nearing the end of life. Read more about this collaboration.

California has always been a highly diverse and innovative state. The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California is building on that foundation to change the way we care for people with serious illness.

Coalition of Compassionate Care of California activities include:

• Advance Care Planning Initiative: Working with local coalitions throughout the state to engage the public in advance care planning, and with healthcare professionals to make conversations about the end of life a regular part of providing care.
• Pediatrics: Partnering with state and community leaders to develop programs that meet the important day-to-day needs of kids and their families. Opportunities are created for doctors, nurses, families and community leaders to talk together about the issues that matter most, and work together to create collaborative networks to ensure that when children go home from the hospital they and their families have access to the care they need to be safe and comfortable at home. The programs created and policies advocated for not only benefit children, but also the families who love and care for them.
• Public Policy: Changing the model for end-of-life care involves not only families and healthcare providers, but also public policymakers. CCCC tracks legislation and educates policymakers on issues that increase access to palliative medicine and quality, compassionate care.
• Palliative Care: As the voice of palliative care in California, CCCC incubates and disseminates models and ideas to improve access to quality care for all people.
• POLST: Serving as the home for POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) in California, and we work closely with more than 25 POLST coalitions in communities throughout the state to spread its use. As a result of this robust, grassroots collaborative approach, we have seen successful implementation of POLST statewide. Learn more at caPOLST.org.
• Education: Leading efforts to train healthcare professionals on POLST and advance care planning, as well as on cultural congruency at the end of life. They help providers develop the skills they need to talk with seriously-ill patients and families facing decisions about goals of care at the end of life.
• Resources: The Coalition has nearly 20 years of experience creating a range of educational materials for the public and for providers. These resources have undergone expert review to ensure accuracy and accessibility, and many materials are available in multiple languages. Salus utilizes these teaching materials with the patients and families they serve.