Illinois Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (IL-HPCO) has reached a three-year agreement with The HAP Foundation to provide counsel, partnership, assistance, and operationalsupport through a customary association management contract. The HAP Foundation provides professional leadership experience within the hospice and palliative care field, which strongly aligns with IL-HPCO’s notable history and present work. IL-HPCO is committed to promoting and enhancing palliative and end-of-life care in the state of Illinois through education, advocacy, technical and supportive services. Similarly, The HAP Foundation’s core programs are focused on providing education, research, advocacy, and workforce development for hospice, palliative care, and grief support.
“With our strong alignment in advancing hospice and palliative care, The HAP Foundation is uniquely positioned to provide association management services to coalitions, such as IL-HPCO, that represent palliative and hospice care providers statewide,” said Joseph Matty, President of The HAP Foundation. “Working with IL-HPCO leadership, The HAP Foundation will complement the existing infrastructure while expanding its opportunities beyond its current capabilities. The natural progression of this partnership aligns with our mutual goals of creating a better continuum of care for individuals with a serious illness through the evolution of their life.”
“IL-HPCO is excited to be working with HAP and begin a partnership with an organization with which we share passions, polished professionalism, and community commitments,” said Doug Irvin, IL-HPCO Board Chair.
Founded in 1980, IL-HPCO’s mission is to expand access to exceptional hospice and palliative care for patients and families coping with the close of life experience. Sara Dado with The HAP Foundation will serve as Executive Director of IL-HPCO and work closely with their Board of Directors and leadership. Dado served on IL-HPCO’s Board of Directors from 2018 to 2022, in which she held leadership positions of Chair, Vice Chair, and Chair of the Government Affairs committee during that time.
The HAP Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that supports adults and children living with serious illnesses and their families. Through this dedication, The HAP Foundation is committed to providing management staff that has hospice and palliative care experience, understands the industry thehapfoundation.org landscape, and is focused on assisting coalitions, collaborations, and associations committed to improving serious illness care in managing their operations, education, and advocacy efforts. Additionally, consulting in end-of-life care and growth of the Community Health Worker profession in serious illness are offered at The HAP Foundation.
Further Reading: Hospice News
The Illinois Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (IL-HPCO) is partnering with POLST Illinois, combining efforts to strengthen awareness, education and advocacy related to advance care planning and the understanding and implementation of the Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) throughout the state.
“We are proud to be able to announce this partnership during November, National Hospice and Palliative Care Month,” said Sarah Bealles, Chair, IL-HPCO Board of Director and President & CEO of JourneyCare, an Illinois-based hospice and palliative care agency. “The national theme this year is ‘Know Your Options.’ Together, IL-HPCO and POLST Illinois will be able to have a greater voice in building awareness and enhancing education, training and advocacy about advance care planning statewide.”
A POLST form is a signed medical order that travels with the patient to ensure that a patient’s treatment preferences are honored across settings of care. It can help prevent unwanted or medially ineffective treatment, reduce patient and family suffering and help ensure a patient’s wishes are honored.
POLST is designed for people with a chronic, progressive disease or a serious medical condition and is an important part of advance care planning. It replaces the Do Not Resuscitate Practitioner Order (DNR).
Illinois POLST now becomes part of IL-HPCO, the only organization representing hospice and palliative care in the state of Illinois. IL-HPCO and POLST Illinois share a common goal of promoting quality care through informed end-of-life conversations and shared decision making, and ensuring that those with serious illness receive the treatments they want and don’t receive the treatments they don’t want.
