The value of supporting individuals with serious illness through care management and planning, behavioral and physical symptom relief, and other added supports has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers are now grappling with how to restructure hard-hit health care systems to better support individuals with serious and complex needs. As state budgets shrink, palliative care may be an important part of the answer. With funding from The John A. Hartford Foundation, NASHP hosted a webinar to discuss state policies and recommendations to support the future of palliative care. 

1-2 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, June 30, 2020

The webinar featured Diane Meier, a leading palliative care expert, who discussed how the pandemic is changing the role of palliative care. Lauren Thompson, BSN, RN, Clinical Operations Nurse Consultant with the Office of Cost Control and Quality Improvement at Colorado’s Department of Health Care Financing and Policy, reviewed what the state has done to support palliative care and why it is important to state health systems.

Moderator:

Kitty Purington, Senior Program Director, NASHP 

Speakers:
Amy Berman, Senior Program Officer, The John A. Hartford Foundation
Salom Teshale, Policy Associate, NASHP

Diane Meier, Director, Center to Advance Palliative Care 
Lauren Thompson, BSN, RN, Clinical Operations Nurse Consultant, Office of Cost Control & Quality Improvement, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing