Home Health & Hospice Week

Two trade groups representing hospices may soon become one.

The Boards of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization have “agreed to a joint process to explore the formation of a new organization to combine the strengths of both NAHC and NHPCO and better serve members with a unified voice on behalf of the entire community of hospice, home care, palliative care, serious illness, and other care at home providers,” they say in a release.

The trade groups announced they were exploring some form of alliance back in March (see HHHW by AAPC, Vol. XXXII, No. 9).

Over the next six to 10 months, “the NAHC and NHPCO Boards of Directors will work together, in consul­tation with member volunteers from both organizations, to determine details of how a consolidated organization could represent the best interests of the combined memberships,” they say. They continue to use McKinley Advisors as an independent, third-party advisor for the process.

The two groups could possibly be combined “into a new, as-of-yet unnamed organization,” they note in the release.

“In the meantime, you may be assured that staff of both organizations will continue to work as hard as possible to serve your needs, advocate for your interests, and strengthen the entire hospice, home care, and home health community,” NAHC President William Dombi says in a message to members.