choice care - hospice of the western reserve€¦ · the fm global foundation the arthur j....
TRANSCRIPT
National Hospice & Palliative Care Month
This issue P1 Understanding the
Impact of Advocacy
P2 Letter from the CEO
P3 Visit from Mayor Jackson
P3 Remembering Stephanie Tubbs Jones
P4 Welcome New Board Members
P4 Dog Days
P5 Double Your Gift
P6 Save the Date - 31st Annual Meeting
P6 We’ve Moved!
November has been recognized for 31 years as National hospice and Palliative Care Month. The month is dedicated not only to those who care for patients and families, but on raising awareness through education to the private and public sector on the unique transdisciplinary care and cost-saving services hospice offers. Although both sectors are equally important, the hospice community’s outreach to the federal government has recently become a more urgent matter and therefore a focus of this special month.
The urgency of the advocacy effort arose from the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget which proposed a rule change to the Medicare hospice Benefit’s regulatory formula. This change includes the removal of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor from the hospice wage index which results in substantial cuts to Medicare hospice reimbursements. Despite a nationwide advocacy effort, the proposed rule change went into effect on August 1st, and the phase-in implementation of the rate cuts began on October 1st. The first year phase-in of these cuts will result in a $20 million loss in the state of Ohio and nearly an $800,000 loss for hospice of the Western Reserve’s service area –
which includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. hospice providers nationwide will lose a total of $2.29 billion.
Although already implemented, the National hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NhPCO) continues to lead the effort to stop the rate cuts with legislation in Congress. hospice advocates overwhelmingly joined this effort and since April, they have sent more than 70,000 messages and made thousands of phone calls to their federal representatives. The tremendous hospice advocacy effort has led 119 members of the house and senate to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act and dozens signed on to the Preserving Access to healthcare Act. The response in Northern Ohio was particularly impressive with Representatives Kucinich, LaTourette, sutton, and Ryan and senator Brown agreeing to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act. unfortunately, neither bill was passed before Congress went on recess.
Many hospice advocates wonder how these rate cuts could happen to the Medicare hospice Benefit, which according to a 2007 Duke university study, saves Medicare an average
VOL. 24 - issue 3
hospicewr.org
fall | 08Hospice House & Headquarters300 east 185th streetCleveland, Oh 44119-1330p. 216.383.2222 or 800.707.8922 f. 216.383.3750hospice Connect Line: 800.707.8921
asHtabula office1166 Lake AvenueAshtabula, Oh 44004-2930p. 440.997.6619 f. 440.997.6478
cleveland office19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.383.2222 f. 216.481.4940
fairHill office12200 Fairhill RoadCleveland, Oh 44120-1013p. 216.502.4240 f. 216.502.4230
lakewood office 14601 Detroit Avenue, suite 100Lakewood, Oh 44107-4212p. 216.227.9048 f. 216.227.9232
lorain county office2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite hLorain, Oh 44055-3400p. 440.284.2999
Mentor office5786 heisley RoadMentor, Oh 44060-1830p. 440.951.8692 f. 440.975.0655
university circle office10645 euclid AvenueCleveland, Oh 44106-2206p. 216.231.8650 f. 216.231.8291
warrensville HeigHts office4670 Richmond Road, suite 200Warrensville hts, Oh 44128-5978p. 216.283.3140 f. 216.283.3181
westlake office29101 health Campus DriveBuilding 2, suite 400Westlake, Oh 44145-5268p. 440.892.6680 f. 440.892.6690
tHe elisabetH severance prentiss bereaveMent center19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.486.6838 f. 216.481.4987
Hospice resale sHop5139 Mayfield RoadLyndhurst, Oh 44124-2405p. 440.442.2621 f. 440.646.0507
publisHed by:Communications TeamHospice of the Western Reserve
david a. siMpson, Chief Executive Officer
Medicare/Medicaid CertifiedJCAHO accredited
Copyright 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDCleveland, OHPermit #848
Donate Online at hospicewr.org
Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.
Understanding the Impact of Advocacy
Story continued on page 3.
[ P6 ][ P5 ]
Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
American Express Foundation
American International Group, Inc.
Amgen Foundation
Bank of America Foundation
Barnes Group Foundation, Inc.
Becton Dickinson and Company
BP Amoco Corporation
Business & Legal Reports, Inc.
The Capital Group Companies, Charitable Foundation
Casey Matching Gifts Program
Caterpillar, Inc.
The Chase Manhattan Foundation
The Chubb Corporation
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Clinical Health Laboratories, Inc.
Computer Associates International, Inc.
Corning Incorporated Foundation
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
The Dannon Company
Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Dominion Foundation
Duke Energy Foundation
Eaton Corporation
Energizer Corp.
Equistar - A Lyondell Company
Federated Department Stores Foundation
FFr, Inc.
FirstEnergy Foundation
The FM Global Foundation
The Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation
The GAP Foundation
General Electric Foundation
The J. Paul Getty Trust
Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation
The Glenmede Trust Company
Goodrich Foundation
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Grange Insurance Company
Guideposts
John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.
Highmark
The Home Depot
IBM International Foundation
Illinois Tool Works Foundation
IMO Industries, Inc.
Intuit Foundation
The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies
Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Ohio
Key Foundation
Lamson & Sessions Foundation
Law School Admission Council
Liberty Mutual Foundation
Liggett Stashower, Inc.
Lilly Endowment, Inc.
The Lubrizol Foundation
Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.
McCormick & Company, Inc.
McDonnell Douglas
McMaster-Carr Supply Company
Merck Partnership For Giving
Microsoft
The Millipore Foundation
Mobil Foundation, Inc.
J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation
Nestle Purina Petcare Company
The Nordson Corporation Foundation
Northern Trust Matching Gifts
Pfizer Foundation
Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
The PQ Corporation
Preformed Line Products Company
Progressive Insurance Foundation
The Prudential Foundation
Quest Diagnostics
Reuters America, Inc.
Ross Equipment Corporation
Saint Gobain Corporation
SAP America, Inc.
The Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation
The Sherwin Williams Foundation
The Stanley Works
Starbucks
The Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc.
Symantec
Thomson West Community Partnership Program
UBS Investment Bank
Unicare Service Corporation
Unilever United States Foundation, Inc.
UnitedHealth Group - Employee Giving Campaign
Verizon Foundation
Wachovia Foundation
Washington Mutual
The Washington Post
Wellpoint Associate Giving Campaign
Doug Cisan has been donating in memory of his wife Rhonna who passed away five years ago. Doug is an employee at W.W. Grainger, and because of their matching gift program, Doug’s donation triples.
Matching gifts are a great way to increase the amount of your donation. Many companies will match the charitable contributions of their employees, spouses, board members and retirees. This is a great way to stretch your donation. Gifts made to non-profit organizations are matched or in some cases, double and triple matched with company or corporate foundation funds.
When making a gift, donors should check with their company to see if a matching gift program is offered. if you know your company has a matching gift program and is not listed, or if you have questions, please contact Nicole Green at (216) 383-3714.
Double Your Gift to Hospice of the Western Reserve
dignity choice life-enHancing comfortcare
Coming Full Circle Please join us for the 31st Annual Meeting onThursday, January 29, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Guest speaker will be Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle, Inc. and will take place in the heart of university Circle at the Park Lane Villa Ballroom, 10510 Park Lane, Cleveland, Oh 44106.
Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. For more information, please contact Celeste Conklin at 216/502-4454.
We’ve Moved Lorain County Office
2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite h
Lorain, Oh 44055-3400
Phone: 440.284.2999
Call our Hospice Connect Line
800.707.8921
hospicewr.orgLorain County
Do you work with any of these matching companies?
Save the
Date 31st AnnUAl MeetIng
For years hospice of the Western Reserve has been dedicated to the provision of comfort care for people with serious illness and a prognosis for continuing decline. We have devoted significant resources to professional and community education about hospice and palliative care as well as the importance of advance directives. During the past few years we have also become increasingly aware of the need to educate and inform both elected and appointed public officials about these matters.
We have addressed a wide variety of issues including:• Euthanasiaandassistedsuicide • Livingwilllegislation • Durablepowerofattorneyforhealthcare • Pharmacyandnarcoticprescribingand
control laws• Patientautonomy-patientrighttocontinue
or discontinue treatment• Organdonation • Thelegaldefinitionofdeath • Thelegaldefinitionof‘terminalcondition’ • Accessforunderservedpopulations • Federalandstatehospiceregulationincluding
Ohio hospice licensure• Hospicefinancingandreimbursement • Hospice/palliativecareacademicand
continuing education• Hospice/palliativecarestandardsand
guidelines• Children’shospicefunding
several of our team members have participated in board leadership positions in national and state organizations including:• NationalHospiceandPalliativeCare
Organization• NationalHospiceFoundation • HospiceandPalliativeNursesAssociation • AmericanAcademyofHospiceandPalliative
Physicians
• FoundationforHospicesinSub-SaharanAfrica
• CentertoAdvancePalliativeCare • OhioHospiceandPalliativeCare
Organization
All of these agencies are vitally engaged in advancing availability and excellence in the care we provide.
it is important to assure that our advocacy positions are understood and acted on in all levels and branches of government. To that end, during the past few years we have increased our outreach to public officials. We have hosted dozens of public officials at hospice house, providing them with a first hand view of a center of excellence in end-of-life care. Many have taken the opportunity to visit with individual patients who wanted to share their story.
in addition, we have periodically conducted campaigns engaging our paid and volunteer staff to write to elected officials to promote or oppose a particular legislative position.
To further underscore the importance of this advocacy endeavor we have created a full time staff position to attend to public policy and advocacy.
Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for hospice among our public leaders. however, we must continue these efforts as issues will continue to emerge and threats such as current funding cuts will challenge us. We invite you, our friends and supporters to participate in our advocacy activities.
David A. simpsonCEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve
letter froM tHe ceo
Understanding the Impact of Advocacy [continued from page 1]
[ P2 ] [ P3 ]
2008 board of directors
cHair
h. Clark harvey, Jr.
vice cHairs
James L. hambrick
Peg Milbourn
secretary
Carl e. Baldassarre
treasurer
Richard B. Whitney
sr. Mary Patricia Barrett
Joseph Carson
Rev. Neroy Carter
Margit Daley
scott Fine
William h. Goff
Jean e. Kilgore
hilary Mason King
Mary Ann Kocurko
Carol G. Manning
Virginia A. Mooney
David Mordarski
Janice Murphy
Laura Navin
John Nash
Mary L. Ogrinc
elizabeth Pitorak
sarah Robertson
Richard T. spotz, Jr.
William springer
Bret Williams
Honorary MeMbers
Duane e. Collins
William J. esselstyn
Martha Grabner
Patricia Modell
Constance W. sallee
Kate scovil
Rev. William spangler
cHief executive officer
David A. simpson
[ P4 ]
$2,300 per patient, or more than $2 billion annually. And what we, in the hospice community realize, is that a great need for hospice education and advocacy still exists in the public sector. hospice advocates over the past year have opened
phone call and e-mail makes a difference, as evidenced in the number of Ohio members that signed on to the Medicare hospice Protection Act.
the door of influence in Congress. We cannot allow this momentum to stop. All advocates for hospice and palliative care have to rally together and lend their support to the lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. every person’s
We remember and honor the memory of U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Not only was Congresswoman Tubbs Jones a great leader, but a person with strong convictions who fought for what she believed in without pretense. Her ability to connect with others was amazing as was her sixth sense to recognize people in need. To read more about the Congresswoman’s dedication to the hospice cause visit www.hospicewr.org/stj-tribute.asp.
With a little Help From Our Friends
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and its affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End
of Life, have created an easy and effective way to receive advocacy alerts and respond to your elected
officials. Simply join the Center’s Action Network by going to NHPCO’s website at www.nhpco.org
and clicking on Hospice Advocacy under Quick Links on the left hand side. This will connect you with
NHPCO’s advocacy page and there you should click on the “Legislative Action Center” which will allow
you to sign up for legislative alerts and provide an easy process to contact your representatives.
To become an advocate for Hospice of the Western Reserve, please call Lizzy Goodwin,
Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Public Policy and Government Relations
Coordinator at (216) 502-4452, or sign up at [email protected].
How Can You Be an Advocate?
Congresswoman stephanie Tubbs Jones (1949 - 2008)
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson recently visited and toured hospice house.
The Mayor and his staff met with constituents including staff members and
patients. During his visit, the Mayor was briefed on the hospice philosophy
of care, school crisis program and grief support available to the community.
A special highlight of the day was when hospice of the Western Reserve
Team Leader and Cleveland resident Gwen Rifici placed an honored
Veteran pin on the Mayor, a Vietnam Veteran.
Andre Thornton is President and Chief executive Officer of AsW Global LLC, a third-party supply chain company that provides services to 63 sam’s Clubs in Ohio and Michigan. in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Thornton is also best-selling author of Triumph Born of Tragedy and a former
Cleveland indians Major League Baseball player.
Richard A. Barone is Chairman of the executive Committee for the Ancora Group of Companies. in addition, he oversees a variety of investment strategies for the Group including the investments for the Ancora Funds and the Group’s hedge Fund, Merlin Partners. Mr. Barone’s leadership in the investment industry
spans more than 35 years. his performance and investment strategies have received extensive coverage in such publications such as Barron’s, The Wall street Journal, institutional investor, Forbes, and on national television and radio. he also chairs the
Cleveland state university (Csu) Foundation and serves on the Csu board. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Georgetown university with a degree in economics.
Michael Merriman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.s. in Business Administration from John Carroll university. From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil inc. For the past five years, he has
served on the twelve-member WalMart supplier Council and was recently elected to the Nordson Corporation board. he has also served as Chief executive Officer of Lamson & sessions. he is Operating Advisor at Resilience Capital Partners LLC.
Mr. Merriman is a director on the boards of John Carroll university, Boys hope Girls hope, and students in Free enterprise (siFe), where he was past national chairman.
hospice of the Western Reserve recently welcomed Linus and Tallulah to their hospice house family. Linus and Tallulah are both unique individuals with a wonderful ability to provide unconditional love and a sixth sense of knowing when others are in need. Certainly these traits are familiar to dog owners and they should be because Linus and Tallulah are Golden Retrievers.
A dog’s presence is not a new occurrence at hospice house. Previously a Golden Retriever named sally lived at hospice house, and provided patients, families and visitors a friendly face and comfort.
Linus and Tallulah came to hospice of the Western Reserve from Golden Retrievers in Need of Rescue, inc. (G.R.i.N.). This organization provides homes for Golden Retrievers from various sources including shelters, pounds, strays, and owner surrenders. Members of G.R.i.N. trained Linus and Tallulah to prepare them for their new life with hospice. Anna McVan,
President of G.R.i.N., was pleased to join the welcoming celebration, said, “The members of G.R.i.N. are proud to place two wonderful dogs where the patients and their families and the staff can experience all the love these dogs have to give.”
Tallulah was adopted by Rebecca Burhenne, Clinical education Resource Nurse, and Linus was adopted by Keli Keyes, hospice house Nurse. Both will bring the dogs to hospice house each morning for their “shift”. Linus is still in the therapy certification program, but Tallulah has begun her work bringing smiles to the patients and many visitors at hospice house.
For more information on G.R.I.N, you can visit www.grinrescue.org.
Visit from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson
Welcome new Board Members
Dog Days at Hospice House
David Simpson, CEO, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Board Chair Clark Harvey
"Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for
hospice among our public leaders."
Hospice of the Western Reserve announces three new members, Richard A. Barone, Michael J. Merriman and Andre Thornton to its Board of Directors. They were elected on September 3, 2008 for terms to start in 2009.
For years hospice of the Western Reserve has been dedicated to the provision of comfort care for people with serious illness and a prognosis for continuing decline. We have devoted significant resources to professional and community education about hospice and palliative care as well as the importance of advance directives. During the past few years we have also become increasingly aware of the need to educate and inform both elected and appointed public officials about these matters.
We have addressed a wide variety of issues including:• Euthanasiaandassistedsuicide • Livingwilllegislation • Durablepowerofattorneyforhealthcare • Pharmacyandnarcoticprescribingand
control laws• Patientautonomy-patientrighttocontinue
or discontinue treatment• Organdonation • Thelegaldefinitionofdeath • Thelegaldefinitionof‘terminalcondition’ • Accessforunderservedpopulations • Federalandstatehospiceregulationincluding
Ohio hospice licensure• Hospicefinancingandreimbursement • Hospice/palliativecareacademicand
continuing education• Hospice/palliativecarestandardsand
guidelines• Children’shospicefunding
several of our team members have participated in board leadership positions in national and state organizations including:• NationalHospiceandPalliativeCare
Organization• NationalHospiceFoundation • HospiceandPalliativeNursesAssociation • AmericanAcademyofHospiceandPalliative
Physicians
• FoundationforHospicesinSub-SaharanAfrica
• CentertoAdvancePalliativeCare • OhioHospiceandPalliativeCare
Organization
All of these agencies are vitally engaged in advancing availability and excellence in the care we provide.
it is important to assure that our advocacy positions are understood and acted on in all levels and branches of government. To that end, during the past few years we have increased our outreach to public officials. We have hosted dozens of public officials at hospice house, providing them with a first hand view of a center of excellence in end-of-life care. Many have taken the opportunity to visit with individual patients who wanted to share their story.
in addition, we have periodically conducted campaigns engaging our paid and volunteer staff to write to elected officials to promote or oppose a particular legislative position.
To further underscore the importance of this advocacy endeavor we have created a full time staff position to attend to public policy and advocacy.
Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for hospice among our public leaders. however, we must continue these efforts as issues will continue to emerge and threats such as current funding cuts will challenge us. We invite you, our friends and supporters to participate in our advocacy activities.
David A. simpsonCEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve
letter froM tHe ceo
Understanding the Impact of Advocacy [continued from page 1]
[ P2 ] [ P3 ]
2008 board of directors
cHair
h. Clark harvey, Jr.
vice cHairs
James L. hambrick
Peg Milbourn
secretary
Carl e. Baldassarre
treasurer
Richard B. Whitney
sr. Mary Patricia Barrett
Joseph Carson
Rev. Neroy Carter
Margit Daley
scott Fine
William h. Goff
Jean e. Kilgore
hilary Mason King
Mary Ann Kocurko
Carol G. Manning
Virginia A. Mooney
David Mordarski
Janice Murphy
Laura Navin
John Nash
Mary L. Ogrinc
elizabeth Pitorak
sarah Robertson
Richard T. spotz, Jr.
William springer
Bret Williams
Honorary MeMbers
Duane e. Collins
William J. esselstyn
Martha Grabner
Patricia Modell
Constance W. sallee
Kate scovil
Rev. William spangler
cHief executive officer
David A. simpson
[ P4 ]
$2,300 per patient, or more than $2 billion annually. And what we, in the hospice community realize, is that a great need for hospice education and advocacy still exists in the public sector. hospice advocates over the past year have opened
phone call and e-mail makes a difference, as evidenced in the number of Ohio members that signed on to the Medicare hospice Protection Act.
the door of influence in Congress. We cannot allow this momentum to stop. All advocates for hospice and palliative care have to rally together and lend their support to the lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. every person’s
We remember and honor the memory of U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Not only was Congresswoman Tubbs Jones a great leader, but a person with strong convictions who fought for what she believed in without pretense. Her ability to connect with others was amazing as was her sixth sense to recognize people in need. To read more about the Congresswoman’s dedication to the hospice cause visit www.hospicewr.org/stj-tribute.asp.
With a little Help From Our Friends
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and its affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End
of Life, have created an easy and effective way to receive advocacy alerts and respond to your elected
officials. Simply join the Center’s Action Network by going to NHPCO’s website at www.nhpco.org
and clicking on Hospice Advocacy under Quick Links on the left hand side. This will connect you with
NHPCO’s advocacy page and there you should click on the “Legislative Action Center” which will allow
you to sign up for legislative alerts and provide an easy process to contact your representatives.
To become an advocate for Hospice of the Western Reserve, please call Lizzy Goodwin,
Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Public Policy and Government Relations
Coordinator at (216) 502-4452, or sign up at [email protected].
How Can You Be an Advocate?
Congresswoman stephanie Tubbs Jones (1949 - 2008)
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson recently visited and toured hospice house.
The Mayor and his staff met with constituents including staff members and
patients. During his visit, the Mayor was briefed on the hospice philosophy
of care, school crisis program and grief support available to the community.
A special highlight of the day was when hospice of the Western Reserve
Team Leader and Cleveland resident Gwen Rifici placed an honored
Veteran pin on the Mayor, a Vietnam Veteran.
Andre Thornton is President and Chief executive Officer of AsW Global LLC, a third-party supply chain company that provides services to 63 sam’s Clubs in Ohio and Michigan. in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Thornton is also best-selling author of Triumph Born of Tragedy and a former
Cleveland indians Major League Baseball player.
Richard A. Barone is Chairman of the executive Committee for the Ancora Group of Companies. in addition, he oversees a variety of investment strategies for the Group including the investments for the Ancora Funds and the Group’s hedge Fund, Merlin Partners. Mr. Barone’s leadership in the investment industry
spans more than 35 years. his performance and investment strategies have received extensive coverage in such publications such as Barron’s, The Wall street Journal, institutional investor, Forbes, and on national television and radio. he also chairs the
Cleveland state university (Csu) Foundation and serves on the Csu board. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Georgetown university with a degree in economics.
Michael Merriman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.s. in Business Administration from John Carroll university. From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil inc. For the past five years, he has
served on the twelve-member WalMart supplier Council and was recently elected to the Nordson Corporation board. he has also served as Chief executive Officer of Lamson & sessions. he is Operating Advisor at Resilience Capital Partners LLC.
Mr. Merriman is a director on the boards of John Carroll university, Boys hope Girls hope, and students in Free enterprise (siFe), where he was past national chairman.
hospice of the Western Reserve recently welcomed Linus and Tallulah to their hospice house family. Linus and Tallulah are both unique individuals with a wonderful ability to provide unconditional love and a sixth sense of knowing when others are in need. Certainly these traits are familiar to dog owners and they should be because Linus and Tallulah are Golden Retrievers.
A dog’s presence is not a new occurrence at hospice house. Previously a Golden Retriever named sally lived at hospice house, and provided patients, families and visitors a friendly face and comfort.
Linus and Tallulah came to hospice of the Western Reserve from Golden Retrievers in Need of Rescue, inc. (G.R.i.N.). This organization provides homes for Golden Retrievers from various sources including shelters, pounds, strays, and owner surrenders. Members of G.R.i.N. trained Linus and Tallulah to prepare them for their new life with hospice. Anna McVan,
President of G.R.i.N., was pleased to join the welcoming celebration, said, “The members of G.R.i.N. are proud to place two wonderful dogs where the patients and their families and the staff can experience all the love these dogs have to give.”
Tallulah was adopted by Rebecca Burhenne, Clinical education Resource Nurse, and Linus was adopted by Keli Keyes, hospice house Nurse. Both will bring the dogs to hospice house each morning for their “shift”. Linus is still in the therapy certification program, but Tallulah has begun her work bringing smiles to the patients and many visitors at hospice house.
For more information on G.R.I.N, you can visit www.grinrescue.org.
Visit from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson
Welcome new Board Members
Dog Days at Hospice House
David Simpson, CEO, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Board Chair Clark Harvey
"Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for
hospice among our public leaders."
Hospice of the Western Reserve announces three new members, Richard A. Barone, Michael J. Merriman and Andre Thornton to its Board of Directors. They were elected on September 3, 2008 for terms to start in 2009.
For years hospice of the Western Reserve has been dedicated to the provision of comfort care for people with serious illness and a prognosis for continuing decline. We have devoted significant resources to professional and community education about hospice and palliative care as well as the importance of advance directives. During the past few years we have also become increasingly aware of the need to educate and inform both elected and appointed public officials about these matters.
We have addressed a wide variety of issues including:• Euthanasiaandassistedsuicide • Livingwilllegislation • Durablepowerofattorneyforhealthcare • Pharmacyandnarcoticprescribingand
control laws• Patientautonomy-patientrighttocontinue
or discontinue treatment• Organdonation • Thelegaldefinitionofdeath • Thelegaldefinitionof‘terminalcondition’ • Accessforunderservedpopulations • Federalandstatehospiceregulationincluding
Ohio hospice licensure• Hospicefinancingandreimbursement • Hospice/palliativecareacademicand
continuing education• Hospice/palliativecarestandardsand
guidelines• Children’shospicefunding
several of our team members have participated in board leadership positions in national and state organizations including:• NationalHospiceandPalliativeCare
Organization• NationalHospiceFoundation • HospiceandPalliativeNursesAssociation • AmericanAcademyofHospiceandPalliative
Physicians
• FoundationforHospicesinSub-SaharanAfrica
• CentertoAdvancePalliativeCare • OhioHospiceandPalliativeCare
Organization
All of these agencies are vitally engaged in advancing availability and excellence in the care we provide.
it is important to assure that our advocacy positions are understood and acted on in all levels and branches of government. To that end, during the past few years we have increased our outreach to public officials. We have hosted dozens of public officials at hospice house, providing them with a first hand view of a center of excellence in end-of-life care. Many have taken the opportunity to visit with individual patients who wanted to share their story.
in addition, we have periodically conducted campaigns engaging our paid and volunteer staff to write to elected officials to promote or oppose a particular legislative position.
To further underscore the importance of this advocacy endeavor we have created a full time staff position to attend to public policy and advocacy.
Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for hospice among our public leaders. however, we must continue these efforts as issues will continue to emerge and threats such as current funding cuts will challenge us. We invite you, our friends and supporters to participate in our advocacy activities.
David A. simpsonCEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve
letter froM tHe ceo
Understanding the Impact of Advocacy [continued from page 1]
[ P2 ] [ P3 ]
2008 board of directors
cHair
h. Clark harvey, Jr.
vice cHairs
James L. hambrick
Peg Milbourn
secretary
Carl e. Baldassarre
treasurer
Richard B. Whitney
sr. Mary Patricia Barrett
Joseph Carson
Rev. Neroy Carter
Margit Daley
scott Fine
William h. Goff
Jean e. Kilgore
hilary Mason King
Mary Ann Kocurko
Carol G. Manning
Virginia A. Mooney
David Mordarski
Janice Murphy
Laura Navin
John Nash
Mary L. Ogrinc
elizabeth Pitorak
sarah Robertson
Richard T. spotz, Jr.
William springer
Bret Williams
Honorary MeMbers
Duane e. Collins
William J. esselstyn
Martha Grabner
Patricia Modell
Constance W. sallee
Kate scovil
Rev. William spangler
cHief executive officer
David A. simpson
[ P4 ]
$2,300 per patient, or more than $2 billion annually. And what we, in the hospice community realize, is that a great need for hospice education and advocacy still exists in the public sector. hospice advocates over the past year have opened
phone call and e-mail makes a difference, as evidenced in the number of Ohio members that signed on to the Medicare hospice Protection Act.
the door of influence in Congress. We cannot allow this momentum to stop. All advocates for hospice and palliative care have to rally together and lend their support to the lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. every person’s
We remember and honor the memory of U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Not only was Congresswoman Tubbs Jones a great leader, but a person with strong convictions who fought for what she believed in without pretense. Her ability to connect with others was amazing as was her sixth sense to recognize people in need. To read more about the Congresswoman’s dedication to the hospice cause visit www.hospicewr.org/stj-tribute.asp.
With a little Help From Our Friends
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and its affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End
of Life, have created an easy and effective way to receive advocacy alerts and respond to your elected
officials. Simply join the Center’s Action Network by going to NHPCO’s website at www.nhpco.org
and clicking on Hospice Advocacy under Quick Links on the left hand side. This will connect you with
NHPCO’s advocacy page and there you should click on the “Legislative Action Center” which will allow
you to sign up for legislative alerts and provide an easy process to contact your representatives.
To become an advocate for Hospice of the Western Reserve, please call Lizzy Goodwin,
Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Public Policy and Government Relations
Coordinator at (216) 502-4452, or sign up at [email protected].
How Can You Be an Advocate?
Congresswoman stephanie Tubbs Jones (1949 - 2008)
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson recently visited and toured hospice house.
The Mayor and his staff met with constituents including staff members and
patients. During his visit, the Mayor was briefed on the hospice philosophy
of care, school crisis program and grief support available to the community.
A special highlight of the day was when hospice of the Western Reserve
Team Leader and Cleveland resident Gwen Rifici placed an honored
Veteran pin on the Mayor, a Vietnam Veteran.
Andre Thornton is President and Chief executive Officer of AsW Global LLC, a third-party supply chain company that provides services to 63 sam’s Clubs in Ohio and Michigan. in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Thornton is also best-selling author of Triumph Born of Tragedy and a former
Cleveland indians Major League Baseball player.
Richard A. Barone is Chairman of the executive Committee for the Ancora Group of Companies. in addition, he oversees a variety of investment strategies for the Group including the investments for the Ancora Funds and the Group’s hedge Fund, Merlin Partners. Mr. Barone’s leadership in the investment industry
spans more than 35 years. his performance and investment strategies have received extensive coverage in such publications such as Barron’s, The Wall street Journal, institutional investor, Forbes, and on national television and radio. he also chairs the
Cleveland state university (Csu) Foundation and serves on the Csu board. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Georgetown university with a degree in economics.
Michael Merriman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.s. in Business Administration from John Carroll university. From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil inc. For the past five years, he has
served on the twelve-member WalMart supplier Council and was recently elected to the Nordson Corporation board. he has also served as Chief executive Officer of Lamson & sessions. he is Operating Advisor at Resilience Capital Partners LLC.
Mr. Merriman is a director on the boards of John Carroll university, Boys hope Girls hope, and students in Free enterprise (siFe), where he was past national chairman.
hospice of the Western Reserve recently welcomed Linus and Tallulah to their hospice house family. Linus and Tallulah are both unique individuals with a wonderful ability to provide unconditional love and a sixth sense of knowing when others are in need. Certainly these traits are familiar to dog owners and they should be because Linus and Tallulah are Golden Retrievers.
A dog’s presence is not a new occurrence at hospice house. Previously a Golden Retriever named sally lived at hospice house, and provided patients, families and visitors a friendly face and comfort.
Linus and Tallulah came to hospice of the Western Reserve from Golden Retrievers in Need of Rescue, inc. (G.R.i.N.). This organization provides homes for Golden Retrievers from various sources including shelters, pounds, strays, and owner surrenders. Members of G.R.i.N. trained Linus and Tallulah to prepare them for their new life with hospice. Anna McVan,
President of G.R.i.N., was pleased to join the welcoming celebration, said, “The members of G.R.i.N. are proud to place two wonderful dogs where the patients and their families and the staff can experience all the love these dogs have to give.”
Tallulah was adopted by Rebecca Burhenne, Clinical education Resource Nurse, and Linus was adopted by Keli Keyes, hospice house Nurse. Both will bring the dogs to hospice house each morning for their “shift”. Linus is still in the therapy certification program, but Tallulah has begun her work bringing smiles to the patients and many visitors at hospice house.
For more information on G.R.I.N, you can visit www.grinrescue.org.
Visit from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson
Welcome new Board Members
Dog Days at Hospice House
David Simpson, CEO, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Board Chair Clark Harvey
"Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for
hospice among our public leaders."
Hospice of the Western Reserve announces three new members, Richard A. Barone, Michael J. Merriman and Andre Thornton to its Board of Directors. They were elected on September 3, 2008 for terms to start in 2009.
National Hospice & Palliative Care Month
This issue P1 Understanding the
Impact of Advocacy
P2 Letter from the CEO
P3 Visit from Mayor Jackson
P3 Remembering Stephanie Tubbs Jones
P4 Welcome New Board Members
P4 Dog Days
P5 Double Your Gift
P6 Save the Date - 31st Annual Meeting
P6 We’ve Moved!
November has been recognized for 31 years as National hospice and Palliative Care Month. The month is dedicated not only to those who care for patients and families, but on raising awareness through education to the private and public sector on the unique transdisciplinary care and cost-saving services hospice offers. Although both sectors are equally important, the hospice community’s outreach to the federal government has recently become a more urgent matter and therefore a focus of this special month.
The urgency of the advocacy effort arose from the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget which proposed a rule change to the Medicare hospice Benefit’s regulatory formula. This change includes the removal of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor from the hospice wage index which results in substantial cuts to Medicare hospice reimbursements. Despite a nationwide advocacy effort, the proposed rule change went into effect on August 1st, and the phase-in implementation of the rate cuts began on October 1st. The first year phase-in of these cuts will result in a $20 million loss in the state of Ohio and nearly an $800,000 loss for hospice of the Western Reserve’s service area –
which includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. hospice providers nationwide will lose a total of $2.29 billion.
Although already implemented, the National hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NhPCO) continues to lead the effort to stop the rate cuts with legislation in Congress. hospice advocates overwhelmingly joined this effort and since April, they have sent more than 70,000 messages and made thousands of phone calls to their federal representatives. The tremendous hospice advocacy effort has led 119 members of the house and senate to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act and dozens signed on to the Preserving Access to healthcare Act. The response in Northern Ohio was particularly impressive with Representatives Kucinich, LaTourette, sutton, and Ryan and senator Brown agreeing to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act. unfortunately, neither bill was passed before Congress went on recess.
Many hospice advocates wonder how these rate cuts could happen to the Medicare hospice Benefit, which according to a 2007 Duke university study, saves Medicare an average
VOL. 24 - issue 3
hospicewr.org
fall | 08Hospice House & Headquarters300 east 185th streetCleveland, Oh 44119-1330p. 216.383.2222 or 800.707.8922 f. 216.383.3750hospice Connect Line: 800.707.8921
asHtabula office1166 Lake AvenueAshtabula, Oh 44004-2930p. 440.997.6619 f. 440.997.6478
cleveland office19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.383.2222 f. 216.481.4940
fairHill office12200 Fairhill RoadCleveland, Oh 44120-1013p. 216.502.4240 f. 216.502.4230
lakewood office 14601 Detroit Avenue, suite 100Lakewood, Oh 44107-4212p. 216.227.9048 f. 216.227.9232
lorain county office2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite hLorain, Oh 44055-3400p. 440.284.2999
Mentor office5786 heisley RoadMentor, Oh 44060-1830p. 440.951.8692 f. 440.975.0655
university circle office10645 euclid AvenueCleveland, Oh 44106-2206p. 216.231.8650 f. 216.231.8291
warrensville HeigHts office4670 Richmond Road, suite 200Warrensville hts, Oh 44128-5978p. 216.283.3140 f. 216.283.3181
westlake office29101 health Campus DriveBuilding 2, suite 400Westlake, Oh 44145-5268p. 440.892.6680 f. 440.892.6690
tHe elisabetH severance prentiss bereaveMent center19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.486.6838 f. 216.481.4987
Hospice resale sHop5139 Mayfield RoadLyndhurst, Oh 44124-2405p. 440.442.2621 f. 440.646.0507
publisHed by:Communications TeamHospice of the Western Reserve
david a. siMpson, Chief Executive Officer
Medicare/Medicaid CertifiedJCAHO accredited
Copyright 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDCleveland, OHPermit #848
Donate Online at hospicewr.org
Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.
Understanding the Impact of Advocacy
Story continued on page 3.
[ P6 ][ P5 ]
Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
American Express Foundation
American International Group, Inc.
Amgen Foundation
Bank of America Foundation
Barnes Group Foundation, Inc.
Becton Dickinson and Company
BP Amoco Corporation
Business & Legal Reports, Inc.
The Capital Group Companies, Charitable Foundation
Casey Matching Gifts Program
Caterpillar, Inc.
The Chase Manhattan Foundation
The Chubb Corporation
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Clinical Health Laboratories, Inc.
Computer Associates International, Inc.
Corning Incorporated Foundation
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
The Dannon Company
Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Dominion Foundation
Duke Energy Foundation
Eaton Corporation
Energizer Corp.
Equistar - A Lyondell Company
Federated Department Stores Foundation
FFr, Inc.
FirstEnergy Foundation
The FM Global Foundation
The Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation
The GAP Foundation
General Electric Foundation
The J. Paul Getty Trust
Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation
The Glenmede Trust Company
Goodrich Foundation
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Grange Insurance Company
Guideposts
John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.
Highmark
The Home Depot
IBM International Foundation
Illinois Tool Works Foundation
IMO Industries, Inc.
Intuit Foundation
The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies
Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Ohio
Key Foundation
Lamson & Sessions Foundation
Law School Admission Council
Liberty Mutual Foundation
Liggett Stashower, Inc.
Lilly Endowment, Inc.
The Lubrizol Foundation
Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.
McCormick & Company, Inc.
McDonnell Douglas
McMaster-Carr Supply Company
Merck Partnership For Giving
Microsoft
The Millipore Foundation
Mobil Foundation, Inc.
J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation
Nestle Purina Petcare Company
The Nordson Corporation Foundation
Northern Trust Matching Gifts
Pfizer Foundation
Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
The PQ Corporation
Preformed Line Products Company
Progressive Insurance Foundation
The Prudential Foundation
Quest Diagnostics
Reuters America, Inc.
Ross Equipment Corporation
Saint Gobain Corporation
SAP America, Inc.
The Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation
The Sherwin Williams Foundation
The Stanley Works
Starbucks
The Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc.
Symantec
Thomson West Community Partnership Program
UBS Investment Bank
Unicare Service Corporation
Unilever United States Foundation, Inc.
UnitedHealth Group - Employee Giving Campaign
Verizon Foundation
Wachovia Foundation
Washington Mutual
The Washington Post
Wellpoint Associate Giving Campaign
Doug Cisan has been donating in memory of his wife Rhonna who passed away five years ago. Doug is an employee at W.W. Grainger, and because of their matching gift program, Doug’s donation triples.
Matching gifts are a great way to increase the amount of your donation. Many companies will match the charitable contributions of their employees, spouses, board members and retirees. This is a great way to stretch your donation. Gifts made to non-profit organizations are matched or in some cases, double and triple matched with company or corporate foundation funds.
When making a gift, donors should check with their company to see if a matching gift program is offered. if you know your company has a matching gift program and is not listed, or if you have questions, please contact Nicole Green at (216) 383-3714.
Double Your Gift to Hospice of the Western Reserve
dignity choice life-enHancing comfortcare
Coming Full Circle Please join us for the 31st Annual Meeting onThursday, January 29, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Guest speaker will be Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle, Inc. and will take place in the heart of university Circle at the Park Lane Villa Ballroom, 10510 Park Lane, Cleveland, Oh 44106.
Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. For more information, please contact Celeste Conklin at 216/502-4454.
We’ve Moved Lorain County Office
2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite h
Lorain, Oh 44055-3400
Phone: 440.284.2999
Call our Hospice Connect Line
800.707.8921
hospicewr.orgLorain County
Do you work with any of these matching companies?
Save the
Date 31st AnnUAl MeetIng
National Hospice & Palliative Care Month
This issue P1 Understanding the
Impact of Advocacy
P2 Letter from the CEO
P3 Visit from Mayor Jackson
P3 Remembering Stephanie Tubbs Jones
P4 Welcome New Board Members
P4 Dog Days
P5 Double Your Gift
P6 Save the Date - 31st Annual Meeting
P6 We’ve Moved!
November has been recognized for 31 years as National hospice and Palliative Care Month. The month is dedicated not only to those who care for patients and families, but on raising awareness through education to the private and public sector on the unique transdisciplinary care and cost-saving services hospice offers. Although both sectors are equally important, the hospice community’s outreach to the federal government has recently become a more urgent matter and therefore a focus of this special month.
The urgency of the advocacy effort arose from the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget which proposed a rule change to the Medicare hospice Benefit’s regulatory formula. This change includes the removal of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor from the hospice wage index which results in substantial cuts to Medicare hospice reimbursements. Despite a nationwide advocacy effort, the proposed rule change went into effect on August 1st, and the phase-in implementation of the rate cuts began on October 1st. The first year phase-in of these cuts will result in a $20 million loss in the state of Ohio and nearly an $800,000 loss for hospice of the Western Reserve’s service area –
which includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. hospice providers nationwide will lose a total of $2.29 billion.
Although already implemented, the National hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NhPCO) continues to lead the effort to stop the rate cuts with legislation in Congress. hospice advocates overwhelmingly joined this effort and since April, they have sent more than 70,000 messages and made thousands of phone calls to their federal representatives. The tremendous hospice advocacy effort has led 119 members of the house and senate to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act and dozens signed on to the Preserving Access to healthcare Act. The response in Northern Ohio was particularly impressive with Representatives Kucinich, LaTourette, sutton, and Ryan and senator Brown agreeing to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act. unfortunately, neither bill was passed before Congress went on recess.
Many hospice advocates wonder how these rate cuts could happen to the Medicare hospice Benefit, which according to a 2007 Duke university study, saves Medicare an average
VOL. 24 - issue 3
hospicewr.org
fall | 08Hospice House & Headquarters300 east 185th streetCleveland, Oh 44119-1330p. 216.383.2222 or 800.707.8922 f. 216.383.3750hospice Connect Line: 800.707.8921
asHtabula office1166 Lake AvenueAshtabula, Oh 44004-2930p. 440.997.6619 f. 440.997.6478
cleveland office19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.383.2222 f. 216.481.4940
fairHill office12200 Fairhill RoadCleveland, Oh 44120-1013p. 216.502.4240 f. 216.502.4230
lakewood office 14601 Detroit Avenue, suite 100Lakewood, Oh 44107-4212p. 216.227.9048 f. 216.227.9232
lorain county office2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite hLorain, Oh 44055-3400p. 440.284.2999
Mentor office5786 heisley RoadMentor, Oh 44060-1830p. 440.951.8692 f. 440.975.0655
university circle office10645 euclid AvenueCleveland, Oh 44106-2206p. 216.231.8650 f. 216.231.8291
warrensville HeigHts office4670 Richmond Road, suite 200Warrensville hts, Oh 44128-5978p. 216.283.3140 f. 216.283.3181
westlake office29101 health Campus DriveBuilding 2, suite 400Westlake, Oh 44145-5268p. 440.892.6680 f. 440.892.6690
tHe elisabetH severance prentiss bereaveMent center19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.486.6838 f. 216.481.4987
Hospice resale sHop5139 Mayfield RoadLyndhurst, Oh 44124-2405p. 440.442.2621 f. 440.646.0507
publisHed by:Communications TeamHospice of the Western Reserve
david a. siMpson, Chief Executive Officer
Medicare/Medicaid CertifiedJCAHO accredited
Copyright 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDCleveland, OHPermit #848
Donate Online at hospicewr.org
Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.
Understanding the Impact of Advocacy
Story continued on page 3.
[ P6 ][ P5 ]
Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
American Express Foundation
American International Group, Inc.
Amgen Foundation
Bank of America Foundation
Barnes Group Foundation, Inc.
Becton Dickinson and Company
BP Amoco Corporation
Business & Legal Reports, Inc.
The Capital Group Companies, Charitable Foundation
Casey Matching Gifts Program
Caterpillar, Inc.
The Chase Manhattan Foundation
The Chubb Corporation
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Clinical Health Laboratories, Inc.
Computer Associates International, Inc.
Corning Incorporated Foundation
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
The Dannon Company
Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Dominion Foundation
Duke Energy Foundation
Eaton Corporation
Energizer Corp.
Equistar - A Lyondell Company
Federated Department Stores Foundation
FFr, Inc.
FirstEnergy Foundation
The FM Global Foundation
The Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation
The GAP Foundation
General Electric Foundation
The J. Paul Getty Trust
Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation
The Glenmede Trust Company
Goodrich Foundation
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Grange Insurance Company
Guideposts
John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.
Highmark
The Home Depot
IBM International Foundation
Illinois Tool Works Foundation
IMO Industries, Inc.
Intuit Foundation
The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies
Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Ohio
Key Foundation
Lamson & Sessions Foundation
Law School Admission Council
Liberty Mutual Foundation
Liggett Stashower, Inc.
Lilly Endowment, Inc.
The Lubrizol Foundation
Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.
McCormick & Company, Inc.
McDonnell Douglas
McMaster-Carr Supply Company
Merck Partnership For Giving
Microsoft
The Millipore Foundation
Mobil Foundation, Inc.
J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation
Nestle Purina Petcare Company
The Nordson Corporation Foundation
Northern Trust Matching Gifts
Pfizer Foundation
Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
The PQ Corporation
Preformed Line Products Company
Progressive Insurance Foundation
The Prudential Foundation
Quest Diagnostics
Reuters America, Inc.
Ross Equipment Corporation
Saint Gobain Corporation
SAP America, Inc.
The Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation
The Sherwin Williams Foundation
The Stanley Works
Starbucks
The Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc.
Symantec
Thomson West Community Partnership Program
UBS Investment Bank
Unicare Service Corporation
Unilever United States Foundation, Inc.
UnitedHealth Group - Employee Giving Campaign
Verizon Foundation
Wachovia Foundation
Washington Mutual
The Washington Post
Wellpoint Associate Giving Campaign
Doug Cisan has been donating in memory of his wife Rhonna who passed away five years ago. Doug is an employee at W.W. Grainger, and because of their matching gift program, Doug’s donation triples.
Matching gifts are a great way to increase the amount of your donation. Many companies will match the charitable contributions of their employees, spouses, board members and retirees. This is a great way to stretch your donation. Gifts made to non-profit organizations are matched or in some cases, double and triple matched with company or corporate foundation funds.
When making a gift, donors should check with their company to see if a matching gift program is offered. if you know your company has a matching gift program and is not listed, or if you have questions, please contact Nicole Green at (216) 383-3714.
Double Your Gift to Hospice of the Western Reserve
dignity choice life-enHancing comfortcare
Coming Full Circle Please join us for the 31st Annual Meeting onThursday, January 29, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Guest speaker will be Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle, Inc. and will take place in the heart of university Circle at the Park Lane Villa Ballroom, 10510 Park Lane, Cleveland, Oh 44106.
Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. For more information, please contact Celeste Conklin at 216/502-4454.
We’ve Moved Lorain County Office
2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite h
Lorain, Oh 44055-3400
Phone: 440.284.2999
Call our Hospice Connect Line
800.707.8921
hospicewr.orgLorain County
Do you work with any of these matching companies?
Save the
Date 31st AnnUAl MeetIng