U.S. Celebrates November as National Home Care and Hospice Month

Washington, D.C.; November 1, 2006 -- Val J. Halamandaris, President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), today called on all Americans to commemorate the power of caring, both at home and in their local communities, by celebrating November as National Home Care and Hospice Month.

"It is highly appropriate that we take a few minutes of our day to celebrate the nurses, therapists, aides and other providers who have chosen to use their lives to help infirm, disabled and dying Americans. No work is nobler and no group in our society more deserves our respect and admiration," Halamandaris said.

Halamandaris commended the U.S. Supreme Court for its 1999 Olmstead decision which declared a Constitutional right for all Americans to be cared for in the least restrictive environment--which means at home. He also lauded the National Governors Association which declared in 2004 that long-term care is the greatest problem facing America and that home care was the best solution to the problem. In addition to these forces, he said that home care was being driven by demographics, the graying of America, the advancement of technology, its cost effectiveness as compared with other forms of care and personal choice.

"Most Americans prefer to remain in their own homes, especially by the time they become a little frail and need assistance to perform such activities as getting out of bed, dressing, making meals, feeding themselves and making sure they take their medications," Halamandaris said.

He pointed out that home care is not just for the elderly but has equal and perhaps greater importance to young and middle-aged Americans--especially chronically ill and disabled children.

"Home care is the preferred form of health care for millions of Americans as they go through their lives. Even when the end is near, most Americans appreciate the love and care which is so graciously given by the angels of hospice. Let us take time to celebrate the good that these special people do in the world," Halamandaris said.

About NAHC
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice, the industry's oldest and most respected trade group, represents the interests of nearly 20,000 home care agencies and hospice organizations (including approximately 11,500 Medicare-certified home health agencies) that annually serve nearly nine million Americans as well as home care aide organizations, home care giving staff and their clients. NAHC members believe that quality home care and hospice, humane and cost-effective alternatives to institutionalization, are the right of all Americans. Home care and hospice reinforce and supplement the care provided by family members and friends and encourage maximum independence of thought and functioning as well as the preservation of human dignity.