Dear Senator Underwood,
I am a registered nurse (APRN) in state/jurisdiction and work in. I want to ask you about the support bill H.R. 647: Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act. I know that you are cosponsor of this bill and familiar with its context and significance, but I want to provide some of my founding to highlight the need for its adoptions.
The main requirement and thesis of the bill is the provision of support for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers, and this need has clear evidence. First, the number of adults ages 65 and older who are most likely to use the services of palliative care and hospice services is growing, and in 2018 consists of 53 million Americans (Mather, 2019). At the same time, the number of patients receiving palliative and hospice care is also growing, and 94% of people noted the importance of these services availability (Morrison & Meier, 2019). Consequently, healthcare needs more professional nurses and doctors who can provide care for seriously or terminally ill patients.
Moreover, palliative care decreases the cost of health care services as preventing health crises requires more resources than preventing them. For example, a palliative health care consulting reduces the cost of services by an average of $ 3,000 per admission (Morrison & Meier, 2019). In addition, more nurses and physicians with skills for hospice and palliative care reduces the workload on staff and allows them to provide better patient care.
I ask you to support Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act to increase the quality of healthcare services for the citizens required palliative and hospice care, and improve the healthcare system. I hope for your understanding and help.
References
Mather, M., Scommegna, P., & Kilduff, L. (2019). Fact sheet: Aging in the United States. Population Reference Bureau. Web.
Morrison, S., & Meier, D. (2019). America’s care of serious illness: A state-by-state report card on access to palliative care in our nation’s hospitals. Center to Advance Palliative Care and the National Palliative Care Research Center.