Blog

Blog

2021 CCCC Annual Report (12/29/2021)
As the year comes to a close and we look back, we realize that, despite the pandemic, a lot of positive progress has been made with your help! Through the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s (CCCC) leadership, we are building a ...
2021 CCCC Annual Report

Public Policy Update October 8 2021 (10/8/2021)
The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) is very pleased by the governor’s recent signing of Senate Bill 353 (Roth), which extends until January 1, 2027, the Palliative Care Pilot Program (PCPP) allowing hospice licensees to ...
Public Policy Update October 8 2021

SB 1004 MCP Learning Community (9/27/2021)
CCCC was recently awarded grant funding from the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) to lead continued efforts to expand access to palliative care for individuals covered by Medi-Cal. The grant will support the creation of a “Learning ...
SB 1004 MCP Learning Community

Public Policy Update September 17 2021 (9/17/2021)
Two key bills related to serious illness cleared the Legislature in the final days before the September 10 end of California’s 2021 legislative session. Governor Newsom has until October 10 to sign, approve without signing, or veto these bills ...
Public Policy Update September 17 2021

Support Our Advocacy Work and Your Gift Will Be Doubled! (8/20/2021)
Advocacy is one of the most powerful levers we have to create impactful change in the lives of those living with serious illness. CCCC’s policy advocacy, such as our work to secure a budget allocation for the POLST registry and quality, will have ...
Support Our Advocacy Work and Your Gift Will Be Doubled!

CCCC Names Advisory Board (8/20/2021)
CCCC is excited to announce the establishment of a new CCCC Advisory Board which has been designed to provide insight, advice, and context to the CCCC staff and Board of Directors into current issues and controversies affecting the field of ...
CCCC Names Advisory Board

CCCC Unveils New Website and Database System (8/20/2021)
If you’ve visited CCCC’s website at CoalitionCCC.org recently, you likely noticed that our online presence has a bold new look and increased functionality. The new website update is part of a larger information technology upgrade that includes ...
CCCC Unveils New Website and Database System

Members-Only Policy Update Webinar (8/20/2021)
CCCC is having a real impact on serious illness care through the power of public policy -- work which would not be possible without the support of our members. That’s why we hosted a July 28 members-only webinar focused on our efforts to shape ...
Members-Only Policy Update Webinar

POLST Registry Funding and Next Steps (8/20/2021)
The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) recently achieved a long-held goal to secure funding in the state budget to support a statewide POLST registry and enhance the POLST ecosystem ...
POLST Registry Funding and Next Steps

It's Here! Welcome to the new CCCC Online (8/18/2021)
You've waited patiently, and now we're excited to share with you what we've been working on ...
It's Here! Welcome to the new CCCC Online

Summit 2021 is a Wrap - But Save the Date for Next Year (7/28/2021)
On June 22 and 23, diverse healthcare professionals from throughout California, Arizona, and Hawaii logged onto our virtual conference. Over the course of those two days, we all learned together, laughed together, and in the end were able to ...
Summit 2021 is a Wrap - But Save the Date for Next Year

Governor Signs Budget that Includes $10 million for POLST Registry (7/19/2021)
The dream of a statewide POLST registry in California took a huge step toward becoming a reality late Monday when Governor Gavin Newsom signed the main 2021-2022 state budget bill (SB 129) which includes a $10 million appropriation for the ...
Governor Signs Budget that Includes $10 million for POLST Registry

CCCC Receives Grant to Promote ACP with Developmental Disabilities Community (7/12/2021)
CCCC is pleased to announce it has been awarded a grant from the WITH Foundation to work with California regional center staff and adults with developmental disabilities to develop and refine training materials related to advance care planning ...
CCCC Receives Grant to Promote ACP with Developmental Disabilities Community

Public Policy Update May 17 2021 (5/22/2021)
Policy Update May 17, 2021 In this issue… COVID Impacts Legislative Process \| POLST Registry Bill on 2-Year Track \| CCCC Seeks Budget Support for POLST Eco-System and Registry ...
Public Policy Update May 17 2021

CCCC Sponsors Bill To Advance Electronic POLST And POLST Registry (3/19/2021)
With the introduction of California Assembly Bill 1234, CCCC took an important step forward in our efforts to bring advance care planning into the electronic age and our longstanding efforts to make POLST information available ...
CCCC Sponsors Bill To Advance Electronic POLST And POLST Registry

IMPACT Update: Promoting Advance Care Planning At All Levels (1/22/2021)
This blog post is part of a series designed to offer a deep dive into the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s recent work and the direct impact this work is having ...
IMPACT Update: Promoting Advance Care Planning At All Levels

California’s Master Plan For Aging Unveiled (1/7/2021)
Final Master Plan Includes Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning California’s Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mark Ghaly and California Department of Aging (CDA) ...
California’s Master Plan For Aging Unveiled

IMPACT Update: Patients As Palliative Care Ambassadors (12/22/2020)
This blog post is part of a series designed to offer a deep dive into the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s (CCCC) work in 2020 and the direct impact this work is having in improving care for people who are seriously ill ...
IMPACT Update: Patients As Palliative Care Ambassadors

IMPACT Update: Promoting Conversations On Preferences For Care In Nursing Homes (12/17/2020)
This blog post is part of a series designed to offer a deep dive into the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s recent work and the direct impact this work is having ...
IMPACT Update: Promoting Conversations On Preferences For Care In Nursing Homes

IMPACT Update: POLST Quality & Electronic Exchange (12/9/2020)
This blog post is part of a series designed to offer a deep dive into the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s (CCCC) work in 2020 and the direct impact this work is having ...
IMPACT Update: POLST Quality & Electronic Exchange

IMPACT Update: COVID Response (11/19/2020)
This blog post is part of a series designed to offer a deep dive into the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s (CCCC) work in 2020 and the direct impact this work is having ...
IMPACT Update: COVID Response

Master Plan for Aging Recommendations Include Palliative Care (9/25/2020)
The work on California’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA) reached an important milestone with the September 18 release of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) recommendations to inform the Master Plan for Aging. As a member of the MPA SAC, and the ...
Master Plan for Aging Recommendations Include Palliative Care

State Issues Guidance to SNFs on Importance of ACP (9/25/2020)
On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) posted an All Facility Letter (AFL 20-73) with important guidance to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) on the subject of Advance Care Planning, Physician Orders for Life Sustaining ...
State Issues Guidance to SNFs on Importance of ACP

Join Campaign to Address Ageism and Promote Equity in Aging (9/25/2020)
The California Department of Aging (CDA) recently announced the launch of the California for All Ages digital campaign to address ageism and promote equity in aging. The intention of the campaign is to raise awareness of ageism, however it ...
Join Campaign to Address Ageism and Promote Equity in Aging

Video Introduces Ventilator Use in Consumer-Friendly Language (7/31/2020)
Is a ventilator right for you? That’s the question addressed in a new video developed by CCCC and designed to be used in tandem with CCCC’s printed ventilator decision aid to help seriously ill consumers better understand the benefits and risks ...
Video Introduces Ventilator Use in Consumer-Friendly Language

Master Plan For Aging \| CCCC Submits Palliative Care Recommendations (7/30/2020)
Working with palliative leaders in California, CCCC has crafted a set of Recommendations for Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning to be integrated into the State’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA), which will serve as a blueprint for state and ...
Master Plan For Aging \| CCCC Submits Palliative Care Recommendations

CDPH Releases 2019 End of Life Option Act Data (7/14/2020)
With the introduction of California Assembly Bill 1234, CCCC took an important step forward in our efforts to bring advance care planning into the electronic age and our longstanding efforts to make POLST information available to healthcare ...
CDPH Releases 2019 End of Life Option Act Data

Programs for Older Adults and Disabled Dodge Budget Cuts (6/26/2020)
While the state budget deal struck on Sunday by the Governor’s office and state legislature still contains painful cuts to Medi-Cal rates, state worker pay, and the University system, funding for community-based care options that serve older ...
Programs for Older Adults and Disabled Dodge Budget Cuts

Influence California Public Policy–Speak Up Now (6/26/2020)
Have you ever thought about how public policy could better support your work? If so, don’t miss this chance to weigh in on California’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA). Work on California’s the Master Plan is ramping up again, and the public has an ...
Influence California Public Policy–Speak Up Now

CCCC Opposes Severe Cuts Proposed To Programs For Older Adults And Disabled (6/5/2020)
CCCC recently joined with other members of the Master Plan for Aging (MPA) Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) in writing to the governor to express strong opposition to the devastating cuts to programs serving older adults, persons with ...
CCCC Opposes Severe Cuts Proposed To Programs For Older Adults And Disabled

PCORI E-Patient Ambassador Grant Project Concludes With Webinar And Guide (6/5/2020)
Personal experience – either as a recipient of palliative care or as a witness to missed opportunities for palliative care to improve a loved one’s quality of life – and the desire to make a difference by sharing that experience, motivated most ...
PCORI E-Patient Ambassador Grant Project Concludes With Webinar And Guide

CCCC and UCSF/UC Hastings Request Executive Order (4/24/2020)
Advance care planning (ACP) has taken on a necessary urgency in the face of COVID-19, particularly with health care providers caring for seniors and people with pre-existing conditions who are at highest risk for serious medical complications ...
CCCC and UCSF/UC Hastings Request Executive Order

Vital Importance of Advance Care Planning Amid COVID-19 (4/1/2020)
By Judy Thomas, JD, Chief Executive Officer April 1, 2020 If not now, when? COVID-19 is putting older individuals and those with serious pre-existing medical conditions at high-risk for becoming critically ill very quickly. Now is the time for ...
Vital Importance of Advance Care Planning Amid COVID-19

Opportunities to Impact Master Plan For Aging (3/12/2020)
Palliative care and advance care planning have important roles in the care of older adults and persons with disabilities. As development of California’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA) continues, the palliative care community has an opportunity to ...
Opportunities to Impact Master Plan For Aging

Spotlight: New ACP Coalitions Take Root (2/18/2020)
When community members with an interest in promoting advance care planning come together and coordinate their efforts, good things can happen. With that in mind, Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC) recently partnered with the Coalition for ...
Spotlight: New ACP Coalitions Take Root

Dr. Kimberly Bower Brings Wealth of Pediatric Experience to Role on CCCC Board (1/31/2020)
With close to 20 years of experience in pediatric palliative care, Kimberly Bower, MD, FAAHPM HMDC, brings a valuable perspective to her role as a member of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California’s (CCCC’s) Board of Directors. Dr. ...
Dr. Kimberly Bower Brings Wealth of Pediatric Experience to Role on CCCC Board

PCHETA/OAA Legislation Pass House (10/31/2019)
On October 28, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 647, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) commends the members of the House for ...
PCHETA/OAA Legislation Pass House

Prescriptions For Terminally Ill Now Exempt From Opioid Co-Prescribing Requirement (9/13/2019)
Governor signs AB 714; Bill Takes Effect Immediately AB 714 (Wood), which clarifies current law and provides common-sense exemptions from opioid co-prescribing requirements, passed the legislature and was signed on Sept 6 by Governor Newsom ...
Prescriptions For Terminally Ill Now Exempt From Opioid Co-Prescribing Requirement

POLST Registry Next Steps Survey \| Topline Results (8/30/2019)
From 24/7 access to POLST to data available for research, POLST stakeholders see many potential benefits to the electronic exchange of POLST information in California, according to an August 2019 survey conducted by the Coalition for ...
POLST Registry Next Steps Survey \| Topline Results

CCCC’s CEO Named to Master Plan For Aging Advisory Committee (8/19/2019)
Judy Thomas, JD, CEO of the Coalition for Compassionate Care, has been named by California Health and Human Services (CHHS) Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly to serve on the Master Plan for Aging Stakeholder Advisory Committee, a diverse group of ...
CCCC’s CEO Named to Master Plan For Aging Advisory Committee

e-Patient Ambassadors Launch Palliative Care Advocacy Efforts (7/12/2019)
In the coming weeks, the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) is launching a unique palliative care advocacy effort to increase accurate understanding of palliative care among the public and providers by tapping into the ...
e-Patient Ambassadors Launch Palliative Care Advocacy Efforts

Pelosi District Office Visit Focuses On Palliative Care (7/12/2019)
The value of palliative care and support for H.R.647, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) were the primary topics of discussion at a June 25 meeting between California leaders in palliative care and key staff ...
Pelosi District Office Visit Focuses On Palliative Care

SB 1004 Resource Center Launched (7/12/2019)
The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California continues to support the successful implementation of Senate Bill 1004 (palliative care for Medi-Cal enrollees) by working with partners like the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) on ...
SB 1004 Resource Center Launched

CDPH Releases 2018 Data on the End of Life Option Act (7/10/2019)
2018 Data Report includes new data points and cumulative data July 10, 2019 The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today released the 2018 Data Report on the End of Life Option Act (EoLOA). This latest report on the End of Life Option ...
CDPH Releases 2018 Data on the End of Life Option Act

June 2019 Legislative Update (6/17/2019)
CCCC’s 2019 Priority List Includes Legislation Related to Naloxone, Cannabis, LTC Insurance, and the State’s Master Plan Aging The Coalition for Compassionate Care closely monitors legislation related to palliative care and advance care planning ...
June 2019 Legislative Update

Legislative Update: Hospice and CDPH Gearing Up for SB 294 Implementation (12/20/2017)
“When can a hospice begin providing skilled services to non-hospice patients under SB 294?… How and where should a hospice submit the required paperwork?… Is CDPH planning any education on the implementation of SB 294?…” These are just a few of) ...
Legislative Update: Hospice and CDPH Gearing Up for SB 294 Implementation

Final Version of Community-Based Palliative Care Consensus Standards (11/3/2017)
The finalized version of the Community-Based Palliative Care Consensus Standards for California has recently been released by the California Advanced Illness Collaborative (CAIC). These Standards were developed by the CAIC to make high-quality ...
Final Version of Community-Based Palliative Care Consensus Standards

The Place of Spiritual Guidance in Palliative Care (10/27/2017)
Spirituality is often used as a coping strategy, with prayer, meditation, and mindfulness among the many spiritual resources patients use to help cope with the intensity of the pain they experience. – SPIRITUAL CARE: What It Means, Why It Matter ...
The Place of Spiritual Guidance in Palliative Care

CACCC Breaking Down Cultural Barriers to End-of-Life Conversations (10/10/2017)
For more than 12 years, the Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care (CACCC) has been key in overcoming cultural and language barriers in the Chinese community when it comes to end-of-life conversations. By providing comprehensive ...
CACCC Breaking Down Cultural Barriers to End-of-Life Conversations

Legislative Update: SB 294 Hospice Palliative Care (9/28/2017)
Good news! Governor Brown has signed SB 294 (Hernandez) into law. This bill explicitly allows a licensed hospice to provide palliative care services concurrently with curative treatment to a person who does not have a terminal prognosis or who ...
Legislative Update: SB 294 Hospice Palliative Care

ESRD Network 18: Encouraging Conversation Among Patients, Providers, and Families (9/22/2017)
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) – also known as kidney failure – is not reversible. And unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation spread about the disease and treatments. As such, the ESRD Network 18 of Southern California works to promote ...
ESRD Network 18: Encouraging Conversation Among Patients, Providers, and Families

Good News on AB 937 (6/9/2017)
CCCC has achieved a significant win on Assembly Bill 937 (Eggman), which would have prevented unnamed surrogates from speaking for their incapacitated loved ones. CCCC feared that the bill, in its current form, would cause more harm than good ...
Good News on AB 937

CCCC and Partner Organizations Work With DHCS to Move SB 1004 Implementation Date (6/5/2017)
Earlier this year we reported that the Governor’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 called for delaying the implementation of SB 1004 until no sooner than July 1, 2018. Thanks to the hard work of our policy team at CCCC along with eight ...
CCCC and Partner Organizations Work With DHCS to Move SB 1004 Implementation Date

2017 Legislative Session Updates (4/18/2017)
It’s been another busy legislative year for us so far, with bills of interest moving forward in both the Assembly and the Senate. An important part of our work at CCCC is to track and take action on legislation that impacts the space of palliative...
2017 Legislative Session Updates

How Your Organization Can Support NHDD (4/12/2017)
Many organizations should look to be involved in this year’s National Healthcare Decisions Day. From health systems to insurance companies, primary care physician groups to local coalitions, there are a number of us who work in this space ...
How Your Organization Can Support NHDD

Draft Budget Proposes Significant Delay in Medi-Cal Palliative Care Services (1/12/2017)
ANUARY 11, 2017 (Sacramento, CA)—The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) shared a 2017-18 budget document yesterday showing that Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to delay the implementation of a program that would expand access to ...
Draft Budget Proposes Significant Delay in Medi-Cal Palliative Care Services

Department of Health Care Services Director to Talk Policy at Palliative Care Summit (11/9/2016)
ow can public policy influence access to palliative care services in California? This important topic will be addressed by Jennifer Kent, MPA, director of the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in a general session at the ...
Department of Health Care Services Director to Talk Policy at Palliative Care Summit

SB 1004 Palliative Care Stakeholder Webinar Scheduled for Sept. 8 (8/24/2016)
UPDATED Sept. 8. 2016: On Sept. 8, 2016, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) held a webinar to review its policy paper (PDF) describing General Eligibility and Disease-Specific Eligibility Criteria under Senate Bill 1004 ...
SB 1004 Palliative Care Stakeholder Webinar Scheduled for Sept. 8

When Goals of Care are Not Enough (6/23/2016)
UCLA program provides advance care planning and hospice to Santa Monica homeless community The scenario below, based on a real-life case, is only an example of the challenges that face healthcare practitioners as they approach Goals of Care ...
When Goals of Care are Not Enough

National Task Force Recognizes California for “Mature” POLST Program (5/12/2016)
Majority of California healthcare settings recognize POLST as the preferred method of recording treatment preferences for persons with advanced illness or frailty SNAPSHOTS: California just one of three states recognized as having a “mature” ...
National Task Force Recognizes California for “Mature” POLST Program

New Online Courses Aim to Educate Physicians and Other Healthcare Professionals (4/15/2016)
CSU Institute for Palliative Care launches comprehensive continuing education programs focused on advance care planning conversations and billing SAN MARCOS, CA – In response to the nation’s growing demand for physicians trained in advance care ...
New Online Courses Aim to Educate Physicians and Other Healthcare Professionals

Inappropriate POLST Use in Skilled Nursing Facilities (4/7/2016)
At the recent national POLST meeting, a case of a resident unwilling to complete a POLST was discussed. As most readers are probably aware, POLST is not generally recommended for residents unless they are in the last year or so of life. In this ...
Inappropriate POLST Use in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Remembering Donald Roberts: Shared Decision-making (3/1/2016)
Even though I’ve viewed it numerous times, every time I watch Remembering Donald Roberts I am deeply moved. I don’t know much about Donald’s early years, but I know that when he was 19, Donald was institutionalized intermittently for “suicidal ...
Remembering Donald Roberts: Shared Decision-making

20 Tips for Writing a Compelling Palliative Care Program Proposal (1/14/2016)
Like this blog post? Check out the webinar with Kathleen Kerr on March 17. “Making the case” is a chore many clinical and administrative leaders need to undertake if they want to create, sustain or expand a palliative care service. Gathering ...
20 Tips for Writing a Compelling Palliative Care Program Proposal

2016 POLST Form Now Available (12/18/2015)
The 2016 California Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form is now available for individual download and bulk purchase, allowing health care providers to be ready Jan. 1, 2016, when nurse practitioners and physician assistant) ...
2016 POLST Form Now Available

Report: California Making Progress Toward a Supportive Environment for End-Of-Life Care (10/22/2015)
New Study Benchmarks the State’s Progress Against IOM Report SACRAMENTO, CA—A year after the release of a landmark report on death and dying in America, a new state-based report finds that California is making strides to create a more supportive ...
Report: California Making Progress Toward a Supportive Environment for End-Of-Life Care

CPR: Your Chances of Survival are Better on TV (10/21/2015)
Earlier this year, my team at the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology conducted a study of two leading medical dramas airing between 2010 and 2011, Grey’s Anatomy and House. Patient characteristics, CPR survival rates ...
CPR: Your Chances of Survival are Better on TV

California Palliative Care Report Card (10/9/2015)
A state-by-state report card by the Center to Advance Palliative Care demonstrates that access to palliative care remains inadequate for millions of Americans living with serious illness ...
California Palliative Care Report Card

What You Need to Know About AB 637 and POLST (10/9/2015)
As of January 1, 2016, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants will be authorized to sign California POLST forms. Background Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST), which was introduced in California through legislation ...
What You Need to Know About AB 637 and POLST

Distinguishing POLST from Death with Dignity Statutes (9/24/2015)
This post is shared here with permission from the National POLST Paradigm Task Force. Approved by the National POLST Paradigm Task Force on September 18, 2015 Some may have questions about the critical distinction between the Physician Orders for ...
Distinguishing POLST from Death with Dignity Statutes

CCCC Voices Strong Support for CMS-1631-P (9/8/2015)
In July 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed update to the physician payment schedule which includes a recommendation to make advance care planning services a separately payable service under Medicare ...
CCCC Voices Strong Support for CMS-1631-P

Palliative Pooches: When Dogs Make the Rounds (8/26/2015)
As a nursing home and palliative care physician, my work can be heart-wrenching. My patients and their families are often facing extremely difficult decisions as we walk the path of serious illness together. However, over the last 20 years I’ve ...
Palliative Pooches: When Dogs Make the Rounds

Gov. Brown Signs AB 637 Allowing NPs and PAs to Sign POLST Forms (8/17/2015)
Nurse practitioners, physician assistants able to sign medical orders for life-sustaining treatment preferences starting January 2016 Today Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 637, authorizing nurse practitioners and physician assistants, under the direct ...
Gov. Brown Signs AB 637 Allowing NPs and PAs to Sign POLST Forms

How do you Track Health Care Preferences for the Homeless (7/16/2015)
UCLA Medical Center pilots strategies for having end-of-life conversations with homeless community in Santa Monica He wanted no part of anything we could offer. His long, unkempt gray hair and rough beard made him look much older than his stated ...
How do you Track Health Care Preferences for the Homeless

White Paper: Snapshots of Palliative Care Practices Highlights Factors that Facilitate or Impede (7/6/2015)
Snapshots of Palliative Care Practices was compiled as part of a session on palliative care capacity, need, and resources at the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California Annual Summit in April 2015. White paper authors Kathleen Kerr and ...
White Paper: Snapshots of Palliative Care Practices Highlights Factors that Facilitate or Impede

How to Engage Community Members in Advance Care Planning (6/30/2015)
Why it is important to talk about what is deeply meaningful From its beginnings, the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California has fostered collaboration to improve how we prepare for medical decisions when we are facing serious illness or ...
How to Engage Community Members in Advance Care Planning

Snapshot: Advance Care Planning Reduces Health Care Costs (6/18/2015)
Advance care planning reduces health care costs Advance care planning (ACP) supports patients and families in discussing and documenting care preferences, with the goal of ensuring that the care patients receive is aligned with their goals, value ...
Snapshot: Advance Care Planning Reduces Health Care Costs

DHCS Seeks Comments on Quality Measures for Medi-Cal’s Pilot Palliative Care Service (6/11/2015)
UPDATE (June 25, 2015): The Department of Health Care Services extended the deadline to comment on the quality measures for the Medi-Cal pilot palliative care service. People interested in providing comments have until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26, ...
DHCS Seeks Comments on Quality Measures for Medi-Cal’s Pilot Palliative Care Service

Advance Care Planning and the LGBT Community (6/1/2015)
End-of-life care discussions foster community in the families we create Engaging others in end of life discussions requires intentionality, introspection, and openness. This is true within traditional family structures, but it is even more ...
Advance Care Planning and the LGBT Community

Wake Up, Mom I Want to Complete an Advance Directive (5/26/2015)
Talking with young adults about advance care planning Andrea, my youngest daughter, was scheduled to have a tonsillectomy a few months after her 18th birthday. At 11:00 the night before surgery, she woke me up with an urgent request. “Mom, ...
Wake Up, Mom I Want to Complete an Advance Directive

CCCC Submits Recommendations to Medi-Cal Regarding Implementation of SB 1004 (5/18/2015)
Despite growing recognition of the value and cost-effectiveness of palliative care services, there continues to be significant disparities in how palliative care is defined, delivered and evaluated—not just in California, but across the nation ...
CCCC Submits Recommendations to Medi-Cal Regarding Implementation of SB 1004

How Medical Directors Can Make the Most of Advance Care Programs and POLST (4/16/2015)
Despite recent gains in public awareness, studies indicate most Americans have not completed an advance health care directive or designated someone to make decisions about their health care in the event they cannot speak for themselves. According ...
How Medical Directors Can Make the Most of Advance Care Programs and POLST

California Policy: POLST Registry, Advance Directive Database, and More (3/20/2015)
When it comes to public policy, a lot has happened in the last few weeks. The deadline for bill introduction was Feb. 27, and the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California has been reviewing bills to determine which ones are relevant to our ...
California Policy: POLST Registry, Advance Directive Database, and More

Change in Law May Affect Advance Directives Notarized After Jan. 1, 2015 (3/5/2015)
Californians who opt to have their advance directive notarized may encounter problems if the notary’s certificate of acknowledgement does not include a newly-mandated consumer-specific disclaimer. Effective January 1, 2015, California Civil Code ...
Change in Law May Affect Advance Directives Notarized After Jan. 1, 2015

Do No Harm: 5 Things to Consider Before Hospitalizing (2/2/2015)
As a physician, time and time again I have heard from my peers that prognostication is difficult and unreliable. But perhaps it is more accurate to say that as physicians, we just aren’t good at it any more. Prognostic education all but ...
Do No Harm: 5 Things to Consider Before Hospitalizing

Thinking Ahead Matters: CCCC Releases White Paper (1/26/2015)
In a new white paper, “Thinking Ahead Matters: Supporting and improving healthcare decision-making and end-of-life planning for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) ...
Thinking Ahead Matters: CCCC Releases White Paper

2015 Value Snapshots on Advance Care Planning, Palliative Care, and Hospice (1/5/2015)
Kick off the New Year by making it easy for everyone in your health system to understand the benefits of advance care planning, palliative care and hospice. Value Snapshots are brief, easy-to-digest, two-page summaries developed by palliative ...
2015 Value Snapshots on Advance Care Planning, Palliative Care, and Hospice

POLST Cover Sheets Answer Consumer Questions at RCFEs and SNFs (12/19/2014)
In response to increasing concerns regarding how POLST is being administered in some assisted living communities and skilled-nursing facilities, the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California partnered with the California Association of ...
POLST Cover Sheets Answer Consumer Questions at RCFEs and SNFs

Ethnographic Study: Listening Deeply to What Patients Have to Say (11/10/2014)
CCCC has achieved a significant win on Assembly Bill 937 (Eggman), which would have prevented unnamed surrogates from speaking for their incapacitated loved ones. CCCC feared that the bill, in its current form, would cause more harm than good ...
Ethnographic Study: Listening Deeply to What Patients Have to Say

24/7 Online Training Now Available for California POLST Form (9/30/2014)
Are you one of those providers that keeps hearing about POLST and knows you need to learn more but simply don’t have time? Are you a California healthcare professional who’s heard about the new form but haven’t had a chance to learn more? You are ...
24/7 Online Training Now Available for California POLST Form

Gov. Brown Signs SB 1004, Medi-Cal to Cover Palliative Care for Adults (9/26/2014)
By Judy Thomas, JD, Executive Director Coalition for Compassionate Care of California @JudyThomasJD Yesterday afternoon California Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1004 (Hernandez), which will require Medi-Cal to establish standards and ...
Gov. Brown Signs SB 1004, Medi-Cal to Cover Palliative Care for Adults

POLST in 2014: What Healthcare Professionals Need to Know (9/3/2014)
The new California POLST goes into effect on October 1, 2014, and healthcare professionals must take note of key changes to the form. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a physician order signed by both a doctor and patient ...
POLST in 2014: What Healthcare Professionals Need to Know

In Death Inmates Want Respect (9/2/2014)
My experience at the San Quentin State Prison Health Fair It was 8:30 a.m. on an August morning and I was listening to a trustee at the chapel inside of San Quentin State Prison tell me and other public health professionals about our assignments ...
In Death Inmates Want Respect

Have Better Conversations About Goals of Care in Chinese and Spanish (7/24/2014)
Decision Guides on life-sustaining treatments available in Chinese and Spanish translations The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California is pleased to announce that our popular Decision Guides are now available in Chinese and Spanish ...
Have Better Conversations About Goals of Care in Chinese and Spanish

Educational Guides Help Patients Make Decisions About Life-Sustaining Treatments (6/27/2014)
Decision Guides for life-sustaining treatment For healthcare professionals, having a conversation about goals of care and life-sustaining treatments with seriously-ill patients and their loved ones can be difficult. Decision Guides for life- ...
Educational Guides Help Patients Make Decisions About Life-Sustaining Treatments