Circle of Life Awards Recognize Innovative End-of-Life Care...( ALEXANDRIA Va. Aug. 8 National H...),Health

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and National Hospice Foundation honor the recipients of the 2008 Circle of Life Award(R). This prestigious award celebrates innovation in end-of-life care and highlights programs that demonstrate superior vision, depth, and scope.

Award recipients were announced July 25 at the American Hospital Association's annual summit in San Diego. This year's Award winners are:

-- Pain and Palliative Care Program, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (NHPCO member)

-- Haven Hospice, Gainesville, Florida (NHPCO member)

-- The Pediatric Advanced Care Team, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In addition to the three award winners, AHA presented Citations of Honor to other exemplary care providers:

-- Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California

-- LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care, Temple Terrace/Tampa, Florida (NHPCO member)

-- Providence Hospital Palliative Care Services, Washington, D.C. (NHPCO member)

-- Rice Hospice, Willmar, Minnesota (NHPCO member)

-- Sentara Healthcare/Palliative Care Collaborative, Norfolk, Virginia

-- Joint Palliative Care Programs of the UAB Center for Palliative Care and the Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama (NHPCO member)

Two of the three Award winners and four of the six citation recipients are members of NHPCO.

NHPCO and NHF celebrate the work of the award and citation recipients and applaud them for their work to advance the highest quality hospice and palliative care.

"These programs serve as models for us all as we move forward in our shared goal of providing the highest quality of care for all those we serve," remarked J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO/NHF president and CEO. "The importance of quality end-of-life care is at the heart of our organization's strategic
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