WHY SHOULD YOU BE A MEMBER of THE TX & NM HOSPICE ORGANIZATION?

GENERAL
The Texas & New Mexico Hospice Organization is the largest and oldest organization in both Texas and New Mexico that focuses solely on hospice.  Other organizations have moved into hospice, but they primarily represent home health and other industries.  With our more than 225 members, we are "all hospice, all of the time".

The TX & NM Hospice Organization was founded in 1983 As the Texas Hospice Organization as a 501(c) 3 nonprofit and is dedicated to promoting and maintaining quality compassionate care for the terminally ill and their families and to provide educational opportunities and professional assistance to the professionals who serve the terminally ill.  In 1995 the New Mexico and Texas Hospice Organizations, recognizing a need for increased cooperation in a rapidly changing health care environment, agreed to a partnership whereby NMHO member hospices would become full members of THO.  The joint organization evolved to make it apparent that both organizations were benefiting from the merger and in April, 1998 THO's bylaws were amended to form one organization representing both states.

EDUCATION
The TX & NM Hospice Organization hosts a major annual conference each year in the spring with an average attendance of more than 550 hospice professionals.  This three-day conference offers multidisciplinary educational opportunities in areas of interest to hospice professionals and volunteers.  During this meeting, general sessions with nationally recognized experts in hospice and palliative care are provided as well as 50 or more breakout sessions that are tailored to the individual and professional needs of the participants.  Continuing education credits are provided for administrators, physicians, nurses, social workers, and other professions.  The annual meeting is an opportunity to interact with other hospice professionals in peer group sessions.

In addition to the annual meeting, the TX & NM Hospice Organization offers hospice professionals a unique opportunity to learn from and network with their colleagues in special topic conferences.  These conferences are usually designed to last no more than one day and are built around a specific topic or peer group.  No other organization in either state comes even close to providing the number and quality of our educational offerings.  Non-members pay 50% more to attend our programs than members do. 

In 2012, the TX & NM Hospice Organization provided the following 12 (more than 100 class hours) days of high quality hospice training as well as 36 hours of on-line training for hospice professionals.  The online hours provide all of the required 8 hours for the initial training required for hospice administrator plus all of the other hours needed for their continuing education requirements.

      • DADS Regulatory Training (2 times in January)
      • Dallas Chaplain Training
      • 2012 Annual Conference in Santa Fe
      • Houston Chaplain Training
      • Social Worker Fly-in
      • Webinar: Legal vs. Clinical Standards
      • Bereavement Coordinator Fly-in – The Bereavement Advisory Committee for TNMHO
      • Lubbock  Chaplain Training
      • ELNEC in Austin
      • Hospice Productivity Workshop

      ONLINE EDUCATION
      We offer a multitude of online training programs that are available 24 hours a day for those busy professionals who need training opportunities based on their schedules.  The most popular courses are:

      • 8 hour New Initial Administrator Training On-line –Meets the (§97.259 c) for new HCSSA Administrators/Alternates. $200 for Members and the
      • Bundle Pack--21 hours of On-line Continuing Education training prerecorded multimedia from leading industry experts with CNEs, CEs, CEUs for Nurses, Social Workers, Administrators, and other hospice professionals. Meets the 12 hour annual requirement (§97.260) for HCSSA Administrators/Alternates AND §97.259 the 16 hour Initial Educational Training in Administration of Agencies - Only $200 for Members. 
      • On-line Chaplain Training Pack - 6 hours of exceptional hospice chaplain specific training from our Chaplain Developement Committee.
      • On-line Bereavement Coordinator's Pack- 6 hours of education specific for Bereavement. Taught by experts.
      • In addition, in 2012 we offered six free hours of online training that included CEU's, CNE's and Administrator's hours.

      Other popular course offerings are:

      • Social Worker Bundle Pack: 6 hours of prerecorded multimedia Professional Education with 6 hours of CEUs awarded (3 hours are Ethics credits). These classes are taught from leading industry experts. $75 for Members

      Go to:  http://www.txnmhospice.org/Education.html for a complete listing of online programs.  We are continually adding new programs.

      PUBLIC POLICY/ADVOCACY
      The TX & NM Hospice Organization represents hospice at both the national and state levels before legislative bodies as well as before federal and state regulatory agencies.  In the coming years, we will be challenged repeatedly as Congress and both Legislatures grapple with financial and other issues. Again, we focus is solely on hospice and thus face no conflicts of interest when representing our members.  We represent both states on the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization's Council of States; serve on its Public Policy Committee; and represent both states at the quarterly meetings with Palmetto Government Benefit Administrator's (PGBA).

      This year, we have added a very valuable tool that will enable our members to quickly and directly contact the members of both legislatures. Many of you may be familiar with NHPCO'S CapWiz which can be used to contact members of congress about important national issues.  We now have similar sites for both of our states so we can use them in working with the Texas and the New Mexico legislatures. 

      The TX & NM Hospice Organization partners with other organizations with common interests, such as: the Texas Academy of Palliative Medicine (TAPM) and through them the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), the Texas Hospital Association (THA), the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), the Texas Pain Society, Project Hope, the State Hospice Organization Executive Roundtable (SHOER) and many other groups.

      OTHER MEMBER BENEFITS

      • The TX & NM Hospice Org. has published its weekly newsletter, the UPDATE for fifteen years and also publishes another weekly REGULATORY UPDATE for the last five years.  The UPDATE provides information to our members on what is happening in hospice around the nation as well as providing information specific to our two states. The REGULATORY UPDATE provides information gleaned from the Federal, Texas and New Mexico Registered as well as information and analysis developed from meetings and other sources. During each state's legislative session, we also provide a weekly LEGISLATIVE UPDATE.
      • Our website www.TxNMHospice.Org is a valuable resource for general information on hospice as well as a hospice locator for families looking for a hospice.  It is in the process of being update to improve its appearance, interface and functionality.
      • The TX & NM Hospice Organization's toll free number is published in Medicare's Hospice Booklet and serves as a valuable referral source as well as a source of information for the general public..

      CONTACT INFORMATION
      Please contact Larry A. Farrow, MPA, the organization's Executive Director for more information regarding membership and membership services:
      Tel:  512-454-1247
      Toll Free: (800-580-9270)
      Fax:  512-454-1248
      Larry A. Farrow, MPA, Executive Director
      lfarrow@txnmhospice.org

      U.S. Postal Service Address
      P.O. Box 1525
      Austin, TX  78767

      Address for FedEx, UPS…
      1108 Lavaca, Suite 727, Austin, TX  78701