In honor of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day on October 9th, we wanted to take some time to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who makes the hospice and palliative care field so special, and those who continue advocating for the needs of the community. The day is designed to celebrate the world of hospice and palliative care to demonstrate how vital it is and why it’s important to make sure everyone who needs care has access no matter where they live, how old they are, or their background.
The 2021 theme of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is ‘Leave No One Behind — Equity in Access to Palliative Care.’ According to the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance, the day will help ensure the voices of people with hospice and palliative care needs, and their families, are heard through compelling stories.
Hospice and palliative care became even more vital during the pandemic, and the Hospice Palliative Care Alliance plans to ask policymakers to ensure a package of hospice and palliative care services are tailored to each patient’s needs. The organization says that World Hospice and Palliative Care Day will demonstrate why hospice and palliative care must be included in the nation’s plans and budgets.
Other goals of the day include:
- To share a vision in order to increase the availability of hospice and palliative care worldwide by creating more opportunities to speak out about the issues, resulting in more visibility.
- To raise awareness and understanding of the medical, social, practical, and spiritual needs of people living with life-limiting or terminal illnesses and their families.
- To raise funds to support and develop hospice and palliative care services across the globe.
How to Get Involved
So, how can you get involved this World Hospice & Palliative Care Day? There’s a broad range of ways to get involved, including:
- Educate yourself, your friends, and your family on the importance of hospice and palliative care.
- Organize a World Hospice and Palliative Care Day event.
- Write your local lawmakers to lobby for including hospice and palliative care services in budgets.
- Volunteer at a hospice and/or palliative care facility.
- Donate to an organization that supports hospice and palliative care or a local facility.
- Follow @whpca on Twitter and Facebook. Watch for the hashtags #LeaveNoOneBehind21 and #WHPCD21.
To learn more about hospice and palliative care services and how they can help your family, click here.