Hospice and Palliative Care: 

Looking to the Future – Data, Trends and Possibilities

Featuring Mitchell Stein and Cordt T. Kassner, Ph.D.

Mitchell Stein is the Policy Director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care where he is responsible for directing the policy agenda of the organization.  His work includes conducting health policy research and writing reports for advocacy efforts as well as presenting at public forums, including state legislature, press conferences, and other venues. Prior to this role, Mitchell served as a member of the Board of Directors for CAHC as well as doing health care policy consulting work for CAHC and the Maine Council of Churches.  In 2007 Mitchell moved to Maine to work as the Director of Program Coordination for Health Dialog in Portland.  Before that he worked in New York for Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Inc. in various roles including as their Global Intranet Director, as the Marketing Manager for the US Health Care Practice and as Director of the National Survey of Employer-sponsored Health Plans.   He has extensively studied the Affordable Care Act and researched its implementation in and impact on Maine.  He also has extensive background working with various aspects of the heath care environment including insurance benefits designs. Mitchell lives in Cumberland Foreside Maine with his wife Martha and dog Sheba.  He holds both a BA and MBA from the University of Chicago.

Cordt T. Kassner, Ph.D., is a hospice and end-of-life healthcare industry analyst. He incorporated Hospice Analytics in 2008 to merge Medicare datasets in unique ways, and with other national databases, to better understand and explain how healthcare is delivered to those near the end of life. He earned degrees in Social Work (BS, Illinois State University), Counseling (MA, Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary), and Health & Behavioral Sciences (PhD, University of Colorado – Denver). His prior work experience includes serving as CEO of the Colorado Center for Hospice & Palliative Care, and clinical and research responsibilities on the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center faculty. While co-chairing the University of Colorado Hospital Ethics Committee, Cordt founded the Colorado Healthcare Ethics Forum, serving as President for 5 years and a Board member for 11 years. He has served as a “translator” of information between administration/clinical healthcare professionals and researchers/statisticians for over 20 years. Cordt serves and has served on numerous local, state, and national Boards and committees, and has facilitated over 100 workshops and presentations.

Also featuring Heather Wilson, Ph.D.

Heather Wilson, Ph.D.,  is the founder and a co-owner of Weatherbee Resources, Inc and the Hospice Education Network, Inc. (HEN).  Prior to founding Weatherbee in 1997, Heather worked at several hospice programs in Massachusetts in a variety of management positions.

Heather has authored numerous manuals to assist hospice programs with regulatory compliance, including:

•    The Compliance Program Toolkit: Resources for Hospice Compliance Officers
•    The HIPAA Privacy Rule: Compliance Resources for Hospices (with Mary Michal and Jay Mahoney)
•    The HIPAA Security Rule: Compliance Resources for Hospices
•    Hospice Policies & Procedures
•    Hospice Regulatory Policies and Procedures
•    The QAPI Requirement: Resources for Hospice Programs (with Melanie Merriman and Martha Tecca)
•    CoPs in a Binder: The Final Edition
•    HIPAA Update for Hospice Programs

Heather is a member of NHPCO’s Regulatory Committee and for six years led the Regulatory Subcommittee’s Education Workgroup.  She is a Board member of the Hospice and Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts and a frequent presenter at State and national hospice meetings.

Heather has participated in two government contracts between Weatherbee Resources, Inc. and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: 1) the Rural Hospice Demonstration Project (2006 to 2009); and 2) Development and Production of Training Materials for Current Hospice Surveyors (2008 – 2011).  She has also worked with the NY State Department of Health to help hospices in New York with their QAPI programs.

Heather has a Ph.D. in Pastoral Psychology from Boston University.

Date: Thursday, June 28, 2012

Time: Breakfast @ 7:30am; Business Meeting Begins @ 8:00am

Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Freeport, ME

Sponsored by: The Maine Hospice Council & Center for End-of-Life Care

Need to book a hotel for the event? There are several hotels in the area that can accommodate you.

• Hilton Garden Inn (where the event is taking place) has a special rate until June 8th at $159.00 per night
  
• Brewster House Bed & Breakfast has some rooms starting at $159.00 per night
• Kendall Tavern Inn Bed & Breakfast has some rooms starting at $160.00 per night
  
• Comfort Inn & Suites has rooms starting at $169.00 per night

The Day’s Agenda

Sponsorships & Exhibitors

The Maine Hospice Council welcomes sponsorships and exhibitors . If you or your organization would like to become a sponsor or an exhibitor, you can contact the Maine Hospice Council by calling us @ 207-626-0651, or downloading one our forms.

I want to become a sponsor

I want to become an exhibitor