National Hospice & Palliative Care Month

This issue P1 Understanding the

Impact of Advocacy

P2 Letter from the CEO

P3 Visit from Mayor Jackson

P3 Remembering Stephanie Tubbs Jones

P4 Welcome New Board Members

P4 Dog Days

P5 Double Your Gift

P6 Save the Date - 31st Annual Meeting

P6 We’ve Moved!

November has been recognized for 31 years as National hospice and Palliative Care Month. The month is dedicated not only to those who care for patients and families, but on raising awareness through education to the private and public sector on the unique transdisciplinary care and cost-saving services hospice offers. Although both sectors are equally important, the hospice community’s outreach to the federal government has recently become a more urgent matter and therefore a focus of this special month.

The urgency of the advocacy effort arose from the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget which proposed a rule change to the Medicare hospice Benefit’s regulatory formula. This change includes the removal of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor from the hospice wage index which results in substantial cuts to Medicare hospice reimbursements. Despite a nationwide advocacy effort, the proposed rule change went into effect on August 1st, and the phase-in implementation of the rate cuts began on October 1st. The first year phase-in of these cuts will result in a $20 million loss in the state of Ohio and nearly an $800,000 loss for hospice of the Western Reserve’s service area –

which includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. hospice providers nationwide will lose a total of $2.29 billion.

Although already implemented, the National hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NhPCO) continues to lead the effort to stop the rate cuts with legislation in Congress. hospice advocates overwhelmingly joined this effort and since April, they have sent more than 70,000 messages and made thousands of phone calls to their federal representatives. The tremendous hospice advocacy effort has led 119 members of the house and senate to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act and dozens signed on to the Preserving Access to healthcare Act. The response in Northern Ohio was particularly impressive with Representatives Kucinich, LaTourette, sutton, and Ryan and senator Brown agreeing to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act. unfortunately, neither bill was passed before Congress went on recess.

Many hospice advocates wonder how these rate cuts could happen to the Medicare hospice Benefit, which according to a 2007 Duke university study, saves Medicare an average

VOL. 24 - issue 3

hospicewr.org

fall | 08Hospice House & Headquarters300 east 185th streetCleveland, Oh 44119-1330p. 216.383.2222 or 800.707.8922 f. 216.383.3750hospice Connect Line: 800.707.8921

asHtabula office1166 Lake AvenueAshtabula, Oh 44004-2930p. 440.997.6619 f. 440.997.6478

cleveland office19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.383.2222 f. 216.481.4940

fairHill office12200 Fairhill RoadCleveland, Oh 44120-1013p. 216.502.4240 f. 216.502.4230

lakewood office 14601 Detroit Avenue, suite 100Lakewood, Oh 44107-4212p. 216.227.9048 f. 216.227.9232

lorain county office2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite hLorain, Oh 44055-3400p. 440.284.2999

Mentor office5786 heisley RoadMentor, Oh 44060-1830p. 440.951.8692 f. 440.975.0655

university circle office10645 euclid AvenueCleveland, Oh 44106-2206p. 216.231.8650 f. 216.231.8291

warrensville HeigHts office4670 Richmond Road, suite 200Warrensville hts, Oh 44128-5978p. 216.283.3140 f. 216.283.3181

westlake office29101 health Campus DriveBuilding 2, suite 400Westlake, Oh 44145-5268p. 440.892.6680 f. 440.892.6690

tHe elisabetH severance prentiss bereaveMent center19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.486.6838 f. 216.481.4987

Hospice resale sHop5139 Mayfield RoadLyndhurst, Oh 44124-2405p. 440.442.2621 f. 440.646.0507

publisHed by:Communications TeamHospice of the Western Reserve

david a. siMpson, Chief Executive Officer

Medicare/Medicaid CertifiedJCAHO accredited

Copyright 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDCleveland, OHPermit #848

Donate Online at hospicewr.org

Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.

Understanding the Impact of Advocacy

Story continued on page 3.

[ P6 ][ P5 ]

Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

American Express Foundation

American International Group, Inc.

Amgen Foundation

Bank of America Foundation

Barnes Group Foundation, Inc.

Becton Dickinson and Company

BP Amoco Corporation

Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

The Capital Group Companies, Charitable Foundation

Casey Matching Gifts Program

Caterpillar, Inc.

The Chase Manhattan Foundation

The Chubb Corporation

Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Clinical Health Laboratories, Inc.

Computer Associates International, Inc.

Corning Incorporated Foundation

Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.

The Dannon Company

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation

Dominion Foundation

Duke Energy Foundation

Eaton Corporation

Energizer Corp.

Equistar - A Lyondell Company

Federated Department Stores Foundation

FFr, Inc.

FirstEnergy Foundation

The FM Global Foundation

The Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation

The GAP Foundation

General Electric Foundation

The J. Paul Getty Trust

Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation

The Glenmede Trust Company

Goodrich Foundation

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Grange Insurance Company

Guideposts

John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.

Highmark

The Home Depot

IBM International Foundation

Illinois Tool Works Foundation

IMO Industries, Inc.

Intuit Foundation

The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Ohio

Key Foundation

Lamson & Sessions Foundation

Law School Admission Council

Liberty Mutual Foundation

Liggett Stashower, Inc.

Lilly Endowment, Inc.

The Lubrizol Foundation

Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.

McCormick & Company, Inc.

McDonnell Douglas

McMaster-Carr Supply Company

Merck Partnership For Giving

Microsoft

The Millipore Foundation

Mobil Foundation, Inc.

J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation

Nestle Purina Petcare Company

The Nordson Corporation Foundation

Northern Trust Matching Gifts

Pfizer Foundation

Philip Morris Companies, Inc.

The PQ Corporation

Preformed Line Products Company

Progressive Insurance Foundation

The Prudential Foundation

Quest Diagnostics

Reuters America, Inc.

Ross Equipment Corporation

Saint Gobain Corporation

SAP America, Inc.

The Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation

The Sherwin Williams Foundation

The Stanley Works

Starbucks

The Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc.

Symantec

Thomson West Community Partnership Program

UBS Investment Bank

Unicare Service Corporation

Unilever United States Foundation, Inc.

UnitedHealth Group - Employee Giving Campaign

Verizon Foundation

Wachovia Foundation

Washington Mutual

The Washington Post

Wellpoint Associate Giving Campaign

Doug Cisan has been donating in memory of his wife Rhonna who passed away five years ago. Doug is an employee at W.W. Grainger, and because of their matching gift program, Doug’s donation triples.

Matching gifts are a great way to increase the amount of your donation. Many companies will match the charitable contributions of their employees, spouses, board members and retirees. This is a great way to stretch your donation. Gifts made to non-profit organizations are matched or in some cases, double and triple matched with company or corporate foundation funds.

When making a gift, donors should check with their company to see if a matching gift program is offered. if you know your company has a matching gift program and is not listed, or if you have questions, please contact Nicole Green at (216) 383-3714.

Double Your Gift to Hospice of the Western Reserve

dignity choice life-enHancing comfortcare

Coming Full Circle Please join us for the 31st Annual Meeting onThursday, January 29, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle, Inc. and will take place in the heart of university Circle at the Park Lane Villa Ballroom, 10510 Park Lane, Cleveland, Oh 44106.

Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. For more information, please contact Celeste Conklin at 216/502-4454.

We’ve Moved Lorain County Office

2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite h

Lorain, Oh 44055-3400

Phone: 440.284.2999

Call our Hospice Connect Line

800.707.8921

hospicewr.orgLorain County

Do you work with any of these matching companies?

Save the

Date 31st AnnUAl MeetIng

For years hospice of the Western Reserve has been dedicated to the provision of comfort care for people with serious illness and a prognosis for continuing decline. We have devoted significant resources to professional and community education about hospice and palliative care as well as the importance of advance directives. During the past few years we have also become increasingly aware of the need to educate and inform both elected and appointed public officials about these matters.

We have addressed a wide variety of issues including:• Euthanasiaandassistedsuicide • Livingwilllegislation • Durablepowerofattorneyforhealthcare • Pharmacyandnarcoticprescribingand

control laws• Patientautonomy-patientrighttocontinue

or discontinue treatment• Organdonation • Thelegaldefinitionofdeath • Thelegaldefinitionof‘terminalcondition’ • Accessforunderservedpopulations • Federalandstatehospiceregulationincluding

Ohio hospice licensure• Hospicefinancingandreimbursement • Hospice/palliativecareacademicand

continuing education• Hospice/palliativecarestandardsand

guidelines• Children’shospicefunding

several of our team members have participated in board leadership positions in national and state organizations including:• NationalHospiceandPalliativeCare

Organization• NationalHospiceFoundation • HospiceandPalliativeNursesAssociation • AmericanAcademyofHospiceandPalliative

Physicians

• FoundationforHospicesinSub-SaharanAfrica

• CentertoAdvancePalliativeCare • OhioHospiceandPalliativeCare

Organization

All of these agencies are vitally engaged in advancing availability and excellence in the care we provide.

it is important to assure that our advocacy positions are understood and acted on in all levels and branches of government. To that end, during the past few years we have increased our outreach to public officials. We have hosted dozens of public officials at hospice house, providing them with a first hand view of a center of excellence in end-of-life care. Many have taken the opportunity to visit with individual patients who wanted to share their story.

in addition, we have periodically conducted campaigns engaging our paid and volunteer staff to write to elected officials to promote or oppose a particular legislative position.

To further underscore the importance of this advocacy endeavor we have created a full time staff position to attend to public policy and advocacy.

Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for hospice among our public leaders. however, we must continue these efforts as issues will continue to emerge and threats such as current funding cuts will challenge us. We invite you, our friends and supporters to participate in our advocacy activities.

David A. simpsonCEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve

letter froM tHe ceo

Understanding the Impact of Advocacy [continued from page 1]

[ P2 ] [ P3 ]

2008 board of directors

cHair

h. Clark harvey, Jr.

vice cHairs

James L. hambrick

Peg Milbourn

secretary

Carl e. Baldassarre

treasurer

Richard B. Whitney

sr. Mary Patricia Barrett

Joseph Carson

Rev. Neroy Carter

Margit Daley

scott Fine

William h. Goff

Jean e. Kilgore

hilary Mason King

Mary Ann Kocurko

Carol G. Manning

Virginia A. Mooney

David Mordarski

Janice Murphy

Laura Navin

John Nash

Mary L. Ogrinc

elizabeth Pitorak

sarah Robertson

Richard T. spotz, Jr.

William springer

Bret Williams

Honorary MeMbers

Duane e. Collins

William J. esselstyn

Martha Grabner

Patricia Modell

Constance W. sallee

Kate scovil

Rev. William spangler

cHief executive officer

David A. simpson

[ P4 ]

$2,300 per patient, or more than $2 billion annually. And what we, in the hospice community realize, is that a great need for hospice education and advocacy still exists in the public sector. hospice advocates over the past year have opened

phone call and e-mail makes a difference, as evidenced in the number of Ohio members that signed on to the Medicare hospice Protection Act.

the door of influence in Congress. We cannot allow this momentum to stop. All advocates for hospice and palliative care have to rally together and lend their support to the lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. every person’s

We remember and honor the memory of U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Not only was Congresswoman Tubbs Jones a great leader, but a person with strong convictions who fought for what she believed in without pretense. Her ability to connect with others was amazing as was her sixth sense to recognize people in need. To read more about the Congresswoman’s dedication to the hospice cause visit www.hospicewr.org/stj-tribute.asp.

With a little Help From Our Friends

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and its affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End

of Life, have created an easy and effective way to receive advocacy alerts and respond to your elected

officials. Simply join the Center’s Action Network by going to NHPCO’s website at www.nhpco.org

and clicking on Hospice Advocacy under Quick Links on the left hand side. This will connect you with

NHPCO’s advocacy page and there you should click on the “Legislative Action Center” which will allow

you to sign up for legislative alerts and provide an easy process to contact your representatives.

To become an advocate for Hospice of the Western Reserve, please call Lizzy Goodwin,

Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Public Policy and Government Relations

Coordinator at (216) 502-4452, or sign up at advocate@hospicewr.org.

How Can You Be an Advocate?

Congresswoman stephanie Tubbs Jones (1949 - 2008)

Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson recently visited and toured hospice house.

The Mayor and his staff met with constituents including staff members and

patients. During his visit, the Mayor was briefed on the hospice philosophy

of care, school crisis program and grief support available to the community.

A special highlight of the day was when hospice of the Western Reserve

Team Leader and Cleveland resident Gwen Rifici placed an honored

Veteran pin on the Mayor, a Vietnam Veteran.

Andre Thornton is President and Chief executive Officer of AsW Global LLC, a third-party supply chain company that provides services to 63 sam’s Clubs in Ohio and Michigan. in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Thornton is also best-selling author of Triumph Born of Tragedy and a former

Cleveland indians Major League Baseball player.

Richard A. Barone is Chairman of the executive Committee for the Ancora Group of Companies. in addition, he oversees a variety of investment strategies for the Group including the investments for the Ancora Funds and the Group’s hedge Fund, Merlin Partners. Mr. Barone’s leadership in the investment industry

spans more than 35 years. his performance and investment strategies have received extensive coverage in such publications such as Barron’s, The Wall street Journal, institutional investor, Forbes, and on national television and radio. he also chairs the

Cleveland state university (Csu) Foundation and serves on the Csu board. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Georgetown university with a degree in economics.

Michael Merriman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.s. in Business Administration from John Carroll university. From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil inc. For the past five years, he has

served on the twelve-member WalMart supplier Council and was recently elected to the Nordson Corporation board. he has also served as Chief executive Officer of Lamson & sessions. he is Operating Advisor at Resilience Capital Partners LLC.

Mr. Merriman is a director on the boards of John Carroll university, Boys hope Girls hope, and students in Free enterprise (siFe), where he was past national chairman.

hospice of the Western Reserve recently welcomed Linus and Tallulah to their hospice house family. Linus and Tallulah are both unique individuals with a wonderful ability to provide unconditional love and a sixth sense of knowing when others are in need. Certainly these traits are familiar to dog owners and they should be because Linus and Tallulah are Golden Retrievers.

A dog’s presence is not a new occurrence at hospice house. Previously a Golden Retriever named sally lived at hospice house, and provided patients, families and visitors a friendly face and comfort.

Linus and Tallulah came to hospice of the Western Reserve from Golden Retrievers in Need of Rescue, inc. (G.R.i.N.). This organization provides homes for Golden Retrievers from various sources including shelters, pounds, strays, and owner surrenders. Members of G.R.i.N. trained Linus and Tallulah to prepare them for their new life with hospice. Anna McVan,

President of G.R.i.N., was pleased to join the welcoming celebration, said, “The members of G.R.i.N. are proud to place two wonderful dogs where the patients and their families and the staff can experience all the love these dogs have to give.”

Tallulah was adopted by Rebecca Burhenne, Clinical education Resource Nurse, and Linus was adopted by Keli Keyes, hospice house Nurse. Both will bring the dogs to hospice house each morning for their “shift”. Linus is still in the therapy certification program, but Tallulah has begun her work bringing smiles to the patients and many visitors at hospice house.

For more information on G.R.I.N, you can visit www.grinrescue.org.

Visit from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

Welcome new Board Members

Dog Days at Hospice House

David Simpson, CEO, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Board Chair Clark Harvey

"Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for

hospice among our public leaders."

Hospice of the Western Reserve announces three new members, Richard A. Barone, Michael J. Merriman and Andre Thornton to its Board of Directors. They were elected on September 3, 2008 for terms to start in 2009.

For years hospice of the Western Reserve has been dedicated to the provision of comfort care for people with serious illness and a prognosis for continuing decline. We have devoted significant resources to professional and community education about hospice and palliative care as well as the importance of advance directives. During the past few years we have also become increasingly aware of the need to educate and inform both elected and appointed public officials about these matters.

We have addressed a wide variety of issues including:• Euthanasiaandassistedsuicide • Livingwilllegislation • Durablepowerofattorneyforhealthcare • Pharmacyandnarcoticprescribingand

control laws• Patientautonomy-patientrighttocontinue

or discontinue treatment• Organdonation • Thelegaldefinitionofdeath • Thelegaldefinitionof‘terminalcondition’ • Accessforunderservedpopulations • Federalandstatehospiceregulationincluding

Ohio hospice licensure• Hospicefinancingandreimbursement • Hospice/palliativecareacademicand

continuing education• Hospice/palliativecarestandardsand

guidelines• Children’shospicefunding

several of our team members have participated in board leadership positions in national and state organizations including:• NationalHospiceandPalliativeCare

Organization• NationalHospiceFoundation • HospiceandPalliativeNursesAssociation • AmericanAcademyofHospiceandPalliative

Physicians

• FoundationforHospicesinSub-SaharanAfrica

• CentertoAdvancePalliativeCare • OhioHospiceandPalliativeCare

Organization

All of these agencies are vitally engaged in advancing availability and excellence in the care we provide.

it is important to assure that our advocacy positions are understood and acted on in all levels and branches of government. To that end, during the past few years we have increased our outreach to public officials. We have hosted dozens of public officials at hospice house, providing them with a first hand view of a center of excellence in end-of-life care. Many have taken the opportunity to visit with individual patients who wanted to share their story.

in addition, we have periodically conducted campaigns engaging our paid and volunteer staff to write to elected officials to promote or oppose a particular legislative position.

To further underscore the importance of this advocacy endeavor we have created a full time staff position to attend to public policy and advocacy.

Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for hospice among our public leaders. however, we must continue these efforts as issues will continue to emerge and threats such as current funding cuts will challenge us. We invite you, our friends and supporters to participate in our advocacy activities.

David A. simpsonCEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve

letter froM tHe ceo

Understanding the Impact of Advocacy [continued from page 1]

[ P2 ] [ P3 ]

2008 board of directors

cHair

h. Clark harvey, Jr.

vice cHairs

James L. hambrick

Peg Milbourn

secretary

Carl e. Baldassarre

treasurer

Richard B. Whitney

sr. Mary Patricia Barrett

Joseph Carson

Rev. Neroy Carter

Margit Daley

scott Fine

William h. Goff

Jean e. Kilgore

hilary Mason King

Mary Ann Kocurko

Carol G. Manning

Virginia A. Mooney

David Mordarski

Janice Murphy

Laura Navin

John Nash

Mary L. Ogrinc

elizabeth Pitorak

sarah Robertson

Richard T. spotz, Jr.

William springer

Bret Williams

Honorary MeMbers

Duane e. Collins

William J. esselstyn

Martha Grabner

Patricia Modell

Constance W. sallee

Kate scovil

Rev. William spangler

cHief executive officer

David A. simpson

[ P4 ]

$2,300 per patient, or more than $2 billion annually. And what we, in the hospice community realize, is that a great need for hospice education and advocacy still exists in the public sector. hospice advocates over the past year have opened

phone call and e-mail makes a difference, as evidenced in the number of Ohio members that signed on to the Medicare hospice Protection Act.

the door of influence in Congress. We cannot allow this momentum to stop. All advocates for hospice and palliative care have to rally together and lend their support to the lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. every person’s

We remember and honor the memory of U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Not only was Congresswoman Tubbs Jones a great leader, but a person with strong convictions who fought for what she believed in without pretense. Her ability to connect with others was amazing as was her sixth sense to recognize people in need. To read more about the Congresswoman’s dedication to the hospice cause visit www.hospicewr.org/stj-tribute.asp.

With a little Help From Our Friends

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and its affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End

of Life, have created an easy and effective way to receive advocacy alerts and respond to your elected

officials. Simply join the Center’s Action Network by going to NHPCO’s website at www.nhpco.org

and clicking on Hospice Advocacy under Quick Links on the left hand side. This will connect you with

NHPCO’s advocacy page and there you should click on the “Legislative Action Center” which will allow

you to sign up for legislative alerts and provide an easy process to contact your representatives.

To become an advocate for Hospice of the Western Reserve, please call Lizzy Goodwin,

Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Public Policy and Government Relations

Coordinator at (216) 502-4452, or sign up at advocate@hospicewr.org.

How Can You Be an Advocate?

Congresswoman stephanie Tubbs Jones (1949 - 2008)

Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson recently visited and toured hospice house.

The Mayor and his staff met with constituents including staff members and

patients. During his visit, the Mayor was briefed on the hospice philosophy

of care, school crisis program and grief support available to the community.

A special highlight of the day was when hospice of the Western Reserve

Team Leader and Cleveland resident Gwen Rifici placed an honored

Veteran pin on the Mayor, a Vietnam Veteran.

Andre Thornton is President and Chief executive Officer of AsW Global LLC, a third-party supply chain company that provides services to 63 sam’s Clubs in Ohio and Michigan. in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Thornton is also best-selling author of Triumph Born of Tragedy and a former

Cleveland indians Major League Baseball player.

Richard A. Barone is Chairman of the executive Committee for the Ancora Group of Companies. in addition, he oversees a variety of investment strategies for the Group including the investments for the Ancora Funds and the Group’s hedge Fund, Merlin Partners. Mr. Barone’s leadership in the investment industry

spans more than 35 years. his performance and investment strategies have received extensive coverage in such publications such as Barron’s, The Wall street Journal, institutional investor, Forbes, and on national television and radio. he also chairs the

Cleveland state university (Csu) Foundation and serves on the Csu board. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Georgetown university with a degree in economics.

Michael Merriman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.s. in Business Administration from John Carroll university. From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil inc. For the past five years, he has

served on the twelve-member WalMart supplier Council and was recently elected to the Nordson Corporation board. he has also served as Chief executive Officer of Lamson & sessions. he is Operating Advisor at Resilience Capital Partners LLC.

Mr. Merriman is a director on the boards of John Carroll university, Boys hope Girls hope, and students in Free enterprise (siFe), where he was past national chairman.

hospice of the Western Reserve recently welcomed Linus and Tallulah to their hospice house family. Linus and Tallulah are both unique individuals with a wonderful ability to provide unconditional love and a sixth sense of knowing when others are in need. Certainly these traits are familiar to dog owners and they should be because Linus and Tallulah are Golden Retrievers.

A dog’s presence is not a new occurrence at hospice house. Previously a Golden Retriever named sally lived at hospice house, and provided patients, families and visitors a friendly face and comfort.

Linus and Tallulah came to hospice of the Western Reserve from Golden Retrievers in Need of Rescue, inc. (G.R.i.N.). This organization provides homes for Golden Retrievers from various sources including shelters, pounds, strays, and owner surrenders. Members of G.R.i.N. trained Linus and Tallulah to prepare them for their new life with hospice. Anna McVan,

President of G.R.i.N., was pleased to join the welcoming celebration, said, “The members of G.R.i.N. are proud to place two wonderful dogs where the patients and their families and the staff can experience all the love these dogs have to give.”

Tallulah was adopted by Rebecca Burhenne, Clinical education Resource Nurse, and Linus was adopted by Keli Keyes, hospice house Nurse. Both will bring the dogs to hospice house each morning for their “shift”. Linus is still in the therapy certification program, but Tallulah has begun her work bringing smiles to the patients and many visitors at hospice house.

For more information on G.R.I.N, you can visit www.grinrescue.org.

Visit from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

Welcome new Board Members

Dog Days at Hospice House

David Simpson, CEO, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Board Chair Clark Harvey

"Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for

hospice among our public leaders."

Hospice of the Western Reserve announces three new members, Richard A. Barone, Michael J. Merriman and Andre Thornton to its Board of Directors. They were elected on September 3, 2008 for terms to start in 2009.

For years hospice of the Western Reserve has been dedicated to the provision of comfort care for people with serious illness and a prognosis for continuing decline. We have devoted significant resources to professional and community education about hospice and palliative care as well as the importance of advance directives. During the past few years we have also become increasingly aware of the need to educate and inform both elected and appointed public officials about these matters.

We have addressed a wide variety of issues including:• Euthanasiaandassistedsuicide • Livingwilllegislation • Durablepowerofattorneyforhealthcare • Pharmacyandnarcoticprescribingand

control laws• Patientautonomy-patientrighttocontinue

or discontinue treatment• Organdonation • Thelegaldefinitionofdeath • Thelegaldefinitionof‘terminalcondition’ • Accessforunderservedpopulations • Federalandstatehospiceregulationincluding

Ohio hospice licensure• Hospicefinancingandreimbursement • Hospice/palliativecareacademicand

continuing education• Hospice/palliativecarestandardsand

guidelines• Children’shospicefunding

several of our team members have participated in board leadership positions in national and state organizations including:• NationalHospiceandPalliativeCare

Organization• NationalHospiceFoundation • HospiceandPalliativeNursesAssociation • AmericanAcademyofHospiceandPalliative

Physicians

• FoundationforHospicesinSub-SaharanAfrica

• CentertoAdvancePalliativeCare • OhioHospiceandPalliativeCare

Organization

All of these agencies are vitally engaged in advancing availability and excellence in the care we provide.

it is important to assure that our advocacy positions are understood and acted on in all levels and branches of government. To that end, during the past few years we have increased our outreach to public officials. We have hosted dozens of public officials at hospice house, providing them with a first hand view of a center of excellence in end-of-life care. Many have taken the opportunity to visit with individual patients who wanted to share their story.

in addition, we have periodically conducted campaigns engaging our paid and volunteer staff to write to elected officials to promote or oppose a particular legislative position.

To further underscore the importance of this advocacy endeavor we have created a full time staff position to attend to public policy and advocacy.

Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for hospice among our public leaders. however, we must continue these efforts as issues will continue to emerge and threats such as current funding cuts will challenge us. We invite you, our friends and supporters to participate in our advocacy activities.

David A. simpsonCEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve

letter froM tHe ceo

Understanding the Impact of Advocacy [continued from page 1]

[ P2 ] [ P3 ]

2008 board of directors

cHair

h. Clark harvey, Jr.

vice cHairs

James L. hambrick

Peg Milbourn

secretary

Carl e. Baldassarre

treasurer

Richard B. Whitney

sr. Mary Patricia Barrett

Joseph Carson

Rev. Neroy Carter

Margit Daley

scott Fine

William h. Goff

Jean e. Kilgore

hilary Mason King

Mary Ann Kocurko

Carol G. Manning

Virginia A. Mooney

David Mordarski

Janice Murphy

Laura Navin

John Nash

Mary L. Ogrinc

elizabeth Pitorak

sarah Robertson

Richard T. spotz, Jr.

William springer

Bret Williams

Honorary MeMbers

Duane e. Collins

William J. esselstyn

Martha Grabner

Patricia Modell

Constance W. sallee

Kate scovil

Rev. William spangler

cHief executive officer

David A. simpson

[ P4 ]

$2,300 per patient, or more than $2 billion annually. And what we, in the hospice community realize, is that a great need for hospice education and advocacy still exists in the public sector. hospice advocates over the past year have opened

phone call and e-mail makes a difference, as evidenced in the number of Ohio members that signed on to the Medicare hospice Protection Act.

the door of influence in Congress. We cannot allow this momentum to stop. All advocates for hospice and palliative care have to rally together and lend their support to the lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. every person’s

We remember and honor the memory of U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Not only was Congresswoman Tubbs Jones a great leader, but a person with strong convictions who fought for what she believed in without pretense. Her ability to connect with others was amazing as was her sixth sense to recognize people in need. To read more about the Congresswoman’s dedication to the hospice cause visit www.hospicewr.org/stj-tribute.asp.

With a little Help From Our Friends

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and its affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End

of Life, have created an easy and effective way to receive advocacy alerts and respond to your elected

officials. Simply join the Center’s Action Network by going to NHPCO’s website at www.nhpco.org

and clicking on Hospice Advocacy under Quick Links on the left hand side. This will connect you with

NHPCO’s advocacy page and there you should click on the “Legislative Action Center” which will allow

you to sign up for legislative alerts and provide an easy process to contact your representatives.

To become an advocate for Hospice of the Western Reserve, please call Lizzy Goodwin,

Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Public Policy and Government Relations

Coordinator at (216) 502-4452, or sign up at advocate@hospicewr.org.

How Can You Be an Advocate?

Congresswoman stephanie Tubbs Jones (1949 - 2008)

Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson recently visited and toured hospice house.

The Mayor and his staff met with constituents including staff members and

patients. During his visit, the Mayor was briefed on the hospice philosophy

of care, school crisis program and grief support available to the community.

A special highlight of the day was when hospice of the Western Reserve

Team Leader and Cleveland resident Gwen Rifici placed an honored

Veteran pin on the Mayor, a Vietnam Veteran.

Andre Thornton is President and Chief executive Officer of AsW Global LLC, a third-party supply chain company that provides services to 63 sam’s Clubs in Ohio and Michigan. in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Thornton is also best-selling author of Triumph Born of Tragedy and a former

Cleveland indians Major League Baseball player.

Richard A. Barone is Chairman of the executive Committee for the Ancora Group of Companies. in addition, he oversees a variety of investment strategies for the Group including the investments for the Ancora Funds and the Group’s hedge Fund, Merlin Partners. Mr. Barone’s leadership in the investment industry

spans more than 35 years. his performance and investment strategies have received extensive coverage in such publications such as Barron’s, The Wall street Journal, institutional investor, Forbes, and on national television and radio. he also chairs the

Cleveland state university (Csu) Foundation and serves on the Csu board. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Georgetown university with a degree in economics.

Michael Merriman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.s. in Business Administration from John Carroll university. From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil inc. For the past five years, he has

served on the twelve-member WalMart supplier Council and was recently elected to the Nordson Corporation board. he has also served as Chief executive Officer of Lamson & sessions. he is Operating Advisor at Resilience Capital Partners LLC.

Mr. Merriman is a director on the boards of John Carroll university, Boys hope Girls hope, and students in Free enterprise (siFe), where he was past national chairman.

hospice of the Western Reserve recently welcomed Linus and Tallulah to their hospice house family. Linus and Tallulah are both unique individuals with a wonderful ability to provide unconditional love and a sixth sense of knowing when others are in need. Certainly these traits are familiar to dog owners and they should be because Linus and Tallulah are Golden Retrievers.

A dog’s presence is not a new occurrence at hospice house. Previously a Golden Retriever named sally lived at hospice house, and provided patients, families and visitors a friendly face and comfort.

Linus and Tallulah came to hospice of the Western Reserve from Golden Retrievers in Need of Rescue, inc. (G.R.i.N.). This organization provides homes for Golden Retrievers from various sources including shelters, pounds, strays, and owner surrenders. Members of G.R.i.N. trained Linus and Tallulah to prepare them for their new life with hospice. Anna McVan,

President of G.R.i.N., was pleased to join the welcoming celebration, said, “The members of G.R.i.N. are proud to place two wonderful dogs where the patients and their families and the staff can experience all the love these dogs have to give.”

Tallulah was adopted by Rebecca Burhenne, Clinical education Resource Nurse, and Linus was adopted by Keli Keyes, hospice house Nurse. Both will bring the dogs to hospice house each morning for their “shift”. Linus is still in the therapy certification program, but Tallulah has begun her work bringing smiles to the patients and many visitors at hospice house.

For more information on G.R.I.N, you can visit www.grinrescue.org.

Visit from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

Welcome new Board Members

Dog Days at Hospice House

David Simpson, CEO, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Board Chair Clark Harvey

"Our efforts have been rather successful in raising the awareness of, and support for

hospice among our public leaders."

Hospice of the Western Reserve announces three new members, Richard A. Barone, Michael J. Merriman and Andre Thornton to its Board of Directors. They were elected on September 3, 2008 for terms to start in 2009.

National Hospice & Palliative Care Month

This issue P1 Understanding the

Impact of Advocacy

P2 Letter from the CEO

P3 Visit from Mayor Jackson

P3 Remembering Stephanie Tubbs Jones

P4 Welcome New Board Members

P4 Dog Days

P5 Double Your Gift

P6 Save the Date - 31st Annual Meeting

P6 We’ve Moved!

November has been recognized for 31 years as National hospice and Palliative Care Month. The month is dedicated not only to those who care for patients and families, but on raising awareness through education to the private and public sector on the unique transdisciplinary care and cost-saving services hospice offers. Although both sectors are equally important, the hospice community’s outreach to the federal government has recently become a more urgent matter and therefore a focus of this special month.

The urgency of the advocacy effort arose from the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget which proposed a rule change to the Medicare hospice Benefit’s regulatory formula. This change includes the removal of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor from the hospice wage index which results in substantial cuts to Medicare hospice reimbursements. Despite a nationwide advocacy effort, the proposed rule change went into effect on August 1st, and the phase-in implementation of the rate cuts began on October 1st. The first year phase-in of these cuts will result in a $20 million loss in the state of Ohio and nearly an $800,000 loss for hospice of the Western Reserve’s service area –

which includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. hospice providers nationwide will lose a total of $2.29 billion.

Although already implemented, the National hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NhPCO) continues to lead the effort to stop the rate cuts with legislation in Congress. hospice advocates overwhelmingly joined this effort and since April, they have sent more than 70,000 messages and made thousands of phone calls to their federal representatives. The tremendous hospice advocacy effort has led 119 members of the house and senate to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act and dozens signed on to the Preserving Access to healthcare Act. The response in Northern Ohio was particularly impressive with Representatives Kucinich, LaTourette, sutton, and Ryan and senator Brown agreeing to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act. unfortunately, neither bill was passed before Congress went on recess.

Many hospice advocates wonder how these rate cuts could happen to the Medicare hospice Benefit, which according to a 2007 Duke university study, saves Medicare an average

VOL. 24 - issue 3

hospicewr.org

fall | 08Hospice House & Headquarters300 east 185th streetCleveland, Oh 44119-1330p. 216.383.2222 or 800.707.8922 f. 216.383.3750hospice Connect Line: 800.707.8921

asHtabula office1166 Lake AvenueAshtabula, Oh 44004-2930p. 440.997.6619 f. 440.997.6478

cleveland office19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.383.2222 f. 216.481.4940

fairHill office12200 Fairhill RoadCleveland, Oh 44120-1013p. 216.502.4240 f. 216.502.4230

lakewood office 14601 Detroit Avenue, suite 100Lakewood, Oh 44107-4212p. 216.227.9048 f. 216.227.9232

lorain county office2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite hLorain, Oh 44055-3400p. 440.284.2999

Mentor office5786 heisley RoadMentor, Oh 44060-1830p. 440.951.8692 f. 440.975.0655

university circle office10645 euclid AvenueCleveland, Oh 44106-2206p. 216.231.8650 f. 216.231.8291

warrensville HeigHts office4670 Richmond Road, suite 200Warrensville hts, Oh 44128-5978p. 216.283.3140 f. 216.283.3181

westlake office29101 health Campus DriveBuilding 2, suite 400Westlake, Oh 44145-5268p. 440.892.6680 f. 440.892.6690

tHe elisabetH severance prentiss bereaveMent center19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.486.6838 f. 216.481.4987

Hospice resale sHop5139 Mayfield RoadLyndhurst, Oh 44124-2405p. 440.442.2621 f. 440.646.0507

publisHed by:Communications TeamHospice of the Western Reserve

david a. siMpson, Chief Executive Officer

Medicare/Medicaid CertifiedJCAHO accredited

Copyright 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDCleveland, OHPermit #848

Donate Online at hospicewr.org

Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.

Understanding the Impact of Advocacy

Story continued on page 3.

[ P6 ][ P5 ]

Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

American Express Foundation

American International Group, Inc.

Amgen Foundation

Bank of America Foundation

Barnes Group Foundation, Inc.

Becton Dickinson and Company

BP Amoco Corporation

Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

The Capital Group Companies, Charitable Foundation

Casey Matching Gifts Program

Caterpillar, Inc.

The Chase Manhattan Foundation

The Chubb Corporation

Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Clinical Health Laboratories, Inc.

Computer Associates International, Inc.

Corning Incorporated Foundation

Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.

The Dannon Company

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation

Dominion Foundation

Duke Energy Foundation

Eaton Corporation

Energizer Corp.

Equistar - A Lyondell Company

Federated Department Stores Foundation

FFr, Inc.

FirstEnergy Foundation

The FM Global Foundation

The Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation

The GAP Foundation

General Electric Foundation

The J. Paul Getty Trust

Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation

The Glenmede Trust Company

Goodrich Foundation

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Grange Insurance Company

Guideposts

John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.

Highmark

The Home Depot

IBM International Foundation

Illinois Tool Works Foundation

IMO Industries, Inc.

Intuit Foundation

The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Ohio

Key Foundation

Lamson & Sessions Foundation

Law School Admission Council

Liberty Mutual Foundation

Liggett Stashower, Inc.

Lilly Endowment, Inc.

The Lubrizol Foundation

Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.

McCormick & Company, Inc.

McDonnell Douglas

McMaster-Carr Supply Company

Merck Partnership For Giving

Microsoft

The Millipore Foundation

Mobil Foundation, Inc.

J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation

Nestle Purina Petcare Company

The Nordson Corporation Foundation

Northern Trust Matching Gifts

Pfizer Foundation

Philip Morris Companies, Inc.

The PQ Corporation

Preformed Line Products Company

Progressive Insurance Foundation

The Prudential Foundation

Quest Diagnostics

Reuters America, Inc.

Ross Equipment Corporation

Saint Gobain Corporation

SAP America, Inc.

The Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation

The Sherwin Williams Foundation

The Stanley Works

Starbucks

The Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc.

Symantec

Thomson West Community Partnership Program

UBS Investment Bank

Unicare Service Corporation

Unilever United States Foundation, Inc.

UnitedHealth Group - Employee Giving Campaign

Verizon Foundation

Wachovia Foundation

Washington Mutual

The Washington Post

Wellpoint Associate Giving Campaign

Doug Cisan has been donating in memory of his wife Rhonna who passed away five years ago. Doug is an employee at W.W. Grainger, and because of their matching gift program, Doug’s donation triples.

Matching gifts are a great way to increase the amount of your donation. Many companies will match the charitable contributions of their employees, spouses, board members and retirees. This is a great way to stretch your donation. Gifts made to non-profit organizations are matched or in some cases, double and triple matched with company or corporate foundation funds.

When making a gift, donors should check with their company to see if a matching gift program is offered. if you know your company has a matching gift program and is not listed, or if you have questions, please contact Nicole Green at (216) 383-3714.

Double Your Gift to Hospice of the Western Reserve

dignity choice life-enHancing comfortcare

Coming Full Circle Please join us for the 31st Annual Meeting onThursday, January 29, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle, Inc. and will take place in the heart of university Circle at the Park Lane Villa Ballroom, 10510 Park Lane, Cleveland, Oh 44106.

Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. For more information, please contact Celeste Conklin at 216/502-4454.

We’ve Moved Lorain County Office

2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite h

Lorain, Oh 44055-3400

Phone: 440.284.2999

Call our Hospice Connect Line

800.707.8921

hospicewr.orgLorain County

Do you work with any of these matching companies?

Save the

Date 31st AnnUAl MeetIng

National Hospice & Palliative Care Month

This issue P1 Understanding the

Impact of Advocacy

P2 Letter from the CEO

P3 Visit from Mayor Jackson

P3 Remembering Stephanie Tubbs Jones

P4 Welcome New Board Members

P4 Dog Days

P5 Double Your Gift

P6 Save the Date - 31st Annual Meeting

P6 We’ve Moved!

November has been recognized for 31 years as National hospice and Palliative Care Month. The month is dedicated not only to those who care for patients and families, but on raising awareness through education to the private and public sector on the unique transdisciplinary care and cost-saving services hospice offers. Although both sectors are equally important, the hospice community’s outreach to the federal government has recently become a more urgent matter and therefore a focus of this special month.

The urgency of the advocacy effort arose from the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget which proposed a rule change to the Medicare hospice Benefit’s regulatory formula. This change includes the removal of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor from the hospice wage index which results in substantial cuts to Medicare hospice reimbursements. Despite a nationwide advocacy effort, the proposed rule change went into effect on August 1st, and the phase-in implementation of the rate cuts began on October 1st. The first year phase-in of these cuts will result in a $20 million loss in the state of Ohio and nearly an $800,000 loss for hospice of the Western Reserve’s service area –

which includes Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties. hospice providers nationwide will lose a total of $2.29 billion.

Although already implemented, the National hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NhPCO) continues to lead the effort to stop the rate cuts with legislation in Congress. hospice advocates overwhelmingly joined this effort and since April, they have sent more than 70,000 messages and made thousands of phone calls to their federal representatives. The tremendous hospice advocacy effort has led 119 members of the house and senate to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act and dozens signed on to the Preserving Access to healthcare Act. The response in Northern Ohio was particularly impressive with Representatives Kucinich, LaTourette, sutton, and Ryan and senator Brown agreeing to cosponsor the Medicare hospice Protection Act. unfortunately, neither bill was passed before Congress went on recess.

Many hospice advocates wonder how these rate cuts could happen to the Medicare hospice Benefit, which according to a 2007 Duke university study, saves Medicare an average

VOL. 24 - issue 3

hospicewr.org

fall | 08Hospice House & Headquarters300 east 185th streetCleveland, Oh 44119-1330p. 216.383.2222 or 800.707.8922 f. 216.383.3750hospice Connect Line: 800.707.8921

asHtabula office1166 Lake AvenueAshtabula, Oh 44004-2930p. 440.997.6619 f. 440.997.6478

cleveland office19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.383.2222 f. 216.481.4940

fairHill office12200 Fairhill RoadCleveland, Oh 44120-1013p. 216.502.4240 f. 216.502.4230

lakewood office 14601 Detroit Avenue, suite 100Lakewood, Oh 44107-4212p. 216.227.9048 f. 216.227.9232

lorain county office2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite hLorain, Oh 44055-3400p. 440.284.2999

Mentor office5786 heisley RoadMentor, Oh 44060-1830p. 440.951.8692 f. 440.975.0655

university circle office10645 euclid AvenueCleveland, Oh 44106-2206p. 216.231.8650 f. 216.231.8291

warrensville HeigHts office4670 Richmond Road, suite 200Warrensville hts, Oh 44128-5978p. 216.283.3140 f. 216.283.3181

westlake office29101 health Campus DriveBuilding 2, suite 400Westlake, Oh 44145-5268p. 440.892.6680 f. 440.892.6690

tHe elisabetH severance prentiss bereaveMent center19201 Villaview RoadCleveland, Oh 44119-3064p. 216.486.6838 f. 216.481.4987

Hospice resale sHop5139 Mayfield RoadLyndhurst, Oh 44124-2405p. 440.442.2621 f. 440.646.0507

publisHed by:Communications TeamHospice of the Western Reserve

david a. siMpson, Chief Executive Officer

Medicare/Medicaid CertifiedJCAHO accredited

Copyright 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDCleveland, OHPermit #848

Donate Online at hospicewr.org

Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.

Understanding the Impact of Advocacy

Story continued on page 3.

[ P6 ][ P5 ]

Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

American Express Foundation

American International Group, Inc.

Amgen Foundation

Bank of America Foundation

Barnes Group Foundation, Inc.

Becton Dickinson and Company

BP Amoco Corporation

Business & Legal Reports, Inc.

The Capital Group Companies, Charitable Foundation

Casey Matching Gifts Program

Caterpillar, Inc.

The Chase Manhattan Foundation

The Chubb Corporation

Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Clinical Health Laboratories, Inc.

Computer Associates International, Inc.

Corning Incorporated Foundation

Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.

The Dannon Company

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation

Dominion Foundation

Duke Energy Foundation

Eaton Corporation

Energizer Corp.

Equistar - A Lyondell Company

Federated Department Stores Foundation

FFr, Inc.

FirstEnergy Foundation

The FM Global Foundation

The Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation

The GAP Foundation

General Electric Foundation

The J. Paul Getty Trust

Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation

The Glenmede Trust Company

Goodrich Foundation

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Grange Insurance Company

Guideposts

John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.

Highmark

The Home Depot

IBM International Foundation

Illinois Tool Works Foundation

IMO Industries, Inc.

Intuit Foundation

The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Ohio

Key Foundation

Lamson & Sessions Foundation

Law School Admission Council

Liberty Mutual Foundation

Liggett Stashower, Inc.

Lilly Endowment, Inc.

The Lubrizol Foundation

Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.

McCormick & Company, Inc.

McDonnell Douglas

McMaster-Carr Supply Company

Merck Partnership For Giving

Microsoft

The Millipore Foundation

Mobil Foundation, Inc.

J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation

Nestle Purina Petcare Company

The Nordson Corporation Foundation

Northern Trust Matching Gifts

Pfizer Foundation

Philip Morris Companies, Inc.

The PQ Corporation

Preformed Line Products Company

Progressive Insurance Foundation

The Prudential Foundation

Quest Diagnostics

Reuters America, Inc.

Ross Equipment Corporation

Saint Gobain Corporation

SAP America, Inc.

The Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation

The Sherwin Williams Foundation

The Stanley Works

Starbucks

The Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc.

Symantec

Thomson West Community Partnership Program

UBS Investment Bank

Unicare Service Corporation

Unilever United States Foundation, Inc.

UnitedHealth Group - Employee Giving Campaign

Verizon Foundation

Wachovia Foundation

Washington Mutual

The Washington Post

Wellpoint Associate Giving Campaign

Doug Cisan has been donating in memory of his wife Rhonna who passed away five years ago. Doug is an employee at W.W. Grainger, and because of their matching gift program, Doug’s donation triples.

Matching gifts are a great way to increase the amount of your donation. Many companies will match the charitable contributions of their employees, spouses, board members and retirees. This is a great way to stretch your donation. Gifts made to non-profit organizations are matched or in some cases, double and triple matched with company or corporate foundation funds.

When making a gift, donors should check with their company to see if a matching gift program is offered. if you know your company has a matching gift program and is not listed, or if you have questions, please contact Nicole Green at (216) 383-3714.

Double Your Gift to Hospice of the Western Reserve

dignity choice life-enHancing comfortcare

Coming Full Circle Please join us for the 31st Annual Meeting onThursday, January 29, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle, Inc. and will take place in the heart of university Circle at the Park Lane Villa Ballroom, 10510 Park Lane, Cleveland, Oh 44106.

Join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. For more information, please contact Celeste Conklin at 216/502-4454.

We’ve Moved Lorain County Office

2173 N. Ridge Road e., suite h

Lorain, Oh 44055-3400

Phone: 440.284.2999

Call our Hospice Connect Line

800.707.8921

hospicewr.orgLorain County

Do you work with any of these matching companies?

Save the

Date 31st AnnUAl MeetIng