In the event of a pandemic flu outbreak, palliative care providers will be called upon to offer pain and symptom management, psycho-social supportive care and site of service transition management for a population of patients whose needs will predictably exceed available inpatient care resources. In preparation, you should be familiar with the resources that are available including a palliative care provider directory and clinical tools and technical assistance.

To Locate Palliative Care Providers

The Center to Advance Palliative Care maintains a palliative care program directory that is designed to locate hospital palliative care providers. To find hospital-based palliative care resources in or near your community, go to: www.getpalliativecare.org. Information on this website is organized by State. Simply choose the State where you wish to access care and the getpalliativecare.org directory will create a listing of hospitals with palliative care programs organized by location. When you click on the name of the hospital, you will find contact information.

To Locate Pandemic Flu Resources for Providers

Palliative Care and Hospice providers have collaborated to develop targeted, easy to access clinical tools and technical assistance for provider use during a pandemic flu. These resources can be found at the Hospice and Palliative Care Association (HPCANYS) website: www.hpcanys.org under the topic heading Pandemic Flu Resources.

To Locate Hospice Providers

A severe pandemic flu outbreak would result in heavy loss of life. Given this expected scenario, it will be important to be able to access and link patients and families with hospice providers. If you seek hospice services, in New York State, the HPCANYS website is the best resource for hospice provider access. Go to www.hpcanys.org and click on Find a Hospice on the upper left hand corner of the Homepage. This selection will lead you to a page entitled Find a Hospice Program. You will be asked to enter the county, city or zip code of the location where services are required. Once you select the area locator, you will find contact information for specific providers.

If you wish to access hospice services outside of NY State, go to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) website: www.nhpco.org and access Find a Provider. You will be able to locate hospices by name of the organization, by State or zip code.

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State in making this information readily available.