GROUPS UNITE TO IMPROVE
THE END-OF-LIFE IN IDAHO
A Better Way Coalition, Inc. and Idaho State
Hospice and Palliative Care Organization formally merged operations December 2008 to become the Idaho End-of-Life Coalition,
the voice of dying well in Idaho. The unification of Idaho’s two leading end-of-life-focused organizations combines the
resources of both organizations and gathers around one table concerned individuals, and representatives of many Idaho
healthcare and eldercare communities and businesses. “Everyone dies—but not everyone dies well,” notes Coalition CEO
Jonathan Krutz. “The Idaho End-of-Life Coalition is Idaho’s voice to improve the end-of-life experience of people in
Idaho and those whose lives they touch.”
The Idaho End-of-Life Coalition is building
on the extraordinary accomplishments of Idaho State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and A Better Way Coalition
in four priority areas: community engagement and access, professional education, public policy, and research/quality
improvement. “This partnership combines the energy and expertise of both organizations to address the challenging
issues faced by many people at the end of life,” said Coalition Board Chair Cheryl Simpson-Whitaker, founder and
former director of A Better Way Coalition.
Recognized with a national award of
excellence by Rallying Points, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative, A Better Way Coalition brings a group of
diverse members to the new organization. The Idaho State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization brings hospice member
expertise acquired during more than 24 years of activity in Idaho. Now unified, the new organization is empowered to
more effectively improve the experience of dying people and address end-of-life-care access, understanding, and clinical
excellence issues. “The merging organizations have a rich history of advocating for quality end-of-life care for people
living in Idaho and are eager to move forward with one voice,” said Idaho End-of-Life Coalition Vice Chairperson Carolyn
Nystrom, RN, director of Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley. |
