The U.S. House of Representatives October 28 passed the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), H.R. 647/S. 2080.

A priority of the 2019 ACS Advocacy Summit and At Home Program, the bill would improve the training of health professionals in palliative care by creating Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers to provide short-term, intensive courses focused on palliative care and establishing traineeships for individuals preparing for advanced degrees as nurses, social workers, or physician assistants who focus their studies in palliative care. In addition, the legislation expands palliative care research to strengthen clinical practice and improve care delivery for patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses.

H.R. 647/S. 2080 was introduced by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Tom Reed (R-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Greg Walden (R-OR) and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The American College of Surgeons (ACS) will continue its advocacy on this important issue to ensure swift passage of the bill in the U.S. Senate.

For more information about PCHETA, contact Amelia Suermann, ACS Congressional Lobbyist, at asuermann@facs.org