Volunteers a Key Component of Growth in Hospice Industry
The growth of the hospice industry is underscoring its heavy reliance on volunteers, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Federal law requires a hospice to rely on volunteers for at least 5% of its work force to qualify for Medicare reimbursements.
According to the Press-Enterprise, more than 400,000 people volunteered at hospices last year, up from about 4,100 in 1980.
Jon Radulovic, spokesperson for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, expects the hospice industry to grow by 10% in the next few years because of medical advances that extend lives and the aging of the population (McGavin, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/28).
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