161 Commonwealth Avenue Village of Attleboro Falls North Attleboro, Massachusetts 02673

To: / Commissioner Bharel, Sherman Lohnes, Deborah Allewes, and other Members of the Department of Public Health
From: / Jay M. Elias, Esquire –
Member of the Board of Directors,
Hospice & Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts;
General Counsel at Dyer-Lake Funeral Home,
161 Commonwealth Avenue , North Attleboro, MA 02763
(508) 695-0200
Date: / January 09, 2017
Re: / Comments on the Proposed Amendments to 105 CMR 141.000: Licensure of Hospice Programs

My name is Jay M. Elias.

Thank you for allowing me a few minutes to address this committee.

In my capacity as General Counsel to a privately owned funeral business, I serve as a general resource, referral source, and as a reassuring and guiding hand to the families we serve at Dyer-Lake Funeral Home in North Attleboro - at no cost to them. I am responsible for Dyer-Lake's considerable community and charitable work, and in that capacity, am involved in several civic organizations. My background is as a healthcare defense attorney, having represented hospitals, healthcare providers, and healthcare agencies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I also taught Health Law as adjunct faculty at the university and law school levels.

We so often hear people speak routinely of their involvement on the boards of civic and community non-profit organizations; however, I would like to say that given the mission and purpose of the Hospice & Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts, it is truly a privilege for me to serve as a member of its Board of Directors, as I have done since 2013.

That mission to which I refer is to advance and promote excellence in end of life care by advocating for its members, patients, families, and the greater end-of-life care giving community. We do so, in part, by sponsoring and providing educational programs that build knowledge and the skills of hospice and palliative care professionals and volunteers, by seeking to enhance awareness, fostering innovation to improve end-of-life care through collaboration, information and networking, and by doing what we are doing today – striving to promote public policy that supports improvements in end-of-life care.

The Federation's members without question share your goal of ensuring that those individuals who provide patient care are, and remain, well informed, educated, and knowledgeable as to matters pertaining to the professional services they provide.

In order to effectively accomplish these goals, I would respectfully submit that any regulations pertaining to hospice care be specific to that profession and the professionals regulated by the Commonwealth. In this instance, requirements pertaining to education and training of hospice providers involved in the care of patients suffering from dementia, for example, should properly be found in hospice regulations, not those pertaining to skilled nursing facilities or other licensees.

I believe it is fair to say that I, and other members of the Board of Directors of the Federation, recognize the importance of appropriate regulatory oversight, particularly as it relates to the need for continued training and education of those providing patient care to vulnerable members our communities. We ask, though, that any such regulatory oversight be tailored to reflect the specific and unique aspects of the industry being regulated – in this case, hospice providers, rather than bundling such regulations together with other non-hospice care providers.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today in support of the Comments on the Proposed Amendments to 105 CMR 141.000: Licensure of Hospice Programs.

Michael S. Lake Licensed Funeral Director, Type 3

DYER-LAKE FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, LLC

Tel: 508.695.0200 • Toll Free: 888.DYER-LAKE • Fax: 508.699.7504 • www.Dyer-Lakefuneralhome.com