New York state’s new Center for Hospice and Palliative Care recently launched with an aim to increase utilization and goal-concordant outcomes among swelling aging populations in the Empire State.

The state’s Department of Health on Tuesday announced the center’s opening, which will operate under its Office for Aging and Long Term Care (OALTC). The location will serve as a space to design strategic statewide plans that address care delivery and public awareness issues impeding hospice and palliative care access.

Having a better understanding of barriers to end-of-life and serious illness care is paramount to improving health equity and quality, according to Center for Hospice and Palliative Care Director Kara Travis, previously CEO of Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care.

“I am honored to lead this important new center and look forward to working with the outstanding team at the Office for Aging and Long Term Care as well as the dedicated frontline staff around the state to help ensure we continue the department’s work to eliminate health care access disparities for end-of-life care as a critical piece of the care continuum,” Travis said in a statement.

The new center provides a location for the development and implementation of a “robust work plan” focused on increasing hospice and palliative care access across New York, according to the state’s health department. The next year will include leveraging data and research to develop best practices in care models.

Misconceptions are a large part of the utilization challenge that the new center aims to address. Health care professionals and other key stakeholders at the center will spend the next year designing a public education campaign to boost understanding around the benefits of quality end-of-life care and advance care planning services.

The center’s launch comes two years after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul approved a bill designed to expand awareness of advance care planning, hospice and palliative care. The law required the state’s health department to develop a public awareness campaign to promote advance care planning, with stipulations to include education about end-of-life and serious illness care.

New York was among a number of states that have passed laws to raise awareness about hospice and palliative care in recent years. Others have included Lousianna, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee, reported the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP).

Similar to national trends, demographics are driving up hospice and palliative care demand in the state. But hospice utilization is not keeping pace with the need for these services.

The Empire State had the fourth largest aging population nationwide in 2021, with 4.6 million seniors 60 and older, the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) reported. About 48,644 Medicare decedents utilized hospice services that year, a lower number compared to other states, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Senior communities are reaching a critical need to be more informed about their health care options and resources, said Dr. James McDonald, commissioner of the New York State Department of Health. Greater awareness and education are keys to reducing disparities and improving outcomes, he stated.

“This new center will help us remove barriers that impact access to the profound comfort, support and dignity that palliative and hospice services can provide for individuals and families facing the end of life,” McDonald in the announcement. “Launching the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care was a top priority for this Department and highlights Governor Hochul’s ongoing commitment to eliminating health care disparities for all New Yorkers.”