Council updates on pediatric hospice access, long‑term care education survey and BRFSS question planning

Council members provided a series of updates on pediatric hospice access, long-term care education and public-health surveillance planning.

Connecticut Hospice is actively pursuing pediatric hospice capacity, including inpatient options and a pediatrician to oversee services; members said the hospice hopes to have expanded access in its service area by fall. The council also noted a pediatric palliative-care conference held in June at Fairfield University that drew more than 50 attendees and included interdisciplinary speakers from Yale and other institutions.

On long-term care, members discussed a recurring council objective: surveying skilled nursing facilities to assess education gaps and palliative-care needs. Staff and members agreed a needs-assessment survey would be useful but acknowledged response rates are likely to be limited; one member projected roughly a 25 percent response rate. Members suggested using existing membership meetings and targeted outreach to improve participation. The long-term care survey team and state surveyors will be asked to help distribute and interpret results.

The council also discussed adding palliative-care questions to the BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System). Staff volunteered to check how other states use BRFSS questions about palliative care and to coordinate with the state statistics team and Adora, which manages the BRFSS process, to meet submission timelines for 2026 question cycles. The council said any proposed BRFSS items should be submitted for consideration by September to meet the November finalization schedule for 2026.

A council member offered to provide federal interpretive guidance on hospice service delivery in skilled nursing facility surveys and to follow up with materials for the group. Members did not take regulatory action but set follow-up tasks to develop survey questions and to coordinate BRFSS review.