Washington DC – (March 10, 2002) – For the last two decades of the twentieth century and the first two years of the new millennium an “idea” has existed in Washington. This idea began as a simple belief and grew into a revolution.
The idea that Americans deserve the highest possible health care services delivered at home has steadily spread throughout our nation due to the tireless efforts of the National Association for Home Care (NAHC) and its President Val J. Halamandaris. This idea has shaken the halls of our government and steadily changed the minds of the American medical establishment, because it has proven that in most cases home care is not only the most preferred form of health care delivery in our country, but also the most cost effective.
In 1982, a unique trade association came into being to represent the interests of those remarkable individuals who provide high quality health care services in the home and the interests of the millions of Americans they serve. Formed by the joining of several diverse pre-existing organizations, NAHC resisted the role of a traditional self-centered trade association and chose that of one dedicated to the broader public interest. It established its primary mission as that of education and advocacy not merely on behalf of its dues paying members, but on behalf of the millions of Americans they served.
“For twenty years this extraordinary organization has demonstrated the value of going beyond the confines of narrow self-interest to serve the needs of others, often those of our most vulnerable and frail citizens,” says NAHC President, Val J. Halamandaris. “Those who work in the field of home care and hospice are to be commended for their daily acts of heroism, entering the homes of our nation’s sick and dying in order to facilitate healing and ameliorate suffering.”
NAHC has been providing support to home care and hospice providers, raising public awareness about home care and educating Congress for two of the most important decades in American health care. The organization has witnessed unprecedented advances in medicine and technology, while helping its members weather unprecedented government cutbacks in reimbursement for health care services to the poor, elderly and the frail of our nation.
“Those who work in home care and hospice are among the finest souls on the planet, making enormous daily personal sacrifices to bring health and hope to those individuals that former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey once described as being ‘on the fringes of life.’ They know that home care is not a job, it’s a mission,” says President Halamandaris. “They know it is not a burden to care for shut-ins, for the ill, disabled and the dying. Rather, it is a gift. They are all heirs to that great noble tradition of caring that stretches back in time 32 centuries from Mother Teresa to Moses. They have shown that there is no better use of a life than to care for others in the dignity and comfort of their own homes.”
“Today,” adds Halamandaris, “NAHC stands as a shining example of what can be accomplished when individuals are willing to commit themselves to the care of others and the betterment of humanity,” It’s very existence demonstrates the truth found in the words of Margaret Mead who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
With Halamandaris at its helm, NAHC has achieved unparalleled legislative success. By the early 1990’s a survey of congressional staff by the international marketing firm, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., established NAHC as the most highly effective organization representing health care interests in Washington, DC.
NAHC is not a building or even the people in it. It is the idea that we are
all responsible for the welfare of each other, especially the weakest and most
vulnerable among us. It is the commitment of the members of NAHC and the NAHC
staff to the ideal of high quality, affordable health care services being made
available and accessible to all Americans.
Speaking from his office on Capitol Hill Halamandaris notes “This is a
very special year for me personally. I will celebrate my 60th birthday and 40
years of public service on Capitol Hill, but I look upon the 20 years I have
been President of NAHC as the most meaningful years of my life. This is primarily
because it has allowed me to realize a personal dream, making it a professional
reality—advocating on behalf of the frail, elderly, disabled, and the caregivers
who serve them."
###