Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) Training - Burbank

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool is now required for all Medicare-certified hospices, and accuracy isn’t optional - it’s essential. HOPE training equips your team with the knowledge and confidence to collect and code data correctly, reduce compliance risk, and strengthen quality scores that directly impact your agency’s reputation.

HOPE in Action training is ideal for agency-wide HOPE education, or for focused prep for the Certificate for HOPE Specialist-Clinical (CHS-C) Exam.

Program Schedule:

June 1, 2026

8:00 am – 12:00 pm (Workshop)

2:00 pm – 4:30 pm (Exam)  Separate registration required. 

HOPE in Action Training for Hospice Providers

HOPE in Action training focuses on the essential elements that drive HOPE accuracy, compliance, and confidence, including:

• HOPE conventions and special circumstances explained with real-world hospice applications
• Understanding the four HOPE assessment timepoints (Admission, Discharge, Follow-Up, and the new Hospice Update Visits – HUVs)
• How to meet CMS Symptom Follow-Up Visit (SFV) requirements with accuracy and consistency
• Detailed HOPE item coding guidance, with item-by-item education to strengthen accuracy
• Preparing for HOPE through case-based hospice scenarios that let you “show what you know” and apply guidance in practice

FACULTY

Linda Krulish PT MHS COS-C CHS-C

Linda is a physical therapist with a Masters in Health Sciences. She has worked in the home health industry since 1988, is a nationally recognized expert on OASIS, the Hospice Item Set and quality measurement and improvement. She also serves the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its contractors, assisting in home health and hospice quality measures development, data set refinement, and maintenance and updating of Guidance Manuals and other key provider education resources for the Hospice Item Set and OASIS. She provides oversight and subject matter expertise to manage contracts for CMS’s Home Health Quality Reporting Program, CMS’s Hospice Quality Reporting Pr ogram, and the CMS Home Health Value Based Purchasing Technical Assistance Contract. She served as the President and a Founding Member of the OASIS Certificate and Competency Board (OCCB), and continues to oversee the COS-C Exam as Chair of the Exam Review Task Force. Linda is President and Founder of OASIS Answers, Inc.

Melanie Wascom, MHA BS BSN RN HCS-D CHPN COS-C CHS-C

Melanie is a registered nurse with over 23 years of experience in the post-surgical setting, home health and hospice. She is experienced and active in managing clinical compliance auditing teams for multiple agency sites to ensure regulatory and billing compliance for home health and hospice. She serves on the national Advisory Committee for Post Acute Care Measure Review and on the Alliance for Home Care’s Home Health and Hospice Advisory Councils. Melanie is an Associate Consultant with OASIS Answers.

CANCELLATIONS

Cancellations are subject to 30% handling fee. There will be NO REFUNDS issued for cancellations received within 10 business days prior to program. Cancellations must be in writing. Refunds will not be made for no-shows. However, substitutions will be allowed. Should CAHSAH® cancel the program, a full registration fee refund will be issued.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEUs)

Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider #CEP17394) for four (4) contact hours of continuing education. Continuing Education report will be issued to attendees once attendance has been confirmed.