By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
Substitute House Bill 1926, the legislative bill that will allow special religious considerations for hospice care, has passed both the state’s House and Senate, and was signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire on Wednesday.
As was reported in the April 3 issue of JTNews, the Kline Galland and Affiliates Jewish nursing facility, which benefits from the passage of SHB 1926, will exempt the organization from having to obtain a certificate of need from the state, a process that is arduous because it is related to overcapacity within healthcare facilities and an unlikely issue for the Kline Galland.
Having the ability to provide hospice care enables the Kline Galland home to provide for the religious, dietary and rabbinic needs of people facing the ends of their lives, a service that has until now been handled by outside agencies that may not have had specific knowledge of Jewish ritual.
SHB 1926 will benefit any religious or ethnic group in need of hospice care specific to their populations.