For Immediate Release: March 18, 2021
Contact: Amy Fletcher Faircloth, (720) 460-0276
[email protected]

Legislature Considers Bill Inspired by Hospice Heroes 

New license plates would recognize and support mission of hospice and palliative care workers in Colorado

Denver, CO – Coloradans may soon be drawing attention to the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic with a new license plate for hospice and palliative care workers. 

House Bill 21-1128 would create a special end-of-life license plate in Colorado to give recognition to hospice and palliative care and the important and difficult work these health care workers provide for thousands of Coloradans and their families. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, and Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver. It is scheduled to be heard March 24 in the House Transportation & Local Government Committee.

“The tragic stories of people who have died alone since the COVID-19 pandemic began have demonstrated so clearly why end-of-life care is so important,” said Tim Bowen, CEO of The Denver Hospice and a director of the Home Care and Hospice Association of Colorado. “Hospice and palliative care workers are heroes, bringing comfort, support and presence to individuals and families facing an often difficult journey. These license plates would help generate a shared spirit, a sense of community and belonging, for those who believe in this critical mission of providing end-of-life care.”

Palliative care is focused on alleviating pain and symptoms for patients to improve their comfort and quality of life. Hospice care is a type of palliative care that supports patients and their loved ones when a patient is terminally ill or otherwise facing the end of their life.

Under HB 1128, the end-of-life care license plates would be available to those who qualify through donations of support to hospice and palliative care. Drivers would also pay additional fees to the state for the special plates. 

Melissa Davis, a licensed clinical social worker, said the new license plate will help destigmatize hospice care and help increase awareness of hospice’s true role.

“Hospice is about life. It’s about helping people by relieving symptoms, supporting emotional and spiritual needs and giving people the highest quality of life possible in whatever time they have,” Davis said. “I would be the first in line for this license plate because it would stir more conversations about this part of life and how it can be a meaningful, beautiful thing, with the right support."

Donations raised by the license plates would help generate awareness of hospice and palliative care services in Colorado, including through professional development and continuing education geared toward doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, caregivers in the community, as well as others. Funding also would help support public education and awareness programs and activities in the hope of connecting more families and their loved ones with end-of-life care in times of their need.

In addition to helping patients and families leading up to a death, hospice care provides grief support following a death. 

“What we’re seeing now with COVID is a tremendous need by community members for hospice bereavement support,” said Bowen. “Families who lost a loved one and did not have hospice care are struggling with the complicated grief they are now experiencing. There is definitely a need for this awareness.”

If HB 1128 passes the Legislature and becomes law, the hospice and palliative care license plate could be available to the public as early as 2022. The demand for the plates could be high given that at least 3,000 signatures were collected from Colorado registered vehicle owners in support of the new license plate prior to the bill’s introduction.  

Group special license plates can only be created for nonprofit entities. This legislation is a priority of the Home Care and Hospice Association of Colorado, a non-profit and non-partisan organization that represents and supports home care, hospice, palliative care and private duty home care providers as they serve communities throughout the state.

The Home Care and Hospice Association of Colorado is a nonprofit representing home health, home care and hospice agencies statewide caring for tens of thousands of Coloradans, including elderly, disabled and blind individuals. Founded in 1970, the association is comprised of agencies of all sizes that provide a wide range of home-based services. They serve Coloradans in all 64 counties.