A Medical Device Daily

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO; Alexandria, Virginia) reported receiving a grant of $250,000 from a court-approved fund benefiting non-profit organizations in healthcare, the arts, education, and underserved populations, from Fujitsu Computer Products of America (Sunnyvale, California).

In December 2006, Fujitsu reported a grant of more than $12 million in Fujitsu products and services to the U.S. hospice community. These grants of technology to 15 hospice providers and NHPCO were part of a $30 million independently managed and court-supervised technology grant program.

NHPCO said it would use the grant to increase online and web-based educational opportunities for hospice professionals, support research and policy about quality hospice and palliative care, and expand public understanding of the benefits of end-of-life care.

The organization said that, in addition to receiving the grant, NHPCO is launching its new, expanded online educational portal for professionals, providing courses offering continuing education credits to a range of professionals. Online modules will include clinical topics, management and leadership offerings, and sessions designed to increase capacity of the hospice interdisciplinary team.

NHPCO said additional support will also be available to ongoing research initiatives, its Quality Partners program, and Caring Connections, its consumer focused initiative that provides information on hospice, advance care planning, and family care giving.

According to NHPCO, more than 1.3 million people received care from hospices in the U.S. last year.

Fujitsu provides IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace.

In contract news: HealthTrust Purchasing Group (Brentwood, Tennessee) reported a contract award to Teleflex Medical (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) for Arrow central venous catheters, beginning April 1 and extending through Dec. 31, 2010.

Teleflex says that its Arrow brand offers central venous catheters and related products, from impregnated catheters and uncoated catheters to kits that include options such as large barrier drape and safety needles. The company also recently introduced an Arrow pressure injectable central venous catheter rated to 10 mL/second, which is included in the HealthTrust agreement.