The Summit Business Group is a
consulting firm established by former National Hospice Organization
President, John J. Mahoney.
"Jay" served as President of the National Hospice Organization (now
the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, NHPCO) from
1984 to 1998. Prior to assuming his responsibilities with NHO, Jay
was the Executive Director of Hospice of Boulder County in Boulder,
Colorado.
During Jay's tenure as President of NHO there was a five-fold
increase in the number of hospices in the United States. Hospice
care is now estimated to be a $3 billion health service for
terminally ill patients and their families. Jay was instrumental in
making hospice care a permanent Medicare benefit and adding hospice
care as an optional benefit under Medicaid. He also worked with the
commercial insurance industry to help make hospice care a covered
service for the majority of insured workers in the United States.
Jay has authored numerous articles and book chapters on hospice,
health care and management issues for a variety of national
publications. In 1998, Simon and Schuster published The Hospice
Choice: In Pursuit of a Peaceful Death, Co-authored by Jay, NHPCO
Vice-President, Dr. Galen Miller and Marcia Lattanzi-Licht. In
addition to being an acknowledged expert in hospice care, Jay has
two decades of experience working with Congress, the Administration,
state legislatures and a variety of national and local boards of
directors. He has lectured extensively in the United States and
abroad, and has provided technical assistance to hundreds of
organizations around the country.
Jay continues to serve as a Founding Director of the National
Hospice Foundation. His honors and awards include the Inspector
General's Integrity Award from the Department of Health and Human
Services' Office of the Inspector General; the Administrator's
Achievement Award from the Health Care Financing Administration, now
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS; and a Doctor of
Humame Letters (Honoris Causa) from the University of Colorado.
