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See this URL Letter from NHPCO re Conference on Aging for this letter, dated March 10th.

The White House Conference on Aging occurs once a decade to make aging policy
recommendations to the President and Congress, and to assist the public and private sectors in
promoting dignity, health, independence and economic security of current and future generations of
older persons.
The theme for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, October 23-26, 2005 in Washington,
D.C. is “The Booming Dynamics of Aging: From Awareness to Action,” which reflects the unique
mandate of the 2005 WHCoA to focus on the aging of today and tomorrow. This group includes the
78 million baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), who will begin to turn 60 in 2006. The
theme highlights the changing face of aging in the United States encouraging Americans of all ages
to participate in developing plans for aging generations now and in the future.
Both NHPCO’s upcoming Policy Forum and the free Caring Connections pre-conference seminar at
the Clinical Team Conference are official WHCoA events and as such, the findings will be shared
with a much broader audience and have a greater impact on future policy considerations for our
aging population.
Beyond official events, 1200 individuals will serve as delegates to the 2005 Conference. Delegates
to the Conference will have the responsibility for presenting recommendations to the President and
Congress to help guide aging policies for the next decade and beyond. The delegates will represent:
• Governors of all 50 states, the U.S. Territories, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the
District of Columbia (2 per Governor plus another 100 “at large” apportioned by state size)
• National Congress of American Indians
• Members of the 109th Congress (1 per Senator and 1 per Representative)
• National aging and other allied organizations, academic institutions, business and industry, nonprofit
and veterans’ organizations and other entities with a stake in the aging of America.
Applications for these slots will be sent out later this year.

A conference just ended in Germany on palliative care had as its theme "Beyond the Border" See for yourselves: http://www.eapcnet.org/Aachen2005/in/index.html

There are all kinds of things going on. Look up the articles just published in the NEJM. Also see the NIH goings on last December. http://consensus.nih.gov/ta/024/endoflifeintro.html#sponsors The last paragraph is a winner:

"Experience in Conducting Research Among People Toward the End of Life

Palliative care is a difficult field for research as much of this state-of-the-science conference will demonstrate. There are design, methodological, and ethical difficulties of conducting research, problems in recruiting and sustaining a research community, and a shortage of experienced academics in the field. This occurs at a time when there are greater than ever opportunities for international communication and coordination with technologies that sometimes make it easier to link between London and Washington than between Washington and Texas. For this reason, multicenter and international research should be considered and the NIH could play a pivotal role in encouraging such collaboration."

Hospice stats and research: http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3274&openpage=3274

2005 is the year for activism.