Death and redemption in an American prison
KFF Health News / NPR, by Markian Hawryluk; 2/19/24
Publisher's note: This is a "must read" article about Steven Garner, including circumstances regarding how he was sentenced to life without parole at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, his 26-year service in their hospice program, his release two years ago, and his hospice work since.
Notable mentions: Warden Burl Cain; Jamey Boudreaux, Louisiana ~ Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization; Cordt Kassner, Hospice Analytics; Kim Huffington, Sangre de Cristo Community Care.

Health system C-suites' buzzword for 2024
Becker's Hospital Review, by Laura Dyrda; 2/15/24
The last year, 2023, was the year of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Top executives from hospitals and health systems large and small dove deep into ways AI could make their organizations more efficient and elevate patient care. While AI will stay a top priority over the next year, a new buzz word is on the tip of health system C-suite executives' tongues: partnerships. But not just any partnerships. Unique, innovative and outside-the-box partnerships will be essential for hospitals to thrive.

Hospice of the Plains honors President Jimmy Carter
Hospice of the Plains; 2/19/24
This President’s Day we at Hospice of the Plains would like to honor former President Jimmy Carter for his work as President of the United States, his humanitarian work and his help bringing Hospice care to the public eye. ... President Carter elected to receive hospice care on Feb.18, 2023, after a series of hospital stays. ... President Carter decided to place focus on care rather than cure, knowing that his journey would be coming to an end, allowing highly trained nurses, social workers, chaplains, and support staff to take care of him. While hospice care isn’t widely discussed, and, to some, it may seem like giving up, as our former president has demonstrated, Hospice care is about living life to the fullest, living fully until our last breath.

Looking at the challenges involving hospice care
NPR WOSU PBS, podcast by All Sides with Anna Staver; 2/19/24
Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering for patients facing the end of life. However, physicians are voicing concerns about a prevalence of serious deficiencies in hospice care and believe it is in need of fixing.
Host: Mike Thompson, WOSU chief content director of radio
Guests: Dr. Ira Byock, palliative care physician and advocate; Dr. Jennifer Hirsh, hospice & palliative medicine specialist, Mt. Carmel
Editor's Note: Originally aired 7/24/23; reposted 2/19/24

Inclusive hospice care: Gilchrist’s efforts to ensure equal end-of-life care access
Afro News - The Black Media Authority; 2/16/24
Despite concerted efforts to address disparities, Black Americans continue to be underrepresented in hospice and palliative care services, a trend Gilchrist, a leading provider of end-of-life care for 30 years, is actively working to change. “We’re creating a paradigm shift around how hospitals communicate with communities of color. We’re going into communities and humbly asking what we can do to better serve their needs,” Wayman Scott, Associate Director of DEI and Community Relations, said.

Centrica Care Navigators partner with NorthStar Care Community, creating one of the largest not-for-profit providers in the United States
Hospice of Michigan; retrieved 2/19/24
Centrica’s community-leading presence in southwest Michigan will be a strong complement to the capabilities that Hospice of Michigan and Arbor Hospice bring to the state. By joining the NorthStar Care Community, they can ensure that a strong not-for-profit provider is an option in southwest Michigan for those needing serious illness care for years to come.

Hospices see growth opportunities with physician offices, memory care
Hospice News, by Holly Vossel; 2/16/24
Hospice providers are increasingly focused on memory care settings and physician offices as referral sources. ... Physician offices were identified among the most significant referral growth opportunities in 2024 by about 6% of 143 respondents to Hospice News’ 2024 Outlook Survey, conducted with Homecare Homebase. Meanwhile, 7% reported that their hospice organizations saw memory care settings as a significant referral source.

'A blessing': Sarasota family shares importance of hospice care after losing 5-year-old to cancer
CBS News 10 Tampa Bay, by Jenny Dean; 2/16/24
While the average time in hospice is 70-80 days, some people defy the odds. And that's largely due to the changes in hospice care over the years. A Sarasota family knows how difficult that decision can be. They lost their 5-year-old daughter to cancer and now say hospice care is something they wish they would have gotten sooner.

The role of bioethics services in paediatric intensive care units: A qualitative descriptive study
BMC Medical Ethics, by Denise Alexander, Mary Quirke, Jo Greene, Lorna Cassidy, Carol Hilliard, and Maria Brenner; 2/19/24
Results: From 33 interviews, we identified four themes that described the functionality of bioethics services when a child requires technology to sustain life: striving for consensus; the importance of guidelines; a structure that facilitates a time-sensitive and relevant response; and strong leadership and teamwork.

Redefining end-of-life care: Stories of compassion and innovation
BNN, by Waqas Arain; 2/18/24
In the heart of compassionate care and the challenging journey of end-of-life situations, two remarkable healthcare professionals stand out for their dedication and innovative approaches to palliative support. Teresa Hovatter, a Community Liaison with Grane Hospice, and Kirsty Lazenby, an organ donation nurse at Royal Stoke's Critical Care Unit, have each been recognized for their exceptional efforts in providing comfort, dignity, and support to terminally ill patients and their families. Their stories, though distinct, converge on a singular mission: to transform the end-of-life experience into one of peace, understanding, and meaningful closure.

Funerals becoming a thing of the past as end-of-life rituals change 
County Life, by Sharon Harrison; 2/16/24
As times are changing, more and more people don’t want a traditional, religious funeral and instead are seeking alternatives to align with present day values. 

Reduced federal share may force state Medicaid programs to cut services, HCBS expert says
McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 2/15/24
The Congressional Budget Office this month released its “Budget and Economic Outlook” report for the coming decade. In its report, CBO predicted a roughly $58 billion drop in federal Medicaid outlays for 2024 compared to 2023 — a 9% decrease in federal Medicaid spending, due in part to fewer beneficiaries on states’ Medicaid rolls. Reduced Medicaid outlays ... has placed an even greater strain on states to pay for these Medicaid programs, according to Damon Terzaghi, director of Medicaid HCBS for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.

The Joint Commission: 2024 Behavioral Health Care National Patient Safety Goals
The Joint Commission, Easy-to-Read pdf; 2/19/24

• Identify individuals served correctly
• Use medicines safely
• Prevent infection
• Identify individuals served safety risks
• Improve health care equity

Editor's Note: Do not limit your understanding of these to Behavioral Health Care facilities. With hospice's whole-person care, these Behavioral Health Care goals apply to hospice and palliative care, within the scope of the interdisciplinary professional's scope of care. 

Legislative committees shape the future: Pivotal decisions and societal impact
BNN, by Sakchi Khandelwai; 2/16/24
Pivotal decisions on medical aid in dying [and] drug consumption sites ... highlight their societal impact. Ongoin reforms empower committees, strengthening the democratic process.

Most Pa. workers can’t take paid leave to care for sick loved ones. State law could change that
WESA Pittsburgh's NPR News Station, by Kristen Mosbrucker-Garza; 2/18/24
About 66% of workers statewide don’t have paid family and medical leave benefits, according to a U.S. Census compensation survey from March 2022. And the brunt of that unpaid work often falls on any women in the household, said Meghan Pierce, CEO of the Executive Forum of Women in Philadelphia. ... The Executive Forum of Women, created in the late 1970s, is one organization in the coalition of nonprofits and businesses pushing to get paid family medical leave as a state law in Pennsylvania. 

9 health systems newly approved for 'hospital at home'
Becker's Health IT, by Giles Bruce; 2/15/24
As of February, CMS has authorized 312 hospitals in 37 states spanning 131 health systems for the programs, where patients with such conditions as heart failure and sepsis are treated at home via nurse visits and virtual physician appointments. The top health systems are caring for dozens of patients per day at home. [Click on the title's link above for] nine new health systems that have been OK'd for the CMS hospital-at-home waiver in the past six months (and their approval dates).

Why the tech industry won’t disrupt health care
Harvard Business Review, by John Glaser, Sara Vaezy, and Janet Guptill; 2/16/24
Because health care delivery is heavily data-driven but lags in adopting new technologies, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that it is ripe for digital disruption. Indeed, it’s obvious that U.S. health care badly needs significant change: It costs too much, its quality isn’t what it could and should be, and as for access, millions of people live hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital and/or don’t have a primary care doctor. But does that mean that new tech-savvy entrants, armed with powerful digital tools and novel business models, could displace and demolish incumbent health systems with their better-fastercheaper ethos? They haven’t so far, and we don’t think that they will.
Publisher's note: Thank you Ernesto Lopez, The Denver Hospice, for sharing this article with us.

Rural hospital alliance aims to increase access via telehealth
Modern Healthcare, by Alex Kacik; 2/14/24
Rural hospitals are teaming up to provide specialty care to patients via a new telehealth program. 
Editor's Note: Full access to the article requires a subscription.

McKnight’s Women of Distinction Hall of Honor gains 24 in 2024
McKnight's Senior Living, by Lois A. Bowers; 2/15/24
Twenty-four women working in senior living, skilled nursing or home care are being announced today as 2024 inductees into the Hall of Honor in the annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program, a joint effort of McKnight’s Senior Living and sister media brands McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care. ... The Hall of Honor category honors women who are at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and who have had a significant effect on their organization or industry.