Supporting the grieving child and family: Clinical report
Pediatrics; by David J. Schonfeld, MD, FAAP; Thomas Demaria, PhD; Arwa Nasir, MBBS, MSc, MPH, FAAP; Sairam Kumar, MD, FAAP; Committee on Pyschosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health; Council on Children and Disasters; 6/17/24
At some point in their childhood, the majority of children will experience the death of a close family member or friend. Approximately 1 in 20 children in the United States experiences the death of a parent by the age of 16. ... The death of someone close to a child often has a profound and lifelong effect on the child and results in a range of both short- and long-term reactions. ... This clinical report offers practical suggestions on how to talk with grieving children to help them better understand what has happened and its implications. An understanding of guilt, shame, and other common reactions as well as an appreciation of the role of secondary losses and the unique challenges facing children in communities characterized by chronic trauma and cumulative loss will help the [healthcare professional] to address factors that may impair children’s adjustment and to identify complicated mourning and situations when professional counseling is indicated. Advice on how to support children’s participation in funerals and other memorial services and to anticipate and address grief triggers and anniversary reactions is provided. ...
Editor's Note: This significant article can be downloaded and shared with your organization's clinicians. For additional, ongoing resources, explore the National Alliance for Children's Grief. If your hospice provides specialized children's grief services, are they listed on the NACG's "Find a Support Center or Camp Near You" search engine? Click here to add or update your listing.

CMS: GUIDE Model Infographic, Facts, and Participants 
CMS.gov and various press releases; retrieved from the internet 7/10/24 
The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model is a voluntary nationwide model test that aims to support people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. The model began on July 1, 2024, and will run for eight years. 
Editor's Note: Since the release of GUIDE's formal press release on 7/8 and our post yesterday (7/10), numerous press releases have already populated across the internet. We re-share this list of links to the GUIDE's information, participants, paired with new, sample press releases from 3 of the 400 participants. 

• CMS.gov GUIDE webpage
• GUIDE Model Dementia Pathways Infographic (PDF)
• GUIDE Model Participant Incentives to Participate Factsheet
• GUIDE Participant List
• Sample press releases
• Connecticut Hospice, Branford, CT
• Delaware Hospice, Milford, DE 
• Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, AZ

[NBC Today Show] Child caregivers shine light on heavy task of tending to sick parents
NBC Today Show; report from Maria Shriver; 7/10/24
An estimated 5.4 million children aged 18 and under care for loved one who is sick or disabled. Students Jacob Gutierrez and Rocco Fernandez sit down with NBC’s Maria Shriver on TODAY to share their experience juggling school while caregiving for their sick parents. Gutierrez says “When I’m in school, I call at least one or two times per day making sure that everyone’s all right. There can be a lot of stress put on me.” ... [Click on the title's link to view this video.]
Editor's Notes: From my hospice in-the-field-years, one of the most heartwrenching families I served was a young woman whose pre-teen daughter and elementary aged son were caretaking her (the mother, with cancer) and the grandmother (with dementia and mental illness). This family's needs had fallen through the cracks of healthcare and social support systems. These tenacious children did not trust us (the hospice team) coming into their home. Learn from this crucial national report about child caregivers. Its stats are alarming. Equip your interdisciplinary teams with assessment and intervention tools, and with support for their own potential secondary trauma (as professionals). 

Gen Z prefers burial over cremation, reversing decades of preferences trending toward cremation
PR Newswire; by National Funeral Directors Association; 7/9/24 
There is no shortage of social commentary on how Gen Z is redefining norms and challenging older generations to think differently, from fashion to workplace culture. But what about their perspective on death and dying? A first-of-its-kind survey conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) offers definitive data to show how Gen Z thinks differently about end-of-life matters for themselves and their loved ones – as well as similarities with older generations. Notable differences between the generations highlight Gen Z's unique perspective, even compared to Millennials who are the closest in age, highlighting a pivot in end-of-life preferences to come:

• Final form of disposition ...
• Talking about death ...
• Importance of funerals ...
• Role of funeral director ...
• Comfort with death ...

NFDA's survey not only revealed new generational trends and end-of-life preferences, but also highlighted a need for all generations to find healthy ways to discuss death and their plans with friends and family. 
Editor's Note: Click here for descriptions of Generation Z. 

All the payment factors included in the 2025 Home Health Proposed Rule 
Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 7/8/24 
Providers examining the 2025 home health proposed payment rule may be experiencing some déjà vu, according to William A. Dombi, the president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC). “Much of what we see in the rule is just, on the payment side of it in particular, an update from ‘23 and ‘24,” he said during a recent webinar hosted by NAHC. On June 26, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled its home health proposed payment rule for 2025. The proposal includes a payment decrease in the aggregate by 1.7%, or by about $280 million. “That needs qualification,” Dombi said. “That’s $280 million, not to what it would otherwise have been, but rather, in contrast to what it’s expected to be for 2024.” Providers examining the proposed rule will also see a 2.5% net inflation rate update. ... 

DOH releases 2023 Our Care, Our Choice Annual Report 
State of Hawaii, Department of Health, Honolulu, HI; 7/8/24 
More patients utilized the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) program last year than in 2022, according to the 2023 Our Care, Our Choice Act (OCOCA) Annual Report, prepared by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development, July 1, 2024. Last year, 91 patients received aid-in-dying prescriptions, which is 31 more than the 2022 total. The Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development said that this is also in line with national data trends and may be due to the increased accessibility that took effect June 1, 2023. The annual report provides statistics for the OCOCA, which was enacted January 1, 2019. The act allows eligible individuals with terminal illnesses to request medicine that will help them control when and how they choose to die. Amendments to the OCOCA went into effect on June 1, 2023, resulting in the following changes: [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Colorado End-of-Life Options Act - year seven: 2023 data summary, with 2017-2023 trends and totals
Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment; 7/24
In 2023, 389 patients received prescriptions for aid-in-dying medications under the provisions of the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act. This represents a 22% increase in the number of prescriptions compared to 2022. Among those prescribed aid-in-dying medication in 2023, CDPHE has received reports for 294 patients to whom aid-in-dying medication was dispensed. Also among those prescribed aid-in-dying medication, CDPHE has received death certificates for 333 patients through routine vital records registration. Note that not all of these deceased patients were dispensed aid-in-dying medication, and deaths may have been due to ingestion of aid-in-dying medication, the underlying terminal illness or condition, or other causes.

Provider of in-home imaging services and 24/7 radiologist access raises $200M 
Radiology Business; by Marty Stempniak; 7/9/24 
HarmonyCares, a provider of in-home X-ray services that spans 15 states, has raised $200 million in new capital, leaders announced Monday. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the company is focused on physician-led care for vulnerable patients who cannot travel to a traditional healthcare facility. HarmonyCare Diagnostics brings the latest digital X-ray technology to patients’ homes or long-term care facilities, offering rapid results with board certified radiologists “available 24/7.”

Judge Realty partners with Hospice Savannah to offer home modification to support aging in place
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report; 7/8/24
Judge Realty recently announced a partnership with Hospice Savannah to encourage and support aging in place. Judge Property Management, a division of Judge Realty, is working in conjunction with Hospice Savannah’s CAPABLE+ program to help older adults live independently with strategic support in the privacy of their home environment. ... Hospice Savannah’s CAPABLE program provides a support team, including a Registered Nurse, an Occupational Therapist and a Handyworker who offer home visits and provide limited care for older adults, which can decrease hospitalization and reduce healthcare costs. The standard CAPABLE program is available as a free service for low-income adults age 62 or older in Chatham, Bryan Effingham or Liberty County who are cognitively intact, but experiencing some difficulty bathing, dressing, grooming, eating or walking.

Caregiver charged with abusing dementia patient 
The Freeman, Waukesha County, WI; by Freeman Staff; 7/9/24 
A West Allis woman has been charged after she allegedly struck a dementia patient in her care and put a pillow over the woman’s face out of frustration. Erica Junger, 22, was charged Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with a count of intentionally abusing a patient, and faces up to six years in prison if convicted. She made an initial appearance in court Monday, where she was released on a $2,500 signature bond and ordered by Court Commissioner David Herring not to work in any job where she is responsible for the health care and safety of others. ... She said she "snapped" and did things she wasn’t supposed to do, but didn’t mean anything by it. ... The complaint did not identify the facility where the incident took place. But it did identify Junger as an employee of Agrace Hospice, which contracts with the facility.

Health systems oppose new cybersecurity rules 
Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 7/8/24 
Health systems and industry trade groups are objecting to new cybersecurity reporting requirements proposed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The recommended rule under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 would, among other things, require covered entities to report cyberattacks within 72 hours and ransom payments within 24 hours. The proposal, which is estimated to cost the industry $1.4 billion, would exempt small and critical access hospitals.

10 recent healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Andrew Cass; 7/8/24
... Here are 10 healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's reported since June 26:

1. Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall in Newburgh, N.Y., ...
2. In the wake of the Supreme Court's overturning of Chevron deference, Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health ...
3. ... Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger ...
4. Rishi Shah, co-founder and former CEO of healthcare technology startup Outcome Health ...
5. A federal jury awarded a former BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee employee nearly $700,000 ...
6. [Click on the title's link to continue reading]

[United Kingdom] Hospices on the brink of financial meltdown warn of service cuts and mass redundancies 
Daily Express, United Kingdom; by Giles Sheldrick; 7/7/24 
The growing crisis engulfing the hospice sector has led to another major facility closing beds and warning of widespread redundancies. Hospiscare, which helps those with terminal illnesses in Devon, has been forced to change its end-of-life service in response to “insufficient funding and rising costs.” It  is the latest to act on an emergency that is having a major impact on the families it helps. The hospice has already taken drastic steps, including slashing the number of beds on its ward in Exeter. It is now having to change how it delivers part of its at-home care for patients during the last days of their lives, which is likely to result in staff redundancies. ... Most facilities providing end-of-life care are operating in the red and look set to follow suit in a crisis that would flood the NHS. Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: “We’ve recently seen the worst financial results for the sector in 20 years, with hospices facing a collective deficit of £77million.

[United Kingdom] Ayrshire man to run seven marathons in a week for hospice 
Largs & Millport Weekly News, United Kingdom; by Adam Lyon; 7/8/24 
An energetic charity champion is set to run seven marathons in seven days in aid of the Ayrshire Hospice. Kieran McLaughlin will run from his home in Dundonald to the charity's home on Racecourse Road in Ayr and back on the first six days. On the final day, Kieran will start and finish at Racecourse Road to round off his week of fundraising. Kieran is running in memory of his dad, John. Over the last four years, he has raised more than £50,000 for the charity.
Editor's Note: Pair this with the article above about hospices in the UK being "on the brink of financial meltdown." We celebrate Kieran McLaughlin's passion to run in memory of his dad, supporting the Ayrshire Hospice in Scotland [part of the United Kingdom]. May we all be inspired to find something we do well and to creatively use it, supporting our collective hospice vision and mission.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become. ~ Steve Jobs