National Alliance for Care at Home CEO Dr. Steven Landers: Build a better future for hospice, home health 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/16/24 
Spreading the home-based care community’s message is about more than health care, it also speaks to the priorities and values of society at large, according to Dr. Steven Landers, the newly appointed CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home (NACH). The alliance last month announced that it had tapped Landers as its top executive. NACH is the newly combined organization formed by the June merger of National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).  Landers on Monday outlined a vision for the alliance at legacy NHPCO’s Annual Leadership Conference in Denver. “The story of this work needs to be told louder, more clearly, with the best possible data, with the strongest team, the best resources, because it’s easy to get drowned out. It’s easy to get drowned out in a world where there’s so many people competing for federal dollars, for attention. I think we’ve got a chance with this alliance,” Landers said at the conference. “This isn’t just about health care. It’s about our society. It’s about our compassion, our love for one another, connectedness. It’s a deep and important cause.” 

Historic numbers of Americans live by themselves as they age 
California Healthline, originally published by KFF and ran in The Washington Post; by Judith Graham; 9/17/24
Gerri Norington, 78, never wanted to be on her own as she grew old. ...  Norington is part of a large but often overlooked group: the more than 16 million Americans living alone while growing old. Surprisingly little is known about their experiences. This slice of the older population has significant health issues: Nearly 4 in 10 seniors living alone have vision or hearing loss, difficulty caring for themselves and living independently, problems with cognition, or other disabilities, according to a KFF analysis of 2022 census data. ... Multiple studies find that seniors on their own are at higher risk of becoming isolated, depressed, and inactive, having accidents, and neglecting to care for themselves. As a result, they tend to be hospitalized more often and suffer earlier-than-expected deaths. ... The most reliable, up-to-date data about older adults who live alone comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. According to its 2023 Current Population Survey, about 28% of people 65 and older live by themselves, including slightly fewer than 6 million men and slightly more than 10 million women. (The figure doesn’t include seniors living in institutions, primarily assisted living and nursing homes.) By contrast, 1 in 10 older Americans lived on their own in 1950. ... [Click on the title's link for the full article. Includes information to republish for free.]

Final HOPE materials released
NAHC email; 9/17/24
Hospices will begin completing the Hospice Outcome & Patient Evaluation (HOPE) on October 1, 2025. The final HOPE item sets – HOPE Admission v1.00, HOPE Update Visit (HUV) v1.00, HOPE Discharge v1.00 and HOPE ALL Item v1.00 – and accompanying HOPE Guidance Manual v1.00 were released on September 16. These documents can be accessed from the downloads section on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) HQRP HOPE webpage.
[Accessing full article may require membership login.]

Talk about death, but live your life: What people working in end-of-life care have learned 
Yahoo Life; by Elena Sheppard; 9/16/24 
Eventually, we are all going to die. It’s a reality that most people are uncomfortable with and do everything they can to avoid thinking about. But for people who work in end-of-life care, such as hospice workers and death doulas, death is both a fact of the job and a part of their everyday reality. While the work may sound grim, those who do it say that their daily proximity to death doesn't cast a shadow over their lives; rather, it has enabled them to more purposefully celebrate life’s beauty. ... Yahoo Life spoke to hospice professionals to hear the life lessons they’ve learned by working so closely with death. Here’s what they said. ...

1. Keep your sense of humor ...
2. Prioritize your relationships
3. Acknowledge your mortality--and talk about it
4. The body knows how to die
5. Live your life

From profit to purpose: Adapting leadership in the nonprofit sector 
Forbes; by Peter Sanchez; 9/16/24 
Some leadership traits are universal: empathy, integrity, positivity and clear communication. Others are specific to certain kinds of businesses. In my journey from large for-profit companies and tech startups to the nonprofit sector, I have had to adapt my leadership approach in some fundamental ways. Here are a few tips for anyone making this transition. 

• Being Different ...
• Valuing Employees ...
• Finding Purpose ...
• Mastering the Art of Decision-Making ...

Breaking the barriers in information sharing: Changing the discussion from legal risk to C-suite opportunity 
N2K; by Rick Howard; 9/16/24 
In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, sharing information among institutions is critical to bolster defenses against increasingly sophisticated threats. Cooperation between organizations can strengthen everyone’s defenses, but such an approach requires openness and transparency, something that many organizations have been reluctant to do. ... The C-suite – comprising top executives such as the CEO, CFO, CIO, CISO, and others – plays a critical role in shaping an organization's approach to cybersecurity. In the context of information sharing, the C-suite's role is pivotal in driving the cultural and operational changes necessary to transition from a risk-averse stance to one that recognizes the strategic value of collaboration and information exchange. One of the most successful initiatives that C-suite leaders can champion is participation in industry-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs). ... [Following discussions include:] The business case for information sharing ... Enhanced risk management ... Cost savings and resource efficiency ... Compliance and legal benefits ... Innovation ... Professional Development ... Challenges to information sharing ... Legal and regulatory complexities ... Risk of exposure and misuse ... Trust issues among organizations ... Technical barriers ... Cultural and organizational obstacles ... Sharing information ... Categorize information by sensitivity ... Assess recipients ... Vet the data ... Monitoring and oversight ... Engaging in industry-wide collaboration ... Real world examples - Health-ISAC and the faulty CrowdStrike update ... The path forward ... [Click on the title's link for the full article and a whitepaper.]

After 138 years, the Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia will shut down all health care services next month 
PBS WHYY NPR; by Nicole Leonard; 9/16/24 
The Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit home health care provider, is shutting its doors after a 138-year run. All services, including hospice and palliative care, will cease Oct. 28. Complete details on reasons for the closure, and the long-term effects on patients and employees, are scarce at the moment, but in a statement on its website, the organization said “unsustainable financial losses” led to the decision. Nonprofit leaders said they are working to transition patients and families to new placements and care providers.

How can you spot bad leadership quickly? Look for 6 warning signs 
Inc.; by Marcel Schwantes; 9/16/24 
Back in my HR days many moons ago, I hired a candidate for a senior management position. During his first week on the job, I stopped by his office to greet him. I overheard him on the phone with a vendor, and his behavior was in stark contrast to the person we had hired. I felt embarrassed by his conduct. Over time, there was a high turnover in his department. I have witnessed numerous counterproductive behaviors in middle and upper management. Here are six toxic traits that I have identified, which are detrimental to leading effectively.  ... 

• Steals the spotlight ...
• Lacks self-awareness ...
• Doesn't acknowledge making mistakes ...
• Has control over too many decisions ...
• Avoids interaction with others ...
• Loves to blame others ...

Three Oaks Hospice reportedly begins sales process
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/16/24
Dallas-based Three Oaks Hospice has reportedly begun seeking a buyer. The private equity-backed hospice launched in 2019 with more than $21 million in investment dollars from Granite Growth Health Partners, Health Velocity Capital and Petra Capital Partners. Rumors of the potential sale were first reported by the website Ion Analytics, which indicated that Three Oaks generates between $12 million and $15 million EBITDA... The company currently operates 28 locations across its eight-state footprint, including Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Top 5 topics at Modern Healthcare's Leadership Symposium
Modern Healthcare; 9/16/24
Here are five topics executives shared their thoughts on during the day-long event in Washington, D.C.:

1. Staffing
2. Artificial intelligence
3. Cybersecurity
4. Value-based care
5. A post-Chevron world

Publisher's note: Please click the link above for additional discussion of these interesting topics.

Mayo Clinic Minute: Palliative medicine for cancer patients 
Mayo Clinic; by Sonya Goins; 9/16/24 
Patients undergoing cancer treatments often use palliative medicine to cope with nausea, fatigue and other bothersome symptoms. Palliative medicine is a medical specialty whose main focus is supporting patients and families/caregivers who need help managing symptoms related to cancer or side effects related to the treatment of cancer, along with other life-limiting diseases. Dr. Touré Barksdale, a Mayo Clinic cancer rehabilitation and palliative medicine specialist, explains the benefits of palliative care.

How music therapy helps this young cancer patient in Louisville hold on to 'pure joy' 
ABC WHAS-11, Louisville, KY; by Brooke Hasch; 9/17/24
Music therapists come prepared for any mood, hoping to bring light to a dark situation. Within the Norton Healthcare system, they help patients cope with pain, discomfort, and anxiety often associated with hospitalization. Brett Northrup's the music therapist for Norton Children's Cancer Institute, a role he stepped into 13 years ago. "I didn't know it existed, and then when I discovered this field, I said, 'this is it. This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life,'" he said. Northrup doesn't miss a beat when a patient's in need of a smile or a moment of normalcy. He's been there many times for 4-year-old Trey Lowman, who's gone through more than most people will in a lifetime. ... "When you put [Trey] and Brett together, it's magic," [Trey's mom] said. "He's full of joy and that's one thing that cancer hasn't been able to take from him."

[Oregon] Samaritan Health Services lowers executive pay, reduces workforce
Modern Healthcare; by Alex Kacik; 9/16/24
Corvallis, Oregon-based Samaritan laid off 80 employees in response to inflation, cyber incidents, inclement weather, volume reduction and declining reimbursement rates, a spokesperson said Monday. Most of the layoffs were not patient-facing positions, the spokesperson said.

Could this ‘beautiful story’ be the story of the year?
McKnight's Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 9/16/24
When we look back on 2024, we might just call the story of Casey’s Pond the feel-good story of the year in senior living. Or if not the story, certainly one of them. Casey’s Pond, a continuing care retirement community in Steamboat Springs, CO, entered receivership in July, after not being able to pay off millions of dollars in bonds that had been used to construct the community in 2013 and not being able to find a buyer. ... But along the way, the city of Steamboat Springs made an emergency authorization of $2.5 million to try to save the CCRC, and a local community foundation started a “quiet fundraising campaign” that resulted in millions of dollars in commitments from dozens of donors so that bondholder requirements could be met. ... Now, the ink is dry on that purchase agreement, which as of Sept. 3 was expected to close within 30 days.

AI 'early warning' system shows promise in preventing hospital deaths, study says 
Pique NewsMagazine, Toronto, Canada; by Nicole Ireland; 9/16/24 
An AI early-warning system that predicts which patients are at risk of deteriorating while in hospital was associated with a decrease in unexpected deaths, a new study says. The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found a 26 per cent reduction in non-palliative deaths among patients in St. Michael's Hospital's general internal medicine unit when the AI tool was used. "We've seen that there is a lot of hype and excitement around artificial intelligence in medicine. We've also seen not as much actual deployment of these tools in real clinical environments," said lead author Dr. Amol Verma, a general internal medicine specialist and scientist at the hospital in Toronto. "This is an early example of a tool that's deployed that was rigorously tested and evaluated and where it's showing promise for actually helping improve patient care." ... The technology called CHARTwatch continuously analyzed more than 100 different pieces of information about each patient in the unit, Verma said. When the AI tool predicted that a patient was deteriorating, it sent an alert to physicians and nurses, prompting them to quickly intervene.

Remembering Martin Paley, Berkeley philanthropic leader who headed San Francisco Foundation 
Berkeleyside Obituaries; by family and friends of Martin Paley; 9/16/24 
Martin A. Paley, a civic leader and mentor who personified the common good to benefit the whole Bay Area, died on Sept. 12 in Oakland. [Martin's extensive philanthropy leadership is described.] ... Martin died as he lived, endeavoring to have his actions match his values in a Hospice program, which he introduced to the Bay Area in 1978 with a visit from a leading practitioner from England. Martin A. Paley, through his mentoring and a life lived with common good values, the Bay Area gained from his inspirational leadership. 

Global collaboration launches culturally inclusive palliative care education tool 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/16/24 
An international collaboration has led to the development of a new palliative care training tool aimed at improving quality and equitable access. Health systems across the globe are recognizing a growing need to boost the supply of providers able to care for a swelling, aging population of serious and terminally ill patients. Rising demand was among the driving forces behind the newly unveiled COllaboratively DEveloped culturalY Appropriate and inclusive Assessment tool for Palliative Care Education (CODE-YAA@PC-EDU). The palliative care education tool was developed in concert by the Council of Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations. The organizations joined forces to design a sustainable training model that could build up the palliative workforce. The project is supported in part by the research network European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST).

If you can change your mind, you can change your life. ~ William James, American philosopher and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States