Part payer, part provider: VNS Health embraces the future
Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 2/18/25
As one of the biggest home-based care organizations in New York, VNS Health is leaning into its size and capabilities. ... “Our real challenge is, how do we leverage the large number of programs and services we already offer to ensure a seamless journey through the most difficult times in a person’s life,” VNS Health CEO and President Dan Savitt told Home Health Care News. ... "Being both a payer and provider allows us an opportunity to work with people in our community throughout their health care journey." ... "We use analytics to identify home care patients with late stage conditions who can benefit from enrollment in our advanced illness management program. Then we use analytics to determine when it may be appropriate to consider moving this patient population into hospice care." 

The intersection of medicine and humanity in palliative care 
Michigan Technology News; Guest Column; 2/19/25 
Palliative care stands as a testament to the intricate balance between medical science and human compassion. ...  The human side of palliative care is as vital as its clinical aspect. Patients in palliative care are not just medical cases; they are individuals with personal histories, emotions, and relationships that require acknowledgment and respect. ... This approach necessitates a deep level of empathy and an understanding that every patient’s journey is unique. ...

• The Role of Compassion in Medical Practice ...
• Pain Management: A Crucial Component of Palliative Care ...
• The Ethical Dimension of Palliative Care ...
• The Role of Families in Palliative Care ... 
• The Future of Palliative Care: Integrating Innovation and Compassion

Despite technological progress, the human element in palliative care remains irreplaceable. While AI may assist in symptom tracking and predictive analytics, it cannot replace the emotional support provided by a compassionate caregiver. The future of palliative care lies in the seamless integration of medical innovation with the core principles of dignity, empathy, and respect. ... By prioritizing both scientific expertise and emotional connection, palliative care continues to uphold its mission of providing comfort, dignity, and peace to those in need.
Editor's note: While this article's descriptions of palliative care are common to our readers, we note that this excellent advocacy for integrating "medicine and humanity in paliative care" is published in a technical business journal. Pair this with today's post, "Improving quality of life and end-of-life care: Standardizing goals of care notes in EHRs."

Innovations in serious illness care with Bree Owens 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 2/19/25 
In this episode of TCNtalks, host Chris Comeaux interviews Bree Owens, a licensed clinical social worker and co-founder of The Holding Group.  They discuss Bree’s journey in the healthcare field, particularly in Palliative Care. Bree shares insights on learning the importance of meaningful conversations with patients and their families about care options, which led her to the unique model of The Holding Group.  Her organization has created space, hence the name The Holding Group, for a patient-centered approach, helping patients and their families find the right care at the right place and at the right time.  Bree emphasizes the significance of informed consent and the role of social workers in facilitating these discussions to enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Addressing overtreatment in end-of-life cancer care 
Medscape; by David J. Kerr, CBE, MD, DSc; 2/19/25 
... What do we mean by overtreatment? This means that many patients who are approaching the end of life receive treatments, like directed anticancer therapies, that are unlikely to provide clinically meaningful benefits and may do more harm than good. This is an expression that I use often in the clinic when I'm explaining to patients that we have reached the end of the road in active interventions, such as chemotherapeutic drugs, that will do more harm than good. It doesn't stop us from doing our very best to look after patients. We focus on improving the quality of life and maintaining that for as long as we can, while continuing to care and look after the patients. ... Overtreatment may even, one would argue, accelerate death when you consider those 1% or 2% mortality rates that can be associated with some treatments that we offer. ...

How music is rewriting end-of-life care 
The Daily Iowan; by Madison Schuler; 2/18/25 
The form of therapy relieves not only patients but also family members. Over the years, music has been used to express emotions for some while creating connections and memories for others. Listening to a certain song can take people back to a specific moment. Whether it elicits joy, pain, anger, or sadness, music has a different effect on each individual. Music stays with people throughout their lives, always bringing forth those emotions or memories. For those in end-of-life care, music can do the same. ... Today, hospitals and hospice centers are seeing an increase in the use of music therapy, specifically in end-of-life care. [Click on the title's link to learn more.] 
Editor's note: Click here for the national directory of CBMT board certified music therapists. Click here for my 2005 book in Routledge's Series in Death, Dying and Bereavement, Music of the Soul - Composing Life Out of Loss.

Improving quality of life and end-of-life care: Standardizing goals of care notes in EHRs 
EurekAlert! - American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Indianapolis, IN; Regenstrief  Institute, peer-reviewed publication; 2/19/25 
... A new study by researchers from Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health presents the standardized goals of care note they developed, deployed and evaluated as a quality improvement initiative at IU Health, a large, statewide healthcare system. ... The study authors report:

• Palliative clinicians documented patient preferences, values and religion more often than other clinicians in goal of care notes (75% versus 32%).
• Palliative care clinicians documented a patient capacity to make medical decisions more often than other clinicians (74% versus 33%).
• Palliative care clinicians identified the patient’s legal decision maker more often than other clinicians (70% versus 32%).
• Hospice was discussed more by palliative care clinicians than other clinicians (50% versus 27%). Palliative care discussions yielded higher hospice enrollments, indicating selection of comfort care before death (50% versus 35%).
• Among the patients who died during the study, other clinicians wrote goals of care notes closer to death compared to palliative care clinicians (4 days before death versus 19 days). Late goals of care conversations may provide less time for patients and families to prepare for the end of life.

Editor's note: Pair these findings with today's post, "The intersection of medicine and humanity in palliative care."

Change Healthcare data breach: Industry 'not fine' 1 year later 
Modern Healthcare; by Lauren Berryman; 2/19/25 
It’s been one year since the unprecedented Change Healthcare cyberattack crippled hospitals, medical groups, payers and pharmacies. For some providers, troubles linger. The industry continues to grapple with the aftermath of the breach of UnitedHealth Group's technology subsidiary, which exposed data on 190 million consumers. Core functions, including claims processing, prescription management, payment, prior authorization and insurance verification froze after UnitedHealth disconnected systems Feb. 21, 2024, following the hack by ransomware group BlackCat.

ViVE 2025: Improving clinical workflows amid workforce shortages 
HealthTech; by Teta Alim; 2/18/25 
As the U.S. braces for a dearth of physicians and nurses, healthcare organizations are transforming processes to attract and retain talent. By 2034, experts have projected, there will be a shortage of between 17,800 to 48,000 primary care physicians. For full-time registered nurses, 2030 projections are even steeper. Healthcare organizations are well aware of these forecasts and have been testing and deploying solutions to improve employee satisfaction and retention and attract new talent. At ViVE 2025 in Nashville, Tenn., industry leaders discussed how improvements supported by artificial intelligence (AI) are offering promising results for streamlining workflows. [Click on the title's link to read this discussion.]

Celebrating Black History Month: 12 Black American medical pioneers 
Brighton Hospice; blog from 2/24/21, still relevant today
These trailblazing clinicians, researchers, inventors, and advocates broke barriers, shattered stereotypes, and advanced medicine in this country and beyond. 

• James McCune Smith, MD (1813 – 1865): first Black American to (1) receive a medical degree, (2) own and operate a pharmacy in the U.S., (3) to be published in U.S. medical journals (as a physician)
• Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD (1831 – 1895): first Black woman in the U.S. to receive an MD degree
• Daniel Hale Williams, MD (1856–1931): opend the nation's first Black-owned interracial hospital
• Leonidas Harris Berry, MD (1902–1995): chaired 1950's "Chicago commission that worked to make hospitals more inclusive for Black physicians and to increase facilities in underserved parts of the city"
• Charles Richard Drew, MD (1904–1950): known as the "father of blood banking," pioneering blood preservation techniques that led to thousand of lifesaving blood donations
• Jane Cooke Wright, MD (1919–2013): in 1952 at age 33, became the head of the Cancer Research Foundation; in 1971 elected by The New York Cancer Society as its first woman president
• Otis F. Boykin (1920–1982): invented control unit for the cardiac pacemaker
• Louis Wade Sullivan, MD (b. 1933): founding dean of what became the Morehouse School of Medicine—the first predominantly Black medical school opened in the United States in the 20th century
• Marilyn Hughes Gaston, MD (b. 1939): leading researcher for sickle cell disease
• Patricia Era Bath, MD (b. 1942): pioneered the discipline of community ophthalmology, which approaches vision care from the perspectives of community medicine and public health
• Alexa Irene Canady, MD (b. 1950): the first Black neurosurgeon in the United States
• Regina Marcia Benjamin, MD, MBA (b. 1956): the 18th U.S. Surgeon General

Editor's note: We thank Brighton Hospice for this post. 

800 Geisinger nurses strike: 5 things to know 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 2/19/25
Members of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania began a five-day strike Feb. 17 at Geisinger's Luzerne County facilities in Pennsylvania, union and health system spokespeople confirmed to Becker's. Five things to know:

1. The strike involves 800 nurses ... 
2. Union members voted to authorize a strike in January and issued a strike notice Feb. 6. ...
3. Geisinger said that its offers "have been comprehensive, competitive and sustainable. ...
4. The union contends that management has failed to address concerns over what it says is severe understaffing, turnover and burnout. "Nurses' top priorities are compensation that leads hospitals in the region to improve recruitment and retention; affordable healthcare benefits for themselves and their families; safety initiatives that protect staff and patients; and other provisions that help solve understaffing," SEIU said in a Feb. 7 news release shared with Becker's.
5. The strike is slated to end at 7 a.m., Feb. 21. ...

Juniper House on National Historic Register 
K103, Portland, OR; 2/18/25 
The Juniper House is among Oregon's latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places ... for its statewide significance as Oregon's first end-of-life care home dedicated exclusively to residents with HIV/AIDS [May 1987] and for its substantial impact on statewide healthcare and LGBTQ+ history. ... In addition to caring for residents, the work of Juniper House included advocacy and educational efforts that were crucial in shaping public opinion and responses to HIV/AIDS.

Mayo Clinic Hospice to present improv show on end-of-life care at Marion Ross theater 
Albert Lea Tribune; 2/18/25 
In honor of Mayo Clinic Hospice celebrating 45 years of service to Southeast Minnesota, in collaboration with Danger Boat Productions, the Naeve Health Care Foundation, and the Mayo Clinic Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine, invites the community to attend “End-of-Life: Live and Unscripted.” The event will be held at the Marion Ross Theatre from 6 to 7 p.m. March 27, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. This unique improv show aims to bring the community together for an evening of laughter and learning. Attendees will gain insights into advanced care planning, important end-of-life care considerations and ways to support the community during end-of-life stages.
Editor's note: Though readers surely will not be able to attend, we post this to spark your collaborations for community engagement and education through the arts. 

[UK] An interview with Clinical Psychologist (retired) Johanne de Montigny, M.A.Ps. 
ehospice; interview between Dr. Stefanie Gingras and Johnne de Montigny; 2/14/25 
Ahead of her February 19, 2025 lecture entitled “What I’ve learned about accompaniment, death and bereavement: 29 years of psychological services at the heart of an MUHC care team (1986-2015)”, part of the McGill National Grand Rounds programme, Johanne de Montigny shared her thoughts with Program Director and palliative care physician Dr. Stéfanie Gingras.
Dr. Stéfanie Gingras (SG): How did you first become interested in the field of palliative care?
Johanne de Montigny (JdM): It was a very profound and sudden experience where I almost died that guided me in this choice. I survived a plane crash, in which 17 people (out of 24) died. After this event, I asked myself what I was going to do with my life. For me, that meant choosing a profession that would be meaningful. After returning to school to study psychology, I chose to become a palliative care psychologist. After being confronted with sudden death, I wanted to understand how people reacted when they learned that they were going to die, that they still had time, and how to live with it. ... In those moments, I remembered that before I died – because I thought I was going to die – the young flight attendant who, in the space of a minute before the crash, had managed to help us contain the shock and give us some hope. She told us, “Whatever happens, we’re together and we’re going to get through this together.” That one relational minute made all the difference. It enabled us, I believe, to survive psychically before dying physically. She was my first carer just before she died. ... As for the family, what was most striking for me was the realization that the end of life is a time of unparalleled intimacy. 
Editor's note: This rich life-reflection provides powerful insights in light of many recent plane tragedies.

[Netherlands, UK, Canada, Australia] The green ICU: how to interpret green? A multiple perspective approach 
Critical Care; by Elisabeth Smale, Heather Baid, Marko Balan, Forbes McGain, Scott McAlistar, Jan J. de Waele, Jan Carel Diehl, Erik van Raaij, Michel van Genderen, Dick Tibboel & Nicole Hunfeld; 2/18/25
Mitigating environmental impacts is an urgent challenge supported by (scientific) intensive care societies worldwide. However, making green choices without compromising high-quality care for critically ill patients may be challenging. ... To put this challenge of achieving quality care standards with sustainable use of resources into perspective, the current paper pinpoints a three-step approach towards a green ICU by (I) measuring environmental sustainability, (II) outlining strategies to improve sustainability and (III) elaborating on how to communicate results to create a synergy of sustainability initiatives within ICUs. 
Editor's note: With its focus on care for critically ill patients, how might this three-step approach be applied to hospice GIP settings?

Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you’re wasting your life. ~ Jackie Robinson
Honoring Black History Month 2025; February 20, First Day of MBA Spring Training 2025