Literature Review

Three Oaks Hospice reportedly begins sales processHospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/16/24Dallas-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.

Could this ‘beautiful story’ be the story of the year?McKnight's Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 9/16/24When 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.

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

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.

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.]

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. ...

YoloCares: Ten years in ... and we're just getting startedThe Davis Enterprise [CA]; by Craig Dresang; 9/14/24A longtime colleague who runs a large healthcare organization in the Washington, D.C., area recently asked me, “What is the most valuable thing you’ve fostered in your organization?” Needing no time to think, I immediately responded: Culture and stick-to-itiveness... I will share the guiding principles that helped shape the last ten years and will light the path for the next decade:

As families searched, a Texas medical school cut up their loved ones NBC News, Dallas, TX; by Mike Hixenbaugh, John Schuppe, Susan Carroll, Catherine Allen, Bryan Gallion, Liz Kreutz and Nigel Chiwaya; 9/16/24 ... In the name of scientific advancement, clinical education and fiscal expediency, the bodies of the destitute in the Dallas-Fort Worth region have been routinely collected from hospital beds, nursing homes and homeless encampments and used for training or research without their consent — and often without the approval of any survivors, an NBC News investigation found. ... For months as NBC News reported this article, Health Science Center officials defended their practices, arguing that using unclaimed bodies was essential for training future doctors. But on Friday, after reporters shared detailed findings of this investigation, the center announced it was immediately suspending its body donation program and firing the officials who led it. The center said it was also hiring a consulting firm to investigate the program’s operations.

Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care is primed for continued success 9/13/24; Business Wire - Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care; by Lisa Simon; 9/13/24 Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care, the leading end-of-life care company, is affirming its commitment to growing its four Ohio locations in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, Cincinnati and Dayton along with two others, one outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and one in Memphis, Tennessee. “We are committed to building our remaining locations and we have the depth of talent and proven standards for the highest quality care and the most time spent bedside, including attended deaths, compared with any other hospice. This is an opportunity for Crossroads to reach its highest potential.” That’s after selling five locations in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Georgia to Spartanburg, SC-headquartered Agape Care Group, a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners, earlier this week. Crossroads had been considering a strategic sale of some locations for a number of reasons. Now company leaders are viewing the future of the 29-year-old leader in hospice and palliative care with enthusiasm as they become a more streamlined company with a smaller geographic footprint. “The potential for innovation has never been higher,” said Crossroads CEO and Co-Founder Perry Farmer. “We are committed to building our remaining locations and we have the depth of talent and proven standards for the highest quality care and the most time spent bedside, including attended deaths, compared with any other hospice." ... COO and Co-Founder Clayton Farmer agreed while acknowledging how entrenched Crossroads is in the markets where it operates. “We want our valued referral partners in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee to know we are here to continue serving their patients and families and we will strive to continue to beat all national averages on key hospice industry metrics.” 

The patient care experience on full display Modern Healthcare; by Mary Ellen Podmolik; 9/13/24 Art exhibits can promote a visceral reaction. The one that just opened along a hallway of windows on Thomas Jefferson University’s health sciences campus certainly does just that. The installation includes five hospital beds, life-sized mannequins inside large pill bottles, personal possessions and deeply personal quotes from five unnamed people who’ve gone through life-threatening trauma — a miscarriage, a pulmonary embolism, a wait for a kidney transplant, a case of undiagnosed paralysis and cancer. The Philadelphia artist behind the exhibit, Pepón Osorio, is the cancer patient. “Convalescence” is a complex and compelling exhibit of patient pain, reliance on drugs and inequitable care — part of the patient experience that can get lost in the daily tussle between providers and payers. “It is a critique of the healthcare system,” Megan Voeller, director of health humanities at the university, told me.

The 9 college majors that lead to the most fulfilling careers ... NBC 7 San Diego, CA; by Kamaron McNair; 9/14/24 If you want your degree to help you land a fulfilling job, consider studying music therapy. The medical and therapeutic fields are among the college majors helping graduates get jobs that make the world a better place, according to graduates surveyed in a recent Payscale report.24/7 San Diego news stream: Watch NBC 7 free wherever you are Alumni with bachelor's degrees in music therapy are most likely to do this kind of fulfilling work, with 95% of degree-holders saying their work makes the world a better place, Payscale finds. Music therapy programs cover coursework in music, music therapy, science and psychology, according to the American Music Therapy Association. ... Music therapists may work in traditional settings, offering services to clients working through physical disabilities or mental health issues. People in hospice care, substance abuse programs and cancer treatment centers have also benefited from music therapist visits, according to the AMTA.Editor's note: Click here for facts and descriptions about "Music Therapy in Hospice Care," by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). To recruit a certified music therapist for hospice (or other setting), visit AMTA's Job Hotline.  

Here's what for-profit systems are watching as 2025 approaches Modern Healthcare; by Caroline Hudson; 9/9/24 Large for-profit healthcare systems are investing in new facilities to meet patient demand and navigating changes in reimbursement rules to ensure those care sites remain stable. Executives from HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, Community Health Systems and Universal Health Services joined insurers, pharmaceutical companies and others in the spotlight ... at the annual Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference in Boston. ... Here are five takeaways from the for-profits' discussions.

[UK] End-of-life care demand for dementia patients set to surge, study warns Jersey Evening Post, United Kingdom; by UK News; 9/16/24 The number of people living with dementia who require end-of-life care is set to “substantially increase” in the coming years, according to a study. ... Researchers said: “Previous projections of the number of people with dementia who will have palliative care needs in England and Wales were based only on the number of people who died with dementia, and did not take into account people living with dementia. Thus, it is likely that the prevalence of palliative care needs among people with dementia in England and Wales has been considerably underestimated. Our analysis shows that even if dementia incidence declines between 2018 and 2040, the number of people living with dementia in England and Wales who have palliative care needs will increase substantially by 2040, reaching levels far greater than previous estimates based on mortality data.”Editor's note: How do these projection processes in the UK compare or contrast with the USA data you use? For more immediate information about current resources, click here for the Alzheimer's Assocation "Support for People Living With Dementia" and click here for