Literature Review

MIDEO Systems Inc. secures contract with city of Austin for innovative end-of-life care solution BBN, by Waqas Arain; 2/13/24MIDEO Systems Inc., a groundbreaking platform offering video-based advance care planning services, has secured a contract with the City of Austin. The partnership aims to streamline and digitize the process of documenting patients' medical preferences, making it more accessible and understandable for medical professionals.

Changes in hospice care experiences during the COVID-19 pandemicRand, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Maria DeYoreo, Rebecca Anhang Price, Ann C. Haas, Anagha Alka Tolpadi, Joan M. Teno, Marc N. Elliott; 2/12/24Demand for hospice and palliative care services increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospices strove to meet this demand despite staffing shortages and visitation restrictions that sometimes prevented family members and hospice staff from visiting patients in institutional settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals. We examine how the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced the characteristics of patients receiving hospice care, the settings in which they received care, and their care experiences using national data from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey. The survey is completed by bereaved family caregivers following the death of the hospice patient, and is the national standard for assessing patient- and family-centeredness of hospice care.

Chief exec leaves PeaceHealth medical groupBecker's Hospital Review, by Molly Gamble; 2/12/24PeaceHealth Medical Group Chief Executive Scott Foster, MD, is resigning from the post. Dr. Foster's last day with the Vancouver, Wash.-based medical group will be March 8, according to an announcement shared by PeaceHealth Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Growth Officer Darrin Montalvo.

U.S. News & World Report: How to choose a hospice provider and questions to askU.S. News & World Report, by Claire Wolters; 2/14/24Hospice is a critical piece of end-of-life care for many families. Here's how to determine if hospice care is a good fit for you. [Includes "Questions to Ask Yourself," "Questions to Ask Your Hospice Provider," and "How to Choose a Hospice Provider."]Editor's Note: This high profile article provides concise information and questions for the public. Do your marketing materials address these questions? For CMS hospice CAHPS and HHS quality ratings, examine the National Hospice Locator, which provides information about every known hospice in the United States.

Patients with cancer underuse hospice care, often because of disparitiesOncology Nursing Society Voice, by Elisa Becze BA, ELS, Editor; 2/13/24Most patients who die from cancer do not use hospice at the time of their death, ONS member and oncology nurse researcher Dena D. Shore, PhD, RN, OCN®, CNE, reported in an article published in ... the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON). ... Shore conducted an extensive literature search for studies of hospice use in U.S. patients with cancer published from 2017–2023. ... According to her literature review, cancer-related, ethnic and racial, and geographic disparities are frequently involved in delayed or nonuse of hospice care.

$25k donation to Hospice of the Piedmont from the Countybank FoundationIndependent Banker, by William Atkinson; 2/12/24Countybank's Half-Century of Charitable Giving ...  One recent donation of $25,000 from the Countybank Foundation went to Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont, a community nonprofit network of care that provides specialized healthcare for those living with advanced illnesses. ... “When children lose someone they care about, it affects their entire life: their nutrition, their sleep, their relationships, their behavior and their schoolwork,” Charlene Kish, CEO of Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont, said in a statement. “With financial support from organizations like Countybank and Greenwood Capital, we are able to provide education and support to both the child and the parents.” 

Hospice of the Golden Isles receives Auxiliary donation The Brunswick News, by Whitney Long; 2/14/24At the recent annual meeting and luncheon for the Auxiliary Hospice of the Golden Isles (HGI), ... [the] meeting concluded with a donation and presentation check for $150,000 to HGI. This donation was made possible by fundraising efforts from Open Homes Open Hearts neighborhood fundraisers and from the 2023 Wine, Women & Shoes Golden Isles yearly fundraiser.

The Last Portrait: Local photo exhibition captures different takes on dyingUtica Observer Dispatch, by Amy Neff Roth; 2/9/24... The 26 black-and-white photos, taken by local photographer Mark DiOrio, all capture moments in the life of someone who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.  “I wanted to photograph them because they’ve been given news that nobody wants to hear,” DiOrio explained. “They’ve been given the news that it’s going to be their time soon. And when you’re given that kind of news, you have choices to make on how you handle it. I felt that these people, what they had to say and the emotions that they communicated in that moment were invaluable.”

The importance of art in a “good death”Hyperallergic, by Brianna L. Hernandez; 2/11/24... Resham Mantri and Eliana Yoneda are two artists and death doulas who are collaborators and founders of Community Deathcare Digest, an evolving collection of art projects and death cafes, as well as a bi-weekly newsletter about death and care. The newsletter gathers resources and educational content, and coordinates mutual aid for death rituals and funeral needs.

From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life. – Arthur Ashe

There’s no place like home — when you die McKnights Home Care, by Liza Berger, McKnights Editor; 2/9/24My dad died last week. I am still processing the event, which now ranks among the hardest, most surreal experiences of my life. As difficult as it is, I, my three siblings and mom take comfort in two things (that may hardly surprise McKnight’s Home Care readers): He died fast and he died at home.