Literature Review

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Caregiver-Reported Quality in Hospices Owned by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded CompaniesJAMA; by Alexander E. Soltoff, Mark Aaron Unruh, David G. Stevenson, Dio Kavalieratos, Robert Tyler Braun; 12/17/24The US hospice industry has shifted from not-for-profit to for-profit ownership models, producing concerns aboutcare quality... Hospices owned by private equity firms (PEFs) or publicly traded companies (PTCs) performed significantly worse across CAHPS measures relative to not-for-profit and non-PEF/PTC for-profit agencies... These findings raise questions as to how patients are affected when PEFs and PTCs own hospices and suggest the need for greater transparency and accountability of hospice ownership.Publisher's note: Also see related articles by these authors: Acquisitions of Hospice Agencies by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded Corporations, JAMA Internal Medicine, 8/21; Changes in Diagnoses and Site of Care for Patients Receiving Hospice Care From Agencies Acquired by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded Companies; JAMA Network Open, 9/23.

EverHeart Hospice expands and offers growth in the community Mercer County Outlook, Mercer County, OH; 12/19/24 EverHeart Hospice is thrilled to announce the opening of its newly expanded Inpatient Care Center. This significant milestone marks a new chapter in their commitment to providing compassionate care to patients and families experiencing life-limiting illnesses. The grand opening event, held in their new space on the 3rd floor of Wayne HealthCare, was a resounding success, bringing together community members, healthcare professionals, and local dignitaries. Attendees had the opportunity to tour the new space, which featured enhanced patient rooms, advanced medical equipment, and comfortable family areas designed to create a serene and supportive environment.

National Alliance for Care at Home and Transcend Strategy Group publish Rural American Hospice Insights Report National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 12/19/24The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) and Transcend Strategy Group published the results of new research exploring perceptions of hospice care among rural and small-town communities. This survey of 400 people is part of the Alliance’s commitment to health equity and to breaking down barriers to accessing hospice and home care through knowledge sharing, data collection, and collaborative discussion. Along with key research findings, the Rural American Hospice Insights report offers recommendations for hospice providers to help increase understanding of hospice care and help overcome barriers to access. Key findings and recommendations include:

Joining forces: 2024’s hospice investment, consolidation trendsHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 12/18/24 Hospice investment trends took myriad routes this year, seeing a few common threads occurring among nonprofit and for-profit entities that hint at where the market may be heading. The scope of hospice deals in 2024 encompassed joint ventures and collaborative affiliations in addition to acquisitions. Some of these transactions were fueled by value-based reimbursement and unmet needs among underserved patients. Rising demand, workforce growth and organizational culture are three significant pieces driving much of the recent hospice merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, according to Andrew Molosky, president and CEO of Chapters Health System, a large Florida-based nonprofit hospice provider. 

HopeWest concludes search for new CEO The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, CO; by Jace Dicola; 12/19/24 HopeWest, one of western Colorado’s largest hospice and palliative care providers, has selected a new Chief Executive Officer: Deneen Silva. Silva will replace current HopeWest CEO Cassie Mitchell, who announced her “bittersweet” departure for a job closer to family in mid-October. According to a HopeWest press release, Silva will begin the new position in February 2025. Mitchell will continue as CEO until then and remain with the organization through the end of March to ensure a smooth transition. ... HopeWest is not new territory for Silva, who has served as the organization’s Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Executive Director since September of this year. ... Previously, Silva served as a hospice executive director in Oregon and was a primary player in establishing southern Oregon’s first PACE program.

Sierra Hills assisted living employees in Cheyenne to strike over staffing issues' Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, WY; by Noah Zahn; 12/18/24 In March, a resident at Sierra Hills Assisted Living in Cheyenne fell and hurt their hip and shoulder. A CNA at the facility reported that the resident could not be moved without causing shoulder pain, noting that they had likely broken their shoulder and hip, according to a report from the Wyoming Department of Health. The resident was bed-bound, in “excruciating pain” and screamed for hours, which frightened the other residents. The CNA stated this was “the worst thing she had ever experienced.” At the time, the resident was one of six hospice patients at the assisted-living facility. Sierra Hills made hospice care available at the facility shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic. When hospice nurses were unavailable, the burden of care fell to the CNAs and RNs on staff. The CNA caring for this resident in March stated it was difficult to get hospice to respond on the weekends, saying that there was an 80% chance hospice would answer a phone call and a 50% chance a hospice nurse would come to the facility. Six days later, the resident died. Editor's note: Click on the title's link to continue reading. This strike--reportedly related to staffing--appears to be related extra responsibilities on the staff, because of the hospice's limited responses on weekends. This is 2024; not 1974. How does this scenario relate to your hospice triage, hours, staffing, incident reports, community partnerships? 

Impact of transition to home palliative care on patient support and prescriptions Physician's Weekly; 12/19/24 The following is a summary of “Evaluating the Benefits of Transition to Home Palliative Care: Pharmacological Prescriptions, Social, and Psychological Support Post-Referral,” published in the November 2024 issue of Primary Care by Ribeiro et al. Community palliative care teams provide at-home care based on referral criteria that prioritize functional status and clinical complexity. They focus on patients with limited benefit from continued hospital care. Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the quality of referrals and the transition to community palliative care teams. ... They concluded that most complex patients were successfully monitored and died at home, with hospital deaths reserved for exceptional cases. There was no significant difference in the biopsychosocial approach between patients followed by various palliative care teams, indicating varying approaches. 

Mom, 26, dies days after choosing to enter hospice following 13 years of living with kidney failure (exclusive) People; by Zoey Lyttle; 12/18/24 Though she left behind a 4-year-old daughter, Sara Long told PEOPLE her feelings about death were "more certain" than they'd ever been when she started end-of-life care. “I think a lot of people spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to have a good life. And don't get me wrong, I did that too,” Sara Long, 26, told PEOPLE over the phone just shy of a week before she died at the hospice facility into which she had just recently moved. ... Long said she’s spent “the last two or three years” deliberating about her idea of a “good death.” She decided that it wasn’t just about how she would experience these last expected few weeks of her life in hospice. What Long really wanted was to be surrounded by her most precious loved ones — including her husband Justin, 32, and their 4-year-old daughter Riley Jean — but she didn't want them to watch her die while intubated and attached to hospital equipment as she was half of her life. “I just feel like if I pushed it any harder, then I was going to get to a place where it was going to be outside of my control,” said the mom of one. “I was going to wind up dying in a hospital alone, afraid, full of tubes, scared. My daughter wouldn't be able to be part of the process, and it would just be really lonely, and that's really not the goal.” Detached from the familiar yet foreign medical equipment, Long told PEOPLE she was freed from fear knowing she would only survive another couple of weeks in hospice. (She died with a week less than anticipated.) Editor's note: This another follow-up post to this profound young woman's story that we post on 

Torrie Fields on palliative care and serious illness innovations Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux; 12/18/24 In this episode of TCNtalks, host Chris Comeaux interviews Torrie Fields, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, TFA Analytics, about her journey in the field of palliative care.  Torrie shares her insights on the importance of palliative care, innovations in reimbursement models, and the lessons learned from implementing palliative care programs in California and Hawaii. The conversation highlights the urgency for hospice organizations to adapt to changing healthcare landscapes by innovating in the serious illness and palliative care space and the need for effective partnerships with payers. Torrie emphasizes the importance of articulating the unique value propositions of palliative care services and offers strategies for hospice leaders to thrive in the future.

Be yourself. Who else is better qualified? ~ Frank J. Giblin, Professor of Biomedical Sciences

Holly Ball raises over $1,000,000 in its 50th year WJON News AM-1240 FM-95.3, St. Cloud, MN; by Paul Habstritt; 12/16/24 An annual fundraising event in St. Cloud was a huge success. CentraCare's 50th Annual Holly Ball raised over $1-million dollars to support CentraCare Hospice, Coborn Cancer Center, and Child Advocacy Center. CentraCare Foundation Vice President Holly Gulden says Holly Ball was an incredible success this year and they are so grateful to the guests, sponsors, volunteers, and donors' commitment to helping CentraCare support local health care. The theme for this year's event was "Seasons of Love." Over, 1,200 people attended Holly Ball on December 7th at the River's Edge Convention Center, and planning is already underway for 2025.

Cherish Hospice celebrates new location in Springfield Springfield News-Sun; by Brooke Spurlock; 12/17/24 Cherish Hospice celebrated its new headquarters location at 1929 E. High St. in Springfield [OH] on Tuesday. Cherish officials said that since 2021, they have served hundreds of patients in Southwest Ohio, with a staff of more than 25 caregivers and a volunteer program. “This is a great symbol of us, how we’ve grown,” said Jason Casto, administrator for Cherish Hospice. “This is a ribbon cutting event to celebrate our growth and the fact that we plan to remain here in Springfield as a staple.”