Literature Review

Further psychometric evaluation of the eight-item Hospice Philosophy Scale: Results from a national sample of interdisciplinary hospice clinicians Journal of Applied Gerontology; by Todd D Becker, Sarah E Clem, Paul Sacco, John G Cagle, Joan K Davitt, Nancy Kusmaul; 7/20/24 online ahead of print This study examined the psychometric properties of the eight-item Hospice Philosophy Scale (HPS-8) through confirmatory factor analysis; differential item functioning by age, gender, race, and professional discipline; and internal consistency reliability. ... Our results support the HPS-8 as a valid and reliable measure of attitudes toward the hospice philosophy of care in hospice clinicians.

The home-based experiences of palliative and hospice care for children and caregivers (EXPERIENCE) Measure: evaluation of psychometric propertiesJournal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Jackelyn Y Boyden, Mary Ersek, Kimberley A Widger, Judy A Shea, Chris Feudtner; 6/24Home-based pediatric palliative and hospice care (PPHC) supports the hundreds of thousands of children with serious illness and complex care needs and their families in the home setting. The EXPERIENCE Measure is a tool with evidence for reliable and valid scores to evaluate family-reported home-based PPHC experiences at the time care is being received.

Do Good – Recklessly!

Medicare-Covered Services Near the End of Life in Medicare Advantage vs Traditional MedicareJAMA Health Forum; by Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Stacy M Fischer, Alicia I Arbaje, Marcelo Coca Perraillon, Christine D Jones, Daniel Polsky; 7/24Financial incentives in Medicare Advantage (MA), the managed care alternative to traditional Medicare (TM), were designed to reduce overutilization. For patients near the end of life (EOL), MA incentives may reduce potentially burdensome care and encourage hospice but could also restrict access to costly but necessary services. MA enrollment was associated with lower rates of potentially burdensome and facility-based care near the EOL. Greater use of home-based care may improve quality of care but may also leave patients without adequate assistance after hospitalization.

Hospice House of Williamsburg halts admissions for 3 months during renovations WHRO; by Nick McNamara; 7/18/24 Hospice House of Williamsburg is pausing admissions while the facility enters the final phase of renovations. Hospice House has provided end-of-life care and support for upwards of 150 guests annually since its facility opened in 2002. More than 3,000 people have stepped through its Powhatan Parkway doors in that time. And it did it all free of charge, according to Executive Director Brandon Randall. ... To meet that mission, the nonprofit relies on community donations to the tune of $1 million per year. Donations are also what made Hospice House’s renovations possible. ... The final phase of renovations starts in July and is expected to be complete in 12 weeks. During that time, staff will continue offering bereavement support services.

Executive Personnel Changes - 7/26/24

Southern California doctor defrauded over $3.2 million from MedicareKTLA; by Vivian Chow; 7/24/24A Southern California doctor was convicted of defrauding Medicare out of millions of dollars through a multi-year scheme. Victor Contreras, 68, of Santa Paula, worked for two Pasadena hospices, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. From July 2016 to February 2019, Contreras and an accomplice, Juanita Antenor, 61, worked to defraud Medicare by submitting nearly $4 million in fraudulent claims for hospice services, officials said. The hospice companies — Arcadia Hospice Provider Inc. and Saint Mariam Hospice Inc. — were controlled by Antenor.

[Michigan] Local PACE center in the works WCMU Michigan News Group, Alpena, MI; by Courtney Boyd; 7/24/24 Construction has begun for a new senior service center in Alpena, which will provide services in-house and to residents homes as needed. The project has been in the works since 2023. The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a non-profit organization whose goal is to provide the “highest quality of life” for seniors while allowing them to stay independent as long as possible. According to their website, pacemichigan.com, it serves as an alternative to nursing homes by providing seniors with their medical, social, and physical needs. ... [This] new center will be the 15th in the state and cover five counties: Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, Alcona and parts of Iosco.

“At home, even the walls help”: Exploring the palliative care needs, experiences, preferences, and hopes of older people with serious illness in Ukraine (July 2024) OCHA Services; by HelpAge; 7/24/24 Older Ukrainians living with serious illness face significant concerns and challenges within the political, environmental, and social context of the ongoing armed conflict, according to a new report published by HelpAge International, in partnership with HelpAge USA. ... The report highlights an innovative project funded by GlobalGiving which provides palliative care services in Ukraine. It underscores the profound challenges faced by older people due to the combined toll of disease and the ongoing war, and offers key recommendations to enhance their care and support. “Our findings reveal the unimaginable burden faced by older people living with serious illnesses in the midst of war. We are deeply grateful for the generous support of GlobalGiving, which has allowed us to highlight these issues and work to ensure that older people’s needs and preferences are included in healthcare system planning during humanitarian crises,” said Cindy Cox-Roman, CEO and president of HelpAge USA.

Can Artificial Intelligence speak for incapacitated patients at the end of life? JAMA Internal Medicine; by Teva D. Brender, MD; Alexander K. Smith, MD; Brian L. Block, MD; 7/22/24 Viewpoint: Imagine meeting with the daughter of a critically ill patient. The patient (her mother) had a cardiac arrest, is in multiorgan failure, and cannot communicate. The daughter is uncomfortable making decisions because they are estranged and never discussed what her mother would want in this type of situation. The patient has no advance directive or alternative surrogate. Now imagine this meeting taking place in a future where the mother’s medical visits have been audio recorded. Furthermore, you have access to an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can identify and play excerpts of the mother talking about what mattered most to her. You and the daughter listen to these recordings together. Then you share that another algorithm, trained on 7 million patient records, predicts that the mother’s chance of walking again is less than 5%. ...

Over a hundred motorcyclists parade through Twin Falls to honor local hospice patient KMVT-11, Twin Falls, ID; by Cole Quinn; 7/22/24 The roar of over one hundred motorbikes swept through Twin Falls on Sunday afternoon. Motorcyclists from as far away as Boise and Pocatello joined in for a parade, all dedicated to one man. Thomas Willie is a 74-year-old hospice patient with Harrison’s Hope Hospice Family in Twin Falls, a non-profit with a wish program for their patients. ... “It was one hundred percent texting, I think there was some social media, it was one hundred percent a who-you-know sort of thing,” said Devin Bernal, Director of Clinical Services. “Our team in Meridian and our team here in Twin Falls they just got busy and started reaching out to people.”

How home-based care’s leaders foster a multi-generational workforce Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 7/23/24 In order for the home-based care space to benefit from the demographic tailwinds coming its way, it needs to embrace emerging leaders who are bringing in fresh ideas. VNS Health, Andwell Health Partners and UVA Continuum Home Health are just a few of the companies that are throwing their support behind the next generation of leaders. ... Formerly Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice, Andwell is a nonprofit operator that offers home health, hospice, palliative, behavioral health and pediatric care services. The company employs over 500 workers across all 16 counties in Maine. Along with cultivating the next crop of leaders, companies are figuring out how best to work with a multi-generational workforce.