Literature Review

As drugstores close, more people are left in ‘pharmacy deserts’ The San Diego Union-Tribune; by The New York Times Service Syndicate; 12/31/24 In July, a notice appeared on the front door of The Drug Store, the only pharmacy in rural Kernville, in Kern County. After 45 years, the proprietor wrote regretfully, it would be closing in four days and transferring customers’ prescriptions to a Rite Aid about 12 miles away. ... Its closing created practical concerns. “We are an aging population,” Gordon, 69, said of the townspeople. ... Now, those services require a 20- to 30-minute drive to the Rite Aid, which is in Lake Isabella and which Gordon described as understaffed for its growing number of customers. “On any given day, there’s a line of 10 to 15 people waiting at the pickup window,” she said. Unlike The Drug Store, the Rite Aid doesn’t deliver. That leaves Kernville residents in what researchers call a pharmacy desert, defined as living more than 10 miles from the nearest pharmacy in rural areas, 2 miles away in suburban communities or 1 mile away in urban neighborhoods. Nearly 30% of pharmacies in the United States closed between 2010 and 2021, according to a new study in the journal Health Affairs. 

Where 74 health system leaders are focused to prepare for 2025 Becker's Hospital Review; Mariah Muhammad; 12/23/24 Becker's asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share the areas they're focusing on for 2025. The 74 executives featured in this article are all speaking at the Becker's Healthcare 15th Annual Meeting on April 28 - May 1, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. ...  Question: What are the top headwinds you're preparing for in 2025? Editor's note: Click on the title's link for this lengthy list. Key themes include (but are not limited to):

Why 2025 will be a recovery year for providers' finances Modern Healthcare; by Caroline Hudson; 12/19/24 2025 is expected to be a recovery year for hospitals and health systems' finances. Providers’ financial performance has vastly improved since the COVID-19 pandemic stunted the healthcare industry a few years ago. In 2024, many hospitals and health systems benefited from higher patient volumes, wider operating margins and more favorable financial markets that drew investment returns. ... Here’s a look at five trends to expect in the new year and how they could affect financial performance.

‘Change in air’ for senior living and care industry in 2025 McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 12/20/24 “Change is in the air” heading into 2025 for the senior living and care industry, particularly evidenced in regulatory shifts, dementia care, technology expansion and market rebounds, according to the Health Dimensions Group’s annual white paper outlining key issues expected to affect providers in the future.

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind. ~ Neil Gaiman

5 Leadership trends that will help to shape 2025Forbes; by Sally Percy; 12/19/24In our fast-moving world it’s impossible to know what next year will bring. But here are five important trends for leaders to look out for in 2025:

Today's 10-Second Question (Dec 2024)What hospice or palliative care stories or trends do you predict we'll see in 2025? Themes might include clinical, quality, regulatory, reimbursement, ethics, heartwarming, etc. (Click the link above to participate! Responses will be shared in January.)

The year in review: Influential people who died in 2024 AP International - Chicago's Very Own WGN 9; by Bernard McGhee; 12/30/24 ... [Jimmy] Carter was the nation’s longest-lived president when he died Sunday at age 100. But he was just one of many noteworthy people who died in 2024. ... The year also brought the deaths of several rights activists, including the reverends Cecil L. “Chip” Murray and James Lawson Jr.; Dexter Scott King; Hydeia Broadbent; and David Mixner. Business leaders who died this year include: Indian industrialist Ratan Tata, The Home Depot co-founder Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, financier Jacob Rothschild and Daiso retail chain founder Hirotake Yano. ... [Noteworthy] sports figures who died include: basketball players Jerry West and Dikembe Mutombo; baseball players Willie Mays and Fernando Valenzuela; and gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi. The music industry lost a titan in producer Quincy Jones, who died in November. ... Here is a roll call of some noteworthy figures who died in 2024 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available): [Click on the title's link to read more.]

2024’s most read palliative care news stories Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 12/20/24 “Access” was the watchword in the palliative care community during 2024, as providers sought more ways to reach the right patients at the right time. However, the momentum toward greater access is slow, even though researchers, payers, providers and regulators increasingly recognized the value of palliative when it comes to improved quality and health care expenditures. The following are the most-read Palliative Care News articles of 2024. This year’s top coverage spanned a wide range of payment, legislative and research trends impacting the future delivery of palliative care.

The Hastings Center’s 2024 highlights The Hastings Center; 12/26/24  It has been a successful 2024 thanks to our community of readers and supporters who trust The Hastings Center to illuminate and thoughtfully explore ethical issues in health, science, and technology. Here are some of the past year’s highlights, with a personal message from President Vardit Ravitsky.

Big senior living stories of 2024McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 12/23/24Here’s a look at some of the big stories involving senior living providers that captured the attention of McKnight’s Senior Living readers this year.

SPECIAL EDITION: New Year's Eve 2024For December 31st  and January 1st we look back summary posts about 2024 and projected themes for 2025. May we wisely learn from the past, be present in the present, and forge out the future. We thank you for the hospice and palliative care you provide to our world. Hospice & Palliative Care Today - Cordt Kassner, Publisher, Joy Berger, Editor in Chief, and Cathy Wagner, Assistant Editor.