Literature Review

Golfers swing for a cause raising $15,000 for local nonprofit Avow Cares; press release by Renee Stoll; 5/28/24 Hadinger Flooring hosted its 17th Annual Classic Golf Tournament on May 9, 2024, at Tiburon Golf Club, raising $15,000 for local nonprofit Avow. ... The event hosted 150 golfers from various regions around the United States. ... Avow is a nonprofit provider of hospice, palliative care and grief support services. 

NAHC, NHPCO to merge, Dombi to retire McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/23/24 The National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization are on track to begin merging by July. In a related development, NAHC’s president William Dombi disclosed that he intends to retire by the end of 2024. “Both boards have authorized an affiliation agreement; it’s fully drafted,” Ken Albert, chair of NAHC’s board of directors, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse in an interview. “We’re looking to transition July 1 of this year. The transition board has been selected. I’ll serve as chair of that transition board; [NHPCO board chair] Melinda Gruber will serve as vice chair. Board members have been identified, and then that next six months from July to December will kind of be the operational integration. We’re in the process of recruiting a new CEO right now, and then all the tech-side, the backend, office-end, that’s going on right now.” Albert added that neither Bill Dombi or Ben Marcantonio, NHPCO’s chief executive officer, would be eligible to lead the new organization.

To guard themselves from sanctions, home health agencies need to invest in QAPI programs, NAHC experts say McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/22/24 To protect themselves against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ compliance enforcement mechanisms, home care providers must focus on quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) programs, experts at the National Association for Home Care & Hospice said during a webinar. ... Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released updates to its enforcement remedies and alternative sanctions for home health and hospice agencies. These remedies and sanctions may be imposed in lieu of termination for providers with condition-level deficiencies. They include civil money penalties, payment suspensions, temporarily-appointed management, directed plans of correction or in-service training.

I can't change you and you can't change me, but together we can work to change the world!  – Germany Kent

PACS Group subsidiaries to acquire 53 long-term care properties across 8 states McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/24/24 PACS Group is on an accelerated growth trajectory since going public earlier this month. ... The Farmington, UT-based holding company announced plans Thursday for subsidiaries to acquire the operations of 53 skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities across eight western states. The properties currently are being operated by Prestige Care or Prestige Senior Living. The company anticipates that the transactions will close in the third quarter. PACS Group already is one of the country’s largest nursing home operators. Founded in 2013, the company’s portfolio includes more than 200 facilities, mostly SNFs but also some assisted living communities.

Early talks about governance essential for nonprofit hospice affiliations Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 5/28/24 Nonprofit hospices can combine their businesses in a number of ways, including traditional acquisitions, board member substitutions and other types of affiliations. However, member substitutions are becoming more common, according to Meg Pekarske, partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell. While this model offers benefits it can also become a political minefield that can sink an affiliation. ...

56 percent willing to dip into retirement savings to be family caregiver: surveyMcKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/23/24 Fifty-six percent of Americans participating in a new survey said they would be willing to take a loan from their own retirement fund to become a caregiver for someone else. Results of the Nationwide Retirement Institute 2024 Long-Term Care Survey were released Tuesday. The research, conducted online March 12 through April 2 by The Harris Poll on behalf of Nationwide, surveyed 1,334 adults aged 28 or more years who had household incomes of at least $75,000. Dipping into retirement savings can make a serious dent into long-term finances. Forty-two percent of the respondents said they believe that being a family caregiver likely will use up the money they had planned for the future, and 43% of the total said that they are afraid that caregiving expenses will keep them from ever retiring.Editor's Note: Pair this with another article in today's newsletter, "The real cost of cancer: 49% of patients carry $5K+ in medical debt." 

Hospice CAHPS scores updated 5/22/24CMS CAHPS® website; multiple updates posted 5/22/24 CMS has posted numerous CAHPS® Hospice Survey updates. Click on the title's link to access the CMS site. Click on "Care Compare Reporting Updates" or the following 5/22/24 updates:

Hospice of the Red River Valley awarded $2 million grantNewsDakota; by Steve Urness; 5/25/24The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Medical Services Division, has awarded a substantial grant of up to $2 million to Hospice of the Red River Valley. This grant is designated for the expansion of home and community-based services to Medicaid members residing in under served regions of North Dakota.

Kaiser physicians vote to unionizeBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/24/24Resident and fellow physicians employed by Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union. Nearly all participating voters (99%) cast ballots in favor of unionization, according to a May 23 CIR/SEIU news release. The National Labor Relations Board has not yet certified the results. Pending certification, the total percentage of residents represented by CIR/SEIU in California will reach 82%, according to the union.

Would an 'unbossed' culture work in healthcare? Becker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley; 5/24/24 The workforce has seen an influx of changes and trends come and go in a post-pandemic world, with more employees taking the reins and standing up for new, flexible ways to get their jobs done. One such trend catching on lately is the "unbossed culture." The term describes a work environment wherein management assumes more of a leadership role than a supervisor role. The hands-off approach makes for fewer check-ins, allowing employees to have more ownership over how they tackle and complete their tasks. While this new workforce trend spreads across multiple industries, the glaring question remains, "Would an unbossed culture work in healthcare?" 

Caring for an aging US population—the good news and the bad newsJAMA Health Forum; by Stuart M. Butler; 5/23/24The US is a rapidly aging society. The proportion of the population older than the retirement age is increasing, and more people will reach very old age. The proportion of people older than 65 years of age is projected to increase from 18% today to 23% by 2054, with the number of individuals older than 100 years of age quadrupling. This trend poses enormous challenges for the health care system and the social structure of the US. For instance, aging is associated with loss of social connections, which is linked to accelerating mental and physical deterioration, including dementia. Caring for very old people with dementia and other chronic conditions is costly, compounded by a desperate shortage of care workers. In 2023, the yearly average cost was more than $116 000 for a private room at a nursing home and the cost was more than $75 000 for a home health aide. Affordable housing options continue to be in short supply. Community and health service organizations are bracing for a major increase in older people experiencing homeless, especially among those with dementia and mental illness. An increasing number of older people may have to move into Medicaid-financed nursing homes as their private resources are depleted, which would also place increasing strain on state and federal budgets. However, there is some good news regarding innovations in health care, technology, and housing...

NYCHA, HPD and HDC celebrate completion of nearly 200 units of senior housing in Bed-Stuy New York Law School; by Veronica Rose; 5/28/24 On May 23, 2024, the New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation celebrated the completion of the Atrium at Sumner project, a new eleven-story residence for seniors. ... Of these 190 units, 57 apartments have been reserved for seniors who formerly experienced homelessness, and 132 apartments are available to senior households at 50 percent area median income or less. ... On-site social services will be provided through Selfhelp’s Active Services for Aging Model with voluntary social work support for individual residents and a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE Center) on the ground floor open to residents.