Literature Review

Sioux City’s first Caregiver Olympics celebrates home care KCAU Sioux City; by Alyssa Tatsch; 11/7/24 November is National Care at Home Month, and to celebrate, several local healthcare organizations came together to participate in Sioux City’s first Caregiver Olympics. “I was watching the Olympics this summer and I was thinking of something fun to do with our caregiving team,” Visiting Angels owner and director Kristen Hammerstrom said. “Then I was at a meeting with some of the other [home care organizations] and I floated the idea to them and they said ‘that would be awesome.’” In honor of National Hospice and Palliative Care month, nine Sioux City caregiving teams went head-to-head competing in a relay race with specialized in-home care tasks. ... “As much as it is difficult to be a caregiver, it is also difficult for these employees too to help and take care of families, so this is just our light heartfelt fun moment to help people,” Hospice of Siouxland marketing & fund director Kim Wilson said. Despite the friendly competitive atmosphere, all nine teams shared one common goal. “While we might be competitors, at the end of the day our main goal is to care for patients and make sure that our patients and their loved ones are taken care of. That is our main goal,” Wilson said.

Cynder Sinclair: Calling nonprofits and donors to prepare for Giving Tuesday [Dec 3] Noozhawk, Santa Barbara, CA; by Cynder Sinclair; 11/7/24 Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the internationally recognized day to contribute to charity, is upon us. It’s time for all nonprofits and donors to get ready. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday invites us to improve our community by donating to causes that resonate with us. ... Preparing for Giving Tuesday can significantly boost a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. Here are some key steps to get ready:

Column: Norbert Peiker, architect and marathon runner finishes his life’s raceRichland Source; by Carl Hunnell; 11/7/24Norbert Peiker was never a cancer survivor. He was a cancer thriver. And when he left this earth Oct. 28 at the age of 84, it wasn’t because he finally lost a heroic 28-year battle with bone cancer. Losing was never in his mentality during his long and accomplished life. Nor was it a part of his death. Cancer took his body. It never touched his mind. Or his heart. I first met Norbert Peiker during his brilliant tenure as a long-distance runner when I came to Mansfield in 1990 as a reporter at the Mansfield News Journal. ... Norbert then called me each evening to tell me how many miles he had run that day. ... He covered the distance in 12 days, averaging 38 miles a day, and raising $50,000 along the way. [Through the years he] completed 47 marathons, including five Boston Marathons. [That] would merely scratch the surface of Norbert Peiker, the man. ... In September, however, he told me, “My Friend, fighting pain, immobility and mental stress for years, my focus deserves to be reconnection with quality of life; therefore, I have decided on joining hospice home care. With a strong loving family on my mind I’m truly blessed.” [Click on the title's link to read this inspiring story.]

Pennsylvania LPNs will now be able to make death pronouncements Tri-State Alert; 11/4/24 A bill sponsored by Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-27) was signed into law this week to enable licensed practical nurses (LPNs) working in a hospice setting to make death pronouncements. “I am grateful for the governor’s support of this important legislation,” Culver said. “LPNs are with patients and their families until the moment of death, providing essential care during emotional times. Allowing LPNs to make death pronouncements, which was previously only a function of doctors, RNs, physician assistants, and coroners, can alleviate wait times that grieving families often experience.” The bill was amended in the House of Representatives to also provide needed clarification on the waiver of birth and death certificate fees for members of the armed services, veterans, and their families. The law now outlines specifically whose documents qualify for the waiver, as well as applicants and scenarios for which the fee may be waived. 

Asian American diversity and representation in the health care workforce, 2007 to 2022JAMA Network Open; Michelle Ko, MD, PhD; Kevin Dinh, MS; Sarah Iv, BS; Monica Hahn, MD; 10/24In this serial cross-sectional study of American Community Survey 1-year estimates from 2007 to 2022, Filipinx Americans had consistently high representation among registered nurses and nursing assistants; Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese Americans predominated among physicians, whereas Hmong and Cambodian American representation in medicine remained substantially below general population representation. Bangladeshi and Chinese American representation grew among home health aides over the study period. These findings suggest that aggregation of Asian American subgroups into a single racialized group erases substantial inequities in health workforce diversity.

Morphomics, survival, and metabolites in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancerJAMA Network Open; Valerie Gunchick, MS; Edward Brown, MS; Juan Liu, PhD; Jason W. Locasale, PhD; Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD; Stewart C. Wang, MD, PhD; Grace L. Su, MD; Vaibhav Sahai, MBBS, MS; 10/24In this large cohort study, we observed no association of BMI [body mass index] with survival for patients with metastatic PDA [pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma]. However, longer survival was associated with more subcutaneous fat and a higher muscle-to-fascia ratio, whereas shorter survival was associated with more dense visceral fat. In addition, we observed large-magnitude associations of subcutaneous fat and muscle-to-fascia ratio with several metabolites, which provide key biological insight.

Emergency department visits among patients with dementia before and after diagnosisJAMA Network Open; Cameron J. Gettel, MD, MHS; Yuxiao Song, MS; Craig Rothenberg, MPH; Courtney Kitchen, BA; Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi, PhD, RN; Terri R. Fried, MD; Abraham A. Brody, PhD, RN; Stephanie Nothelle, MD; Jennifer L. Wolff, PhD; Arjun K. Venkatesh, MD, MBA, MHS; 10/24Emergency department (ED) visits among persons living with dementia represent a substantial health care challenge, often necessitating targeted interventions to optimize care and support. We assessed changes in ED use before and after incident dementia diagnosis among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older. Within the entirety of the 12-month period assessed, having a diagnosis of dementia was associated with a 40% increase in the likelihood of having an ED visit. The observed changes in ED use, with peaks before and after dementia diagnosis, suggest that the diagnostic process may precipitate acute health care crises and increased health care–seeking behavior among individuals with dementia and their caregivers.

Person-centered care planning for people living with or at risk for multiple chronic conditionsJAMA Network Open; Brittany N. Watson, MD, MPH; Lilly Estenson, MSW; Aimee R. Eden, PhD, MPH; Maya T. Gerstein, DrPH; Maria Torroella Carney, MD; Vonetta M. Dotson, PhD; Trisha Milnes, AuD, MHA; Arlene S. Bierman, MD, MS; 10/24This qualitative study identified 9 themes for strategies for, as well as facilitators and barriers to implementation of PCCP [person-centered care planning]: (1) suboptimal quality of care; (2) person-centered, goal-concordant care; (3) multidisciplinary team–based care and care coordination; (4) prevention across the life course; (5) digital health solutions; (6) workflow; (7) education and self-management support; (8) payment; and (9) achieving community, health system, and payer goals. These themes identified reforms needed and components of care delivery models to support PCCP.

VITAS touts significant Q3 success, projects future growth McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 10/31/24 VITAS, the home care and hospice subsidiary of Chemed, achieved robust financial results in the third quarter of 2024 and is poised for continued growth, company leadership said Wednesday during an earnings-related conference call. “We are excited about the continued strong results of VITAS,” Kevin McNamara, president and chief executive officer of Chemed, said, according to a transcript. “We are very bullish on the prospects for VITAS for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.” In the quarter ended Sept. 31, VITAS generated $53.4 million in profits, a 20.6% increase compared with the prior year quarter. Revenues rose 17.2% to $391.4 million. Chemed as a whole produced $75.7 million in net profit, a 1% increase year-over-year, behind revenues that increased nearly 7.4% to $606.1 million, according to an earnings report.

The Alliance Celebrates National Care at Home MonthNational Alliance for Care at Home (formerly NAHC and NHPCO); 10/31/24 November marks the start of National Care at Home Month, a new observance created to honor the valuable contributions of home care providers nationwide and inspire outreach to communities, media, and policymakers. National Care at Home Month is spearheaded by the newly formed National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), bringing together the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). ... National Care at Home Month, like the new Alliance, honors the full continuum of care-at-home providers and the patients and families they serve. This community of providers is stronger together, and National Care at Home Month brings this message into public awareness. ... “National Care at Home Month is an opportunity for our community to come together, celebrate and honor one another, and highlight the transformative care and support provided to patients and their loved ones across the US each day,” said Dr. Steve Landers, CEO for the Alliance. ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Underrepresentation of Black men in physician assistant and associate trainingJAMA Network Open; Lucy W. Kibe, DrPH, MS, MHS, PA-C; Katrina M. Schrode, PhD; Samuel Paik, MPAS, PA-C; Dominique Frias-Sarmiento, MA; 10/24In this cohort study of PA applicants and matriculants, Black men remained substantially underrepresented despite overall growth of PA training programs. The low representation among matriculants was due in part to the low numbers of applicants but also to substantially lower matriculation success. This persistent underrepresentation highlights systemic barriers and underscores the need for targeted interventions to achieve a more representative health care workforce. To achieve equitable admissions, each PA program should aim to evaluate Black male applicants and matriculate Black men annually.