Literature Review

Photojournalist blinded by MPD projectile during 2020 unrest enters hospice care  Star Tribune Minneapolis, MN); by Zoë Jackson; 6/21/24 Photojournalist Linda Tirado, who was partially blinded by a foam projectile fired by Minneapolis Police during unrest in June 2020 has entered hospice care. The photographer was covering riots outside the Third Precinct in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd when she was injured four years ago. Minneapolis police "ignored the press credential she wore around her neck" and marked her with a "ballistic tracking round" and then "shot her in her face with foam bullets," according to her federal lawsuit, for which she was awarded $600,000 from the city of Minneapolis. ...

Column: Hospice offers redirection of care The Andalusia Star News; by Vickie Wacaster; 6/22/24 Watching someone you love grow weaker and weaker with each passing day is challenging. Yet, sadly, many of us experience this. In my own life, when my late husband was diagnosed with a terminal, non-curable, yet treatable disease, I felt we were living on a roller coaster of emotions, appointments, and treatment options. ... Every day was a journey into uncharted territory for both of us. ... It was only during the last few days that we found the strength to say “no more treatments” and asked for hospice. ... Physicians recognize that hospice is not a withdrawal of care but a redirection of care to meet the needs of patients with an advanced terminal illness/disease. ...Editor's Note: The word "redirection" powerfully, easily shifts the course of care. The person remains at the center, with the focus being the person, not the disease. This is not a denial of dying and death, but rather a signpost, a gentle way to open the difficult conversation for providing information and asking "what matters most to you, now?" 

Bristol Hospice enters Mississippi market with Mid-Delta Hospice acquisitionHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 6/21/24Bristol Hospice has acquired Mississippi-based Mid-Delta Hospice, a move that marked its entry into the state.

Private equity investment in assisted living: Distinct impacts and policy considerationsHealth Affairs; by Kali S. Thomas, John R. Bowblis, Paula Carder, Cassandra Hua, Sean Shenghsiu Huang, Yashaswini Singh, Lindsey Smith, Momotazur Rahman; 6/18/24Numerous academic publications, newspaper articles, and government reports have addressed private equity (PE) investment in health care entities, including nursing homes, hospitals, and physician practices. Proponents argue PE investment brings much-needed financial capital, allowing health care providers to renovate aging facilities, invest in the latest technology, spur innovation, and enhance operational efficiency. However, there are also concerns that PE investment has been associated with higher prices, lower quality, and inadequate staffing levels. Such changes could lead to patient harm, even death. ... However, one significant and continually expanding sector—assisted living—has several distinct features that, compared to other health care entities, may lead to different outcomes from PE investments. Assisted living is paid for differently. In relation to PE investments, the arrangement of assets and operations in assisted living are different from other health care sectors. This distinction creates unique and more nuanced incentives. Crucially, there’s actually no evidence to date on the effect of PE investment on the welfare of the people who reside and work in assisted living communities.

Spirituality as a determinant of health: Emerging policies, practices, and systemsHealth Affairs; by Katelyn N. G. Long, Xavier Symons, Tyler J. VanderWeele, Tracy A. Balboni, David H. Rosmarin, Christina Puchalski, Teresa Cutts, Gary R. Gunderson, Ellen Idler, Doug Oman, Michael J. Balboni, Laura S. Tuach, Howard K. Koh; 6/24Reimagining public health’s future should include explicitly considering spirituality as a social determinant of health that is linked to human goods and is deeply valued by people and their communities. Spirituality includes a sense of ultimate meaning, purpose, transcendence, and connectedness. With that end in mind, we assessed how recommendations recently issued by an expert panel for integrating spiritual factors into public health and medicine are being adopted in current practice in the United States.

In summer, ice becomes water faster than I can make decisions. - Anonymous

The Opaque Industry Secretly Inflating Prices for Prescription DrugsThe New York Times; by Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson; 6/21/24Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. This is the first article in a series about how pharmacy benefit managers prioritize their interests, often at the expense of patients, employers and taxpayers. Americans are paying too much for prescription drugs. It is a common, longstanding complaint. And the culprits seem obvious: Drug companies. Insurers. A dysfunctional federal government.Publisher's Note: Pharmacy costs are second only to staffing for hospices. Dr. Drew Mihalyo and I presented on the complexities of prescription drug pricing at the 2017 Louisiana~Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization conference. This article, and others like them, will likely both educate and infuriate readers. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Jennifer Hale, MSN, RN, CHPN, CPHQ

Hospice care company owner sentenced on health care fraud charges United States Attorney's Office - Western District of Louisiana; Press Release; 6/20/24 United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Kristal Glover-Wing, 51, formerly a resident of Broussard, Louisiana, and now living in California, has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Glover-Wing to 72 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.  She was also ordered to pay $3,675,948.42 in restitution. ... Glover-Wing was the owner of Angel Care Hospice (“Angel Care”), a Louisiana corporation that purported to provide hospice services in Lafayette Parish and other parishes in the Western District of Louisiana. Through evidence presented at trial, jurors learned that from approximately 2009 through 2017, over 24 patients were placed on hospice by Angel Care without meeting the criteria required by Medicare. During the time period that the patients were on hospice and under the care and supervision of Angel Care, none of them had been diagnosed with a terminal condition. In fact, many of the patients themselves, who are still alive and thriving many years later, as well as family members of other patients, testified that they never knew that they had been placed on hospice. 

Novant scraps $320M hospital deal with CHS Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 6/18/24 Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health has called off its planned $320 million acquisition of two North Carolina hospitals from Community Health Systems after an appellate court granted the Federal Trade Commission an emergency injunction blocking the deal. In a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it would allow the FTC to prevent the two-hospital acquisition from proceeding until its appeal is resolved. ... The FTC argues that the transaction would "irreversibly consolidate the market for hospital services in the Eastern Lake Norman Area in the northern suburbs of Charlotte."

171K+ clicks saved: Inside Johns Hopkins' nurse documentation revamp Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Erica Carbajal; 6/17/24 Across healthcare, efforts to advance documentation are often focused on enhancing physicians' workflow. But at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital, leaders are equally focused on improving documentation in nursing. ... [The] American Nurses Credentialing Center recognized Johns Hopkins with 10 exemplars, one of which recognized the hospital as a leader in nursing informatics. Case in point: The hospital has saved nurses 170,620 clicks in four months, April Saathoff, DNP, RN, vice president and chief nursing information officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told Becker's. ... "Instead of the nurse having to go in and document on every single row on a head-to-toe reassessment for the patient, we now have some fields added to the top where the nurse can document reassessment changes noted or reassessed no changes," Dr. Saathoff said, adding that the changes are saving nurses an average of 13 minutes per reassessment. Editor's Note: What might your organization be able to streamline in your online documentation? Before IT or clinical management decides unilaterally, get input from your clinicians who make the visits and use the system. Include your psychosocial/spiritual care team members as well, as you might delete something crucial that they need.

Strong palliative care presence at this year’s World Health Assembly Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance - WHPCA; by Stephen Connor, Executive Director, WHPCA; 6/18/24 Palliative care was well represented at the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year! All together there were twelve delegates from the organisations attending in official relations with WHO (6 from WHPCA and 6 from IAHPC). All attendees covered their expenses. This year is the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Palliative Care Resolution (67.19) “Strengthening of Palliative Care as a Component of Comprehensive Care Throughout the Life Course.” ... To use this fact as an opportunity WHPCA organised a side event on the margins of this year’s WHA titled: Ten Years Since the WHA Resolution on Palliative Care: Access is Increasing Slowly in LMICs, How Can We Expedite it? The event was co-sponsored by four countries (Australia, Belgium, Chile, and Panama) along with nine NGOs (UICC, ICPCN, IAHPC, NCDA, C/Can, APCA, APHN, UNTF NCDs, and Team Humanity). ... WHPCA is working to create a coalition of countries to advocate for palliative care at upcoming UN meetings.

36 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Kelly Gooch; updated 6/21/24 A number of hospitals and health systems are reducing their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges. Below are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations announced this year.  June: