Literature Review

Van Duyne, Blumenauer, 38 lawmakers push CMS on hospice integrityVanDuyne.house.gov; Press Release; 5/8/24Today, Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) led a bipartisan group of 38 lawmakers demanding answers from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the implementation of recent reforms aimed at combatting hospice fraud and abuse. “When electing to receive hospice care, individuals and their families must be confident the provider is committed to delivering individualized, compassionate care that optimizes quality of life; however, we continue to hear about instances of pervasive fraud and abuse,” the lawmakers wrote.  ... To better understand the steps CMS has taken to increase program integrity, the lawmakers continued the letter with detailed questions on the implementation of reforms. Read the full letter here.  ...“Thank you, Representatives Blumenauer and Van Duyne, for your leadership in holding CMS accountable and safeguarding hospice patients and families from fraudulent activities,” said Ben Marcantonio, Interim CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Preserving the integrity of the Medicare Hospice Benefit is paramount to ensure high-quality care for Americans with serious illness and end-of-life care needs.” 

Honoring National Nurses Week: 11 hospital executives' thank-you notes to nurses Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mariah Taylor and Kelly Gooch; 5/6/24 The American Nurses Association's theme of National Nurses Week, "Nurses Make the Difference," highlights nursing excellence and how nurses embody the spirit of compassion and care in every healthcare setting. ... [Click on the title's link for] Becker's collected messages of appreciation from hospital and health system leaders across the U.S. ...

Hospice Certifying Physician Medicare Enrollment InformationPalmetto GBA email; 5/6/24Pursuant to our authority under section 6405 of the Affordable Care Act, and as part of CMS' larger strategy to address hospice program integrity and quality of care, certifying physicians, including hospice physicians and hospice attending physicians, must be enrolled in or opted-out of Medicare for the hospice service to be paid. Effective June 3, 2024, (delayed from May 1, 2024) CMS will begin implementing edits to enforce this new rule and will deny hospice claims if the physician entered in the Attending field on the claim is not in the Provider Enrollment Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) as an enrolled or opted-out physician.

Improving inclusive palliative care for transgender patients Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/7/24... Nearly a quarter (21.3%) of 865 interdisciplinary palliative professionals indicated that they had observed some form of discriminatory care delivered to a transgender patient in a recent study published in Cambridge University Press’ journal Palliative Support Care. Furthermore, 85.3% of study participants said they witnessed disrespectful care, while inadequate and abusive care was observed by 35.9% and 10.3% of palliative teams, respectively. ... [Read more for descriptions and interventions, as discussed with Zachary Fried, licensed clinical social worker and training supervisor of Optum at Home, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.] 

HCA accused of withholding pay of 1,000 workersBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/6/24 HCA Healthcare faces a lawsuit alleging its Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health illegally kept pay from at least 1,000 employees, the Citizen Times reported May 6. Sharon McRee — who said she worked as a nonexempt, hourly respiratory therapist at Mission from July 2002 through its 2019 acquisition by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA before leaving in July 2022 — alleges she and approximately 1,000 or more employees "clocked in as required and performed the principal activities of their jobs," but their employer "generally did not pay them for all of their time worked," according to the lawsuit, which was accessed by Becker's.

Maddy Baloy had only 1 year to live after cancer diagnosis — and chose joy: 'Didn’t let anything defy her’ People; by Lizzie Hyman; 5/8/24 Even surrounded by loved ones in hospice care at her Florida home, Maddy Baloy craved adventure. “She kept saying, ‘I want to go outside and go swimming,’ ” her fiancé Louis Risher tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. It was how Baloy had approached each day from the time she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in February 2023, to the end of her life on May 2, 2024. In just over one year, the 26 year old gained the admiration and support of millions who followed her journey on TikTok as she worked her way through a 19-item bucket list of skills to learn, people to meet and places to go. “Maddy did not let anything defy her,” Risher, 27, says. “She was always just about love.”

Fresno State honors three with honorary doctorates this commencement season: Nancy Hinds, founder of Hinds Hospice Fresno State News; 5/7/24Fresno State will award honorary doctorates to three individuals this year — advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Robert R. Davila; Hinds Hospice founder Nancy Hinds; and Fresno arts proponent Lilia Gonzales-Chavez. ... Nancy Hinds is nationally and internationally recognized for her work with the terminally ill and as the founder of Hinds Hospice, a non-profit hospice and grief organization serving Fresno, Madera and Merced Counties. A 2021 Business Journal article said Hinds’ “name is synonymous with compassion and quality care.” Editor's Note: Read more of Nancy's life-story and profound contributions to hospice and palliative care. Congratulations Dr. Nancy Hinds!

‘Take Me Out Feet First’ docuseries about end of life options debuts on Amazon Prime Video Variety; by Addie Morfoot; 5/7/24 In “Take Me Out Feet First,” a new docuseries now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, director Serene Meshel-Dillman chronicles people’s right to choose medical aid in dying. The six-part docuseries, made in partnership with the nonprofit advocacy organization Compassion & Choices, profiles 25 terminally ill people, their families, and friends, as well as experts in the medical field who advocate for MAID. The series chronicles people who have taken control of how their final days will play out. While some live in states where medical aid in dying is legal, some do not.

Spiritual distress, hopelessness, and depression in palliative care: Simultaneous concept analysisMDPI; by Helga Martins, Rita S. Silva, Joana Braganca, Joana Romeiro, and Silvia Caldeira; 5/7/24The results highlight that the three concepts are different but also share some overlapping points. Spiritual distress is embedded in the rupture of their spiritual/religious belief systems, a lack of meaning in life, and existential issues. Hopelessness is a sense of giving up and an inability to control and fix the patient’s situation. Finally, depression is a state of sadness with a multi-impaired situation. In conclusion, refining the three concepts in palliative care is essential since it promotes clarification and enhances knowledge development towards intervention.

Caring for the Caregiver: A Guide for Home Care Providers Forbes; by Joan Ekobena; 5/8/24This article proposes that nurturing the psychological and physical well-being of caregivers [employees] is essential. It’s not just a matter of ethical responsibility but a fundamental factor for maintaining quality care, promoting continuity of care and boosting employee retention. This can create a positive ripple effect, which can not only increase customer satisfaction but also boost business revenue. ... A recent decision by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) underscores the increasing awareness of the need to invest in caregiver wellness. Guides are listed as "Strategies for Supporting Caregiver Wellness and Mindset": ... [Note: "Caregiver" denotes employees who provide home care, not the family "caregiver" in the home.] 

Exploring grief: Cleveland Institute of Art student copes with loss through her paintings FreshWater, Cleveland, OH; by Karin Connelly Rice; 5/8/24 Maddie Cantrell, 21, and a painting major at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), grew up in the small town of Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina, with her grandparents, Alaine and Jim Sosebee, living just around the corner. ... Now a rising senior at CIA, Cantrell has found her art to be an outlet for coping with the sudden deaths of her grandparents. The result of her effort her exhibit is, “Living with Grief,” four paintings that illustrate the experience of living with grief, at Hospice of the Western Reserve’s The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Bereavement Center, ... “My work is centered around having to grow up without [my grandparents] and making a bridge between where I exist and where they exist,” Cantrell explains of her works. “... How would I speak to them if I could? Or, how would we have a conversation, even though they're not here?” ...

Over $293k bequeathed to Valley Hospice by former Marshall County teacher The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register; by Shelley Hanson; 5/7/24; titled "Nearly $1.5M Bequeathed to Organizations by Former Marshal County Teacher" [Wheeling, WV] Nearly $1.5 million was bequeathed to four different organizations during a memorial luncheon honoring the late Harold Vitalie, a former Marshall County educator who died in 2023. ... Valley Hospice, the Ohio County Public Library and Marshall County Public Library each received $293,531. The John Marshall High School Scholarship Fund received $587,063. ... Jennifer Taylor of Valley Hospice described the gift of money as “transformational” for Valley Hospice. Vitalie’s mother was taken care of by Valley Hospice before she died.

Wide-ranging health care bill gets final approval from CT House CT Mirror - Connecticut's Nonprofit Journalism; by Jenna Carlesso; 5/6/24The House gave final passage Monday to a wide-ranging health care bill that would add protections for home care workers, boost preparedness for cyberattacks at medical facilities and establish new regulations for the state’s health information exchange, among other reforms. ... The sections on additional protections for home care workers were prompted by the murder of visiting nurse Joyce Grayson, who was killed in October while working at a halfway house in Willimantic. ... The bill requires home health aide agencies to collect certain client information upon intake and make it available to any employee assigned to the client. Information includes a history of violence against health care workers, domestic abuse, substance use, psychiatric history, any listing on a sex offender registry, the crime rate of the municipality the person lives in, and whether there are any weapons or safety hazards in the home. [Click on the title's link for more important information about this bill's safety measures.]