Literature Review

Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care grieves the death of hospice leaderThe Times Weekly; by Times Weekly Staff; 6/6/24 One of the former CEOs of Joliet Area Community Hospice, now known as Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care, has died. Duane Krieger was instrumental in the efforts to acquire land and build the first hospice residence in Illinois. Until this time, hospice care in this state was provided in patients’ homes and facilities. “Duane’s passion and dedication to building a free-standing hospice facility in Joliet was unwavering, said Mary Kay Sheehan, CEO of Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care. “Duane understood the need and knew who to talk to, in both the private and public sector, to secure funding and pass the regulations to build this hospice home and elevate the level of and access to hospice care. Duane always went above and beyond to ensure the residents of Joliet and the surrounding area had access to the care they needed. He was an inspiration and a true leader who will be missed.”

Montana system cuts services (including an inpatient hospice facility), reduces workforce by 9%Becker's Post-Acute Report; by Mariah Taylor; 5/30/24Billings, Mont.-based RiverStone Health is closing two facilities, reducing other services and cutting nearly 9% of its workforce, KFF Health News reported May 30. The hospital is shuttering an inpatient hospice facility, closing a center for patients managing high blood pressure, reducing the clinic's behavioral healthcare team, removing a nurse who worked within rural schools and reducing the number of staff focused on serving patients without housing. Among the staff layoffs are several senior leadership and management roles, according to a May 10 system news release. The cuts come after a $3 million loss in Medicaid revenue this fiscal year.

Disparities identified in palliative care use among men with prostate cancerRenal + Urology News; by Natasha Persaud; 6/4/24Palliative care utilization among men with prostate cancer is suboptimal but improving, investigators reported at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Stanley Ozogbo, MBBS, MPH, of St Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital in Ohio, and colleagues studied over 2 million prostate cancer hospital admissions using the 2010-2019 US Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The found an overall prevalence of palliative utilization of 5.3% even though palliative care consultations significantly improved by an average of 7.7% per year over the study period. Utilization improved from 2010 through 2016, but then began to decline from 2017-2019. The study identified disparities in palliative utilization. Black patients were 7% less likely than White patients to receive palliative care services, Dr Ozogbo’s team reported. Compared with Medicare recipients, patients with Medicaid, private insurance, or other insurance types had significant 1.5-, 1.3-, and 2.2-fold increased odds of palliative care utilization, respectively. Patients aged 70 years or older were a significant 6% more likely to receive palliative care compared with younger patients. Palliative care use was a significant 9% and 40% more likely for patients admitted to urban vs rural hospitals and teaching vs non-teaching hospitals, respectively, the investigators reported. Hospitals in the Northeast were 1.4- and 1.5-fold more likely to refer to palliative care compared with hospitals in the South or West, respectively.

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. - James Allen

It pays to know: What 100 looks like!Rafu Shimpo; by Judd Matsunaga, Esq; 6/5/24Not too long ago, seeing a person 100 years of age was a rare thing. Now, they’re becoming more commonplace. There are an estimated 90,000 centenarians living in the U.S. It’s still a small percentage of the population, but it’s a number that’s expected to keep increasing. By 2060, there could be about 600,000 people who are 100 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Is there a secret recipe for a longer life? What’s it take to get there? That’s a question geriatrician Thomas Perls, M.D., has been investigating for decades with the New England Centenarian Study. ...

The Aging Revolution: Growing old in America becoming more dignified, but with senior population booming, is nation’s health system prepared?BusinesssWire; 6/4/24A half-century after renowned gerontologist, psychiatrist and author Dr. Robert Butler ridiculed the nation’s medical establishment for ignoring the suffering of older Americans, Northwell Health today announced the publication of The Aging Revolution: The History of Geriatric Health Care and What Really Matters to Older Adults, which chronicles the significant advancements made in improving the physical and emotional health of the nation’s rapidly aging population. 

Registration open for 2024 Home Health and Hospice Medicare Administrative Collaborative SummitPalmetto email; 6/6/24Registration is now open for the 2024 Home Health and Hospice (HHH) Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Collaborative Summit! This national Medicare event includes all three HHH MACs, more than 40 live speakers, presenting a rigorous, three-day comprehensive conference. This event is being held live, in-person at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 2-4, 2024. Please review this announcement and share it with your staff.

Collaboration looks to fill void left by closure of Hiland Cottage Hospice Harbor Light; by Harbor Light News Staff; 6/5/24 When McLaren Northern Michigan closed the Hiland Cottage Hospice House in March of this year, the future of trusted end-of-life residential care in this community became uncertain. In an effort to ensure this essential service is still provided, Bay Bluffs, the Emmet County Medical Care Facility, has stepped up to lead a collaborative effort to fill this void. “We are deeply committed to supporting our community through this transition,” said Lisa Ashley, Bay Bluffs administrator in announcing the partnership with Friends of Hiland Cottage, area hospice services, and other local end-of-life providers. 

NAHC President Bill Dombi reflects on tenure: We Went ‘To War’ on behalf of our providers Home Health News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 6/4/24 For more than 40 years, William A. Dombi has been one of home-based care’s fiercest advocates. He became the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) vice president for law in 1987, and has been a key player in many of the advancements and milestones that have moved the industry forward. Those include the growth of the home health benefit under Medicare, the implementation of the home health prospective payment system in 2000 and much, much more. ... Home Health Care News recently caught up with Dombi to look back at his time at NAHC, and on what he believes to be the biggest accomplishments during his tenure.

Behavioral health patients a challenge to nursing homesModern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 6/4/24Challenges providing care for nursing home patients with mental health and behavioral health issues are adding to discharge bottlenecks for hospitals, and the demand for such care has led some facilities to set up specialized units with additional staff just for those patients.Publisher's Note: Hospice implications?

Controversial conversations: Key takeaways from The Jeffrey Fudin Debates on pain and palliative care practices Pharmacy Times; Interview with Lee Kral, PharmD, FASHP, NBC-HWC, CPMC, CPE; 6/5/24In an interview with the Pharmacy Times®, Lee Kral, PharmD, FASHP, NBC-HWC, CPMC, CPE, clinical pharmacy specialist of pain management at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, shares her insights into pain management in palliative care for patients with cancer-related chronic pain. She highlights the crucial role of pharmacists in managing patient treatment regimens, including administration of opioids, the role of off-label prescribing, and the potential of deprescribing to improve patients’ quality of life. 

Get to know us even before you need us[WV] The Journal; by Nikki Bigiarelli; 6/2/24Every day, we make decisions about how we want to live. What is most often not considered is how we want to live at the end of life. We can avoid a lot of uncertainty when we talk to those we love about our goals of care and end-of-life wishes before we encounter a serious illness.Publisher's Note: Helpful community outreach. Nikki Bigiarelli, CHPN, BSN, RN, is CEO of Hospice of the Panhandle.

Proposed HOPE tool seeks to fill hospice data gaps but needs tweaking, experts sayMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 6/3/24Although the proposed Hospice Outcome and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool intends to close important data gaps surrounding end-of-life care, there is more work to be done to improve hospice quality reporting. “So much more information needs to be gathered from these patients,” Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations and policy at LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit aging services providers, which include hospices, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse in an interview. “It’s just not there in the tool right now.”