Literature Review

Nurse pleads guilty to 22 counts of patient murder, attempted murder Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 5/2/24 Heather Pressdee, a Pennsylvania nurse, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted homicide, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported May 1. Ms. Pressdee pleaded guilty on May 2 in an ongoing hearing that is expected to go until May 3. She was given three consecutive life sentences and 380 to 760 years consecutively. Ms. Pressdee, 41, was first charged in May 2023 in connection with the mistreatment of three nursing home patients while working at Quality Life Services in Chicora, Pa., including two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. In November, she was charged in connection with the mistreatment of 19 additional patients that were in her care at five different facilities since 2020. 

Assessing caregiver burnout for hospice, palliative patients Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 4/30/24 Burnout is a state of complete mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. Symptoms of burnout can include depression, compassion fatigue, stress and anxiety, and apathy, both in general life and towards work tasks, according to the Mayo Clinic. To help address these issues — and to help ensure that caregiving remained sustainable — a team of researchers from the Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh launched a project to improve assessment of caregiver burnout.

Is pot legal now? Despite big marijuana news, it's still in legal limbo. USA Today; by Joel Shannon and Jeanine Santucci; 5/1/24 Tuesday brought big marijuana news: The Biden Administration is expected to soon reclassify marijuana for the first time in decades, putting it in a less restrictive drug category that would allow it to be studied and prescribed more easily. But that news comes in a nation where many states have already crafted their own marijuana policy: Some states allow for it to be prescribed already; others allow people to use it recreationally. Few states ban it outright. ... Here's what to know.

Physician-Assisted Suicide Bill recommended by second committee in Massachusetts legislature New Boston Post; 5/1/24 A bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide has gotten a favorable vote from a second legislative committee, ... This is the earliest in the state’s two-year legislative session that the bill has been recommended by the Joint Committee on Public Health, and it’s the first time the bill has made it out of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, said Melissa Stacy, Northeast regional advocacy manager for Compassion & Choices, according to MASSterList.

Transitional Bridges offers compassionate alternative to plastic belongings bagsABC 8 News, Richmond, VA; by EIN Presswire; 4/30/24Transitional Bridges, a San Diego-based nonprofit focused on inspiring compassion and improving end-of-life care through art, has created Transitional Belongings Bags, a compassionate and eco-friendly alternative to the plastic bags hospitals use to hand over belongings to loved ones after a patient has died. The concept was first introduced 17 years ago by the Irish Hospice Foundation Hospice Friendly Hospitals Program to promote dignity and sensitivity when returning a loved one’s possessions to bereaved family and friends. ... Lorene Morris, the founder and president of Transitional Bridges, became inspired to bring the movement to the U.S. after her mother, an artist, died unexpectedly from postoperative complications. When the family was handed their mother's possessions in two large, clear plastic bags, Morris recalls, “I felt like the whole world could see those intimate items. It was just so wrong.”

New federal rule meant to strengthen nondiscrimination protections, advance civil rights in healthcare McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 4/30/24 The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday released a final rule aiming to protect individuals from discrimination in healthcare, including members of the LBGTQ+ community. ... The rule “reverses a Trump-era regulation and restores gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act,” Bloomberg Law reported. Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability by entities that primarily provide healthcare and receive federal funding. It is enforced by the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

NHPCO's 2024 Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Needs Assessment NHPCO; via email; 5/1/24 The 2024 Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Needs Assessment is a product of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) Pediatric Advisory Council. The goal of the needs assessment is to gain a better understanding of the organizations and providers caring for pediatric patients with serious illnesses throughout the United States. The needs assessment helps create resources and support advocacy. The survey should only be completed once by each organization so please coordinate with your team to complete the survey. For help gathering information, we have created a PDF version of the survey but you will need to input the information into this survey for the information to be used.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals to be acquired by Ono Pharmaceutical for $2.4 billion LevinPro HC; 4/30/24Deciphera Pharmaceuticals announced on April 29 that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to be acquired for a total equity value of $2.4 billion. Upon completion, Deciphera will operate as a standalone business of Ono, from its headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. 

Why health systems should embrace advanced in-home care models McKnights Home Care; by Marcy Carty, MD, MPH; 4/25/24Over the next two decades, the adult demographic over 50 years of age will increase by 25 million, and with over 75% expressing a strong desire to age in place, it’s imperative to champion care models that support safe, high-quality care within the home. Despite proactive care models to support aging in the home, acute needs still arise. Health systems stand to gain manifold by embracing the paradigm shift to care in the home. By moving more advanced care delivery into peoples’ homes, systems can effectively curb acute healthcare utilization, decreasing hospital-acquired conditions and drastically improving patient and family experience.

[FL] Attorney General Moody announces arrest of two Seminole County residents for Medicaid fraud Office of Attorney General Ashley Moody [Florida]; by Kylie Mason; 4/23/24 Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, ... announced the arrest of Debora Behnke and Suman Bhattacharjee ...  [They] ran Pioneer Medical Transportation LLC and submitted fraudulent claims for nonemergency medical transportation for Medicaid recipients, stealing more than $250,000 from the Medicaid program.  "Instead of transporting vulnerable Medicaid recipients, these individuals falsely billed the taxpayer-funded program for services never completed. In some instances, they even convinced patients to move across the state—with no regard for the best interest of the patients—and still charged Medicaid for transporting them from the original, longer distance. ..."

DEA tells court that Right to Try law doesn’t supersede CSA in psilocybin case PsychedelicNewsWire; 4/30/24The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is claiming that a federal law that affords severely ill individuals the right to try investigational medications doesn’t apply to drugs classified under the Controlled Substances Act. This is in response to a lawsuit filed by a doctor in Washington state who sought permission to legally administer psilocybin as treatment for patients in end-of-life care with cancer. The agency argues that because drugs classified under Schedule I are said to have no accepted medical use, the law prevents them from being dispensed, even by professionals. 

34 recent hospital, health system executive moves Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch and Alexis Kayser; updated 4/26/24 The following hospital and health system executive moves have been shared with or reported by Becker's this year: [Click on the title's link; 34 executive moves are listed for the week of April 20-26.]

To stay open, rural nursing homes in the Midwest prioritize nurses NPR KCUR 89.3; by Aaron Bonderson; 5/1/24... Not enough nurses. Nursing home closures are creeping across Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest. Since 2020, 13 Nebraska nursing homes have shuttered, according to the American Health Care Association (AHCA). During that time, 25 Kansas nursing homes, 27 in Missouri, and 36 in Iowa closed their doors. According to the Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA), 22 nursing homes in Iowa closed in 2022 alone because of poor quality of care and low occupancy. ... Staffing shortages and quality of care concerns are the leading reasons long-term care facilities shut down, according to the AHCA and the CMA. The pandemic didn’t help matters, stretching employees and resources to their limits.Editor's Note: Click on the title's link and scroll down for a US map of states with data for rank, nurse staff hours per resident per day (HRPD), total nurses, and total providers.