Literature Review

VITAS Healthcare is first hospice organization to earn American Heart Association Heart Failure Certification across all 15 states and DC Florida News Guide, Miami, FL; Press Release; 3/18/25 ... VITAS has become the first nationwide hospice provider to earn the American Heart Association® Palliative/Hospice Heart Failure certification across all 15 states in which it operates. The certification applies to 56 unique VITAS service areas, including the District of Columbia. ... “Many patients with heart failure do not receive the hospice care that could significantly improve their final months of life,” said Joseph Shega, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer at VITAS. “This certification affirms our commitment to providing evidence-based hospice care that helps patients and families navigate advanced heart disease with dignity, comfort and the right level of support.”

Revamped tool can reliably assess pain symptoms in dementia patients: researchers McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 3/17/25 ... A team of researchers reconstructed the End-of-Life Dementia-Comfort Assessment in Dying, or EOLD-CAD, after a multifacility study showed that caregivers could adequately and reliably address a host of pain symptoms seen in end-of-life dementia patients. ... When clinicians working in the SNFs that were part of the trials used the EOLD-CAD, they were able to detect patterns in more than 600 residents that fell into four categories: physical distress, symptoms of dying, emotional distress, and well-being. Common symptoms observed across these categories were restlessness, shortness of breath, choking, gurgling, difficulty in swallowing, fear and anxiety. ...

Publisher's Dinner: Leaders of home care firm, hospital systems gather for dialogue on improving patient care Cincinnati Business Courier; by Trinity In Home Care; 3/14/25 The Cincinnati Business Courier in late February brought together the leadership of a leading Southwest Ohio home care agency with leaders of Greater Cincinnati’s hospital and hospice systems. The goal was to connect leaders of two essential aspects of the region’s health care system – inpatient hospital care and home care – to see how they could complement and support each other in delivering patient care and growing as organizations. [Click on the title's link for quotes from various leaders from this Cincinnati area.]

How work in the hospice field differs from hospital work Healthcare Business Today; 3/17/25 ... How work in the hospice field differs from hospital work goes beyond the obvious difference in care settings—it reflects a fundamental shift in approach, focus, and philosophy. Hospice focuses on enhancing quality of life, while hospitals often prioritize life-saving interventions. This contrast not only shapes patient care but also defines the role of the medical teams in these environments.

Where are all the nurses? Data show that some states have a far higher number of nurses per capita than othersMedscape; by Jodi Helmer; 3/7/25 During their 12-hour shifts, registered nurses (RNs) in Arizona and Arkansas perform many of the same tasks as RNs in Wisconsin and Wyoming: Assessing patients, monitoring vital signs, administering medications, and charting records to provide the best patient care. The work might be similar, but there are vast differences in the number of RNs in each state. ...  Even states with the largest number of nurses per capita are not immune to the nursing shortage. The National Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be 195,400 job openings for RNs from 2021 to 2031.  ....

2010 to 2019 saw early palliative care billing up for advanced cancer HealthDay News; by Elana Gotkine; 3/17/25 For patients with distant-stage cancers, there was an increase in early palliative care (PC) billing from 2010 to 2019, but the level remained low, according to a study published online March 7 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. ... The researchers found that in 2010 to 2019, there was an increase in the percentage with early PC billing among 102,032 patients treated by 18,908 unique physicians, from 1.44 to 10.36 percent. The likelihood of early PC billing was increased in association with treating physician's early PC referrals in the previous year and organizations' employment of any HPM specialist (3.01 and 4.54 percentage points, respectively). 

Congress passes telehealth, hospital-at-home in funding bill Modern Healthcare; by Michael McAuliff; 3/14/25 Congress completed work on a government funding bill Friday that modestly trims spending, gives President Donald Trump greater flexibility to cut programs and extends expiring healthcare priorities. In a 54-46 vote, the Senate approved legislation the House passed Tuesday that prevents the partial government shutdown that would have commenced at midnight EDT. ... The "continuing resolution," or CR, funds government operations through fiscal 2025, which ends Sept. 30, and extends and finances key healthcare programs for the same duration. Those include reauthorizing Medicare reimbursements for telehealth and hospital-at-home services, originally authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic; ...

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission [MedPAC] releases report to Congress on Medicare Payment Policy 2025 report on Medicare payment policy Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Washington, DC; News Release, contact Stephanie Cameron; 3/13/25Today [3/13/25], the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) eleases its March 2025 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report presents MedPAC’s recommendations for updating provider payment rates in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare for 2026, providing additional resources to acute care hospitals and clinicians who furnish care to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes, and eliminating certain Medicare coverage limits on stays in freestanding inpatient psychiatric facilities. The report reviews the status of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), the Medicare Advantage (MA) program (Medicare Part C), and the Part D prescription drug program (Medicare Part D). ... Fee-for-service payment rate update recommendations. ... MedPAC recommends ... payment reductions relative to current law for hospice providers, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.  [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Less wealth at death linked to more end-of-life symptoms McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kristen Fischer; 3/10/25 Older people with less wealth showed a higher burden of symptoms when they approached the end of their lives compared with those who had more wealth, a study found. The report was published in JAMA Network Open on March 6. Investigators looked at data from 8,976 older adults. The team evaluated 12 end-of-life symptoms including difficulty breathing, frequent vomiting, low appetite, difficulty controlling arms and legs, depression, and severe fatigue or exhaustion.Then they correlated symptoms to individuals’ wealth. Wealth was broken into three categories: low wealth was having less than $6,000; medium wealth was having between $6,000 and $120,000; and high wealth was considered having more than $120,000 at the time of death. Of respondents, 22.5% had low wealth, 50.5% had medium wealth and 27.1% had higher wealth. People who had less wealth were more likely to have a higher burden of symptoms compared to those who had more money. Functional impairment, multimorbidity and dementia were factors that affected the association, data revealed.Editor's note: Click here for this important JAMA article, posted in our Saturday Research issue 3/15/25, "Wealth disparities in end-of-life symptom burden among older adults."

2 tailwinds shaping hospice growth, care delivery Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 3/14/25 Rising demand for end-of-life care is pushing hospice growth opportunities to the forefront in value-based reimbursement. More payers in this arena are increasingly recognizing the depth of potential beneficial outcomes when it comes to collaborative hospice partnerships. Swelling aging populations have fueled rising health care costs across the country, with payers and providers alike seeking ways to ensure affordable access and sustainable services. ... “As far as tailwinds for the industry specific to hospice, [it’s] predictions for demographic growth,” [David Jackson, CEO and founding partner of Choice Health at Home] said. “The biggest opportunities for growth [are] talking about vertical integration and how we reach up into the health care system. [It’s] talking about the value that we bring from the perspective of patient care, and then talk about the plans, the payers, the opportunity to enhance their financial outcomes.”

Nearly $20K awarded at 100+ Harbor Women Who Care event The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA; by Jerry Knaak; 3/13/25 After listening to three impassioned speeches at the packed house at the Hoquiam Elks Lodge No. 1082 Tuesday evening, nearly 170 donors at the seventh 100+ Harbor Women Who Care giving event ... [awarded] a grand total of $19,020 in donations to Harbors Home Health & Hospice.

Hospice Insights Podcast - Psychedelics and end of life care: Understanding the legal landscape Hospice Insight - The Law and Beyond; by Husch Blackwell LLP; 3/12/25 There has been a lot of buzz around psychedelics, and particularly their potential usefulness in treating existential suffering at the end of life. Husch Blackwell was the first law firm in the country to establish a Psychedelics & Emerging Therapies practice group devoted to helping clinicians, researchers, and investors navigate the complex and difficult legal and regulatory issues involved in developing new therapies in this space. In this episode, host Meg Pekarske is joined by the leaders of Husch Blackwell’s Psychedelics & Emerging Therapies practice group, Kimberly Chew, Karen Luong, and Natasha Sumner, who provide an overview of what psychedelics are, their legal status under federal and state laws, and liability considerations for clinicians.

Leadership with grit, grace, and a bold heartTeleios Collaborative Network; by Lynn Flanagan and Tina Gentry; 3/14/25 Leadership is not for the faint of heart!  It demands adaptability, resilience, and empathy. We all know that when we talk about leadership, we often use metaphors. The metaphor that strikes a chord with both of us is that of “grit, grace, and a bold heart.”  Leading in this way sometimes comes with titles such as “The Velvet Hammer” or “The Big Heavy,” but we digress. Grit, grace, and a bold heart may seem contradictory, but they are all essential elements to create an environment where people and ideas thrive. ... When these three elements - grit, grace, and a bold heart —come together in a leader, they create a powerful combination. It is the resilience to weather storms, the empathy to connect deeply with others, and the passion and courage to drive transformative changes. ...