Literature Review

You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you'll win, no matter what the outcome. ~ Patch Adams

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. ~ by Indira Gandhi

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one. ~ Dolly Parton

We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right. ~ Aretha Franklin

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ~  Aristotle

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. ~ Jimmy Johnson

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain

I'd rather regret the risks that didn't work out than the chances I didn't take at all. ~ Simone Biles, Olympic medalist, gymnastics, 2016, 2021, 2024 

I wonder if my first breath was as soul-stirring to my mother as her last breath was to me. ~ Lisa Goich-Andreadis, 14 Days: A Mother, A Daughter, A Two-Week Goodbye

Valley Health and Hospice of the Panhandle collaborate to expand hospice care Global Data; 11/26/24 Valley Health has partnered with Hospice of the Panhandle to launch a hospice care programme within its hospitals, War Memorial Hospital (WarMH) in Berkeley Springs and Hampshire Memorial Hospital (HMH) in Romney, West Virginia, US. An agreement, effective from 1 November, integrates Hospice of the Panhandle with the hospitals' existing care teams, aiming to enhance the quality and accessibility of end-of-life care for eligible patients and their families.  The Hospice in the Hospital programme, which began in 2020 at Winchester Medical Centre, has now extended to all Valley Health hospitals in Virginia and, with this recent development, to West Virginia. HMH and WarMH operations vice president Heather Sigel said: “We are extremely thankful to the Hospice of the Panhandle team for partnering with us to offer Hospice in the Hospital at both War Memorial and Hampshire Memorial. ..."

Education, telehealth, and access initiatives aim to improve cancer care for veteransOncLive; by Kyle Doherty; 11/26/24 Manali I. Patel, MD, MPH, MS, details several interventions developed to better serve veterans with cancer who are experiencing economic, social, and geographic barriers to care. Despite having the option of cancer care through the Veterans Affairs (VA) health network, veterans with cancer still experience economic, social, and geographic barriers to receiving high-quality care. This has prompted investigators to develop several interventions to better serve these patients. “Veterans have higher rates of lung cancer [compared with] civilian populations; prostate and bladder cancer [rates] are also pronounced [among] veterans, [and we also see] higher rates of melanoma, [all] largely due to exogenous exposure risk,” Manali I. Patel, MD, MPH, MS, said in an interview with Oncology Live. “One of the biggest barriers [to cancer care] for veterans is the lack of system level resources that can ensure veterans understand the diagnosis and treatment options, such that veterans receive care that is concordant with their goals, preferences, and values. Cancer care is quite complex and trying to not only coordinate care but explain the nuances in plain language is challenging. Having resources [available] that proactively assist veterans in their understanding and support them through cancer care is what is most needed to improve patient outcomes.”

HRRMC Foundation transfers $1.6 million to HRRMC for construction of the Delnay Guest House Ark Valley Voice; by Carly Winchell; 11/26/24 Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) released a statement announcing a $1.6 million transfer from the HRRMC Foundation to HRRMC to help finance the construciton of the Delnay Guest House. According to the release, HRRMC credits the transfer to a donation: “Thanks to a generous $1.5 million donation from the Robert and Bernice Delnay Estate, and to contributions made by the community, HRRMC Foundation transferred $1.6 million to HRRMC for the construction costs of the Delnay Guest House .” The guest house is located on the HRRMC campus. It includes ten units. Four are designated for overnight charitable accommodation to support HRRMC outpatients receiving treatments at the hospital, their families, and caregivers of HRRMC patients. Some patients and caregivers live 30 miles or more from Salida. Hospice families traveling to Salida to support local hospice patients may also stay in these units.