Literature Review

Remembering my daughter while being a cancer survivor myself Coping, by Dottie Monroe; 4/1/24  Her name was Jill, my daughter. She was a beautiful, sensitive woman who loved animals and the joys of nature. ... Can you imagine that there is any parent in the world who wouldn’t give up their own life to save their child? Or question why my child and not me because that seems so wrong? Sometimes there is no explaining the why of things, although I gave it thought for a long time. Then one day I was done with “why.”

9 health systems join digital startup venture with Northwell HealthBecker's Health IT, by Giles Bruces, 4/2/24 Nine health systems are partnering with a venture studio aiming to launch digital health startups. The systems will work with Aegis Ventures, a startup incubator that has built four companies over the past three years with New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health. John Noseworthy, MD, emeritus president and CEO of Rochester, MN-based Mayo Clinic, will serve as chair of the new Digital Consortium. The group says its goal is to develop solutions "built for health systems by health systems." The nine founding members of Aegis Ventures' Digital Consortium are:

What home health providers need to know about the Medicare TPE Audit ProcessHome Health Care News, by Joyce Famakinwa;  4/2/24... TPE is a medical review program that began for the home health and hospice settings in December 2017. The goal of the program is to weed out improper payments by zeroing-in on providers with high claims denial rates or unusual billing practices. ... TPE has three pillars. Target refers to errors or mistakes that are identified through data in comparison to providers or peers. Probe is the examination of 20 to 40 claims. ... Education means helping providers reduce claim denials and appeals through one-on-one individualized education.

Lutheran Senior Services/Diakon agreement forms one of largest US nonprofit LTC organizations McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 3/29/24 Diakon Senior Living operations and its four continuing care retirement / life plan communities will become part of Lutheran Senior Services under an agreement ... that the organizations say will create one of the largest nonprofit senior living and care organizations in the country. The transaction is pending regulatory approvals and is expected to close this summer.

Bereaved Parent Support Study: Seeking Participants Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Cancer, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; 4/2/24This program is offered as a research study examining three types of support for bereaved parents who have lost a child to cancer. The study is jointly sponsored by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Cancer, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; however, families need not have received care from one of these institutions. ...The counseling will be provided through videoconferencing and all activities for this study can be completed in [the participant's] home. ... There will be no charge for any support offered through the study. [Click on the title's link for more information.] 

Meet the women who give end-of-life care to Utah’s homelessGood Things Utah, by Nicea DeGering; 4/2/24A Utah non-profit’s mission is to provide medical help and end-of-life care to those in our community experiencing homelessness. The Inn Between has been providing unique services in Salt Lake City for eight years.  ... [The] mission of The Inn Between is to end the tragedy of vulnerable people dying on the streets of our community by providing medical respite and end-of-life care to those experiencing homelessness.The group provides a home environment that enables adults experiencing homelessness to gain access to professional hospice care from State-licensed hospice agencies; undergo life-saving medical treatment; stabilize in preparation for surgery; or recuperate from serious illness, injury, or surgery. Editor's Note: Read more to meet Jillian Olmsted, Executive Director and Kellie Mierement, Community Engagement Manager.

Man with chainsaw assaults Vermont hospital workers, destroys property Becker's Hospital Review, by Madeline Ashley; 4/1/24 A man was taken into custody by Vermont State Police after assaulting staff and destroying property with a chainsaw at St. Johnsbury-based Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital. State troopers apprehended Tyler Roy, 27, on March 25 in the hospital parking lot "actively assaulting staff," according to a March 31 Vermont State Police news release. Mr. Roy was taken into custody and is cited to appear in Caledonia County Superior Court on April 6.

People in this state Googled ‘medical marijuana’ the most, study shows Forbes, by Benjamin Adams; 3/29/24 How inquisitive are people in your state about medical cannabis? A recent analysis aims to find out—ranking states according to the number of Google searches for “medical marijuana” and other related keywords. ... The original study, “Which States Are The Most Obsessed With Medical Marijuana In 2024?” illustrates the levels of curiosity in each state, and some of the findings are unexpected. 

Northwell hospital nurses cancel strike Becker's Hospital Review, by Kelly Gooch; 4/1/24Members of the New York State Nurses Association have called off a planned April 2 strike at New York City-based Staten Island University Hospital after reaching a tentative agreement with management on a new labor contract. The union represents 1,300 workers at the facility. ... SIUH is part of New Hyde Park, NY-based Northwell Health, a 21-hospital system with more than 85,000 employees total. ... The agreement "adds nurse staffing on units that need help"; includes an expedited process for creating staffing standards in new units; and features wage increases that total 22.12% over three years and include annual pay increases, market adjustment pay, and experience pay, the union said.

How to look after your mental health while packing up Mum or Dad’s home The Conversation, 3/31/24 So Mum or Dad has died, or moved to aged care, and now you’ve got to pack up their house. It’s a huge job and you’re dreading it. It’s normal to feel grief, loss, guilt, exhaustion or even resentment at being left with this job. So how can you look after your mental health while tackling the task? 

Should we be using palliative care for scleroderma? The Medical Republic, by Karina Bray; 4/2/24Almost three-quarters of systemic sclerosis patients could benefit from specialist palliative care, according to Australian research. The first-of-a-kind study, published in Arthritis Care & Research, set out to examine and quantify the need for palliative care to address high symptom burden as an integrated part of systemic sclerosis management. ... “Almost 75% of SSc patients may benefit from specialist palliative care input to manage specific severe symptoms, and the overlapping nature of such symptoms highlights the complex symptom management needs of SSc patients,” the authors wrote. 

Ethical conflicts: Making care decisions when the right choice isn't clear Medical Economics, by Jeff Bendix; 3/29/24 What should a physician do when their ethical training conflicts with the circumstances or needs of a particular situation or patient? ... Ethical battlegrounds are growing. [Dr. Melissa] Lucarelli’s experience epitomizes, in a small way, a problem with which doctors have grappled for as long as medicine has existed as a profession: what to do when their ethical training conflicts with the circumstances or needs of a particular situation or patient. That question has taken on new urgency in recent years due to several converging trends.