Literature Review

Rescue from above: How drones may narrow emergency response timesKFF Health News; by Michelle Andrews; 7/22/24Starting in September, if someone in Clemmons, North Carolina, calls 911 to report a cardiac arrest, the first responder on the scene may be a drone carrying an automated external defibrillator, or AED. “The idea is for the drone to get there several minutes before first responders,” such as an emergency medical technician or an ambulance, said Daniel Crews, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office in Forsyth County, where Clemmons is located. The sheriff’s office is partnering on the project with local emergency services, the Clinical Research Institute at Duke University, and the drone consulting firm Hovecon. “The ultimate goal is to save lives and improve life expectancy for someone experiencing a cardiac episode,” Crews said.Publisher's note: As with all things tech, when and how might drones be used in hospice?

Palliative care is important in managing cardiovascular diseaseNJToday; 8/8/24Implementing patient-centered palliative care therapies, including prescribing, adjusting or discontinuing medications as needed, may help control symptoms and improve quality of life for people with heart disease, according to “Palliative Pharmacotherapy for Cardiovascular Disease,” a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published in the journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Fearless hospice patient takes joyrideWest Valley View (AZ); by Lin Sue Flood; 8/7/24Don Tamuty, a beloved former Madison Unified School District teacher, had one thing left on his bucket list. The 95-year-old shared with his hospice nurse, Monisha Roe, that he would love to ride in a driverless car. Monisha and the rest of Don’s Hospice of the Valley care team knew exactly how to fulfill that wish! They booked a driverless cruise on Waymo One to take Don out to a nice restaurant.

Butte hospice workers help patients focus on livingKBZK7 (MT); by Meagan Thompson; 8/7/24Hospice care is generally seen as a last resort for the end of life but for Bonnie Dwyer and her husband John, the hospice care she has been receiving has provided reassurance and even joy... Leighann McCauley, the director of nursing at Honeybee Hospice was on call the weekend Bonnie’s condition became severe. Thanks to some quick thinking and creativity, McCauley and her team addressed the wound and her continuing care with the Honeybee staff has made a difference in her life.

Hospice chaplain accused of sexually assaulting woman at Sacramento County care facilityKCRA (Sacramento, CA); by Lindsay Weber; 8/8/24A Placer County man was arrested on Thursday, accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a care facility he worked for as a hospice chaplain, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's office said Arthur Apgar was arrested for four counts of sexual battery against a person who is seriously disabled or medically incapacitated. Apgar worked for a private company that contracts with hospice facilities, officials said. The assault happened within the past week and was captured on surveillance video.

Hospices face ‘hard roads’ in budgeting for sustainable growthHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 8/9/24Hospice budgeting practices hinge on several factors, according to Matt Chadwick, CFO of Well Care Health. Building a sustainable financial structure for end-of-life care delivery can be a challenging feat when navigating the impacts of patient care and staffing needs, referral streams, operational expenses, billing claim cycles and compliance factors, Chadwick said... Quality and compliance are also important pieces of a hospices’ budget and growth potential as providers experience. Case in point, hospices that fail to comply with new quality reporting requirements set forth in the 2025 payment rule face a 4% penalty... “The budget should not just be solely 100% of the financial person’s responsibility,” Rachael Feeback, revenue cycle senior product manager of home and hospice at MatrixCare by ResMed, said. “It should be a conversation with the clinical side, the operational side, so that you’re understanding your different measurements for hospice and how that translates to the budget and not solely focused on the pure dollars behind it.”

Florida Blue boosts local bereavement support with donationAvow Hospice press release; 7/18/24In May 2024, Florida Blue Foundation announced a $20,000 grant in support of Avow’s bereavement programs, which are available at no cost to individuals of all ages. With this grant, Avow is able to pursue its mission of providing compassionate care through life’s hardest transitions. Florida Blue awarded this grant on the basis of promoting mental well-being for all individuals, one of the foundation’s strategic pillars, as grief counseling is essential for maintaining and advancing the mental well-being of individuals and families.

National plan on aging ‘essential’ to addressing key issues: AARPMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 7/18/24Aging, itself, isn’t a challenge - but being unprepared for aging is, according to AARP, which on Wednesday released a white paper that lays out a blueprint for developing a national plan on aging. The paper marks the launch of the organization’s Aging Well in America Initiative, for which the AARP took best practices from federal, state and local initiatives to create a blueprint for the development of a “robust” national plan to foster the well-being, quality of life and dignity of older Americans.

Empath Health, American Health Plans launch ISNP joint ventureHospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/6/24The nonprofit senior care provider Empath Health is partnering with the Medicare Advantage organization American Health Plans (AHP), a division of American Health Partners to serve patients who are enrolled in Institutional Special Needs Plans (ISNP). ISNPs are Medicare Advantage plans that are designed to serve beneficiaries who live in skilled nursing facilities. Through the Empath partnership, members of AHP’s American Health Advantage of Florida ISNP will receive interdisciplinary services from TruHealth of Florida, the clinical arm of the ISNP. TruHealth is a newly established joint venture between AHP and Empath. Patients will also have access to Empath Health’s “full-life care” model.Notable mentions: Jonathan Fleece, Empath Health CEO.

Executive Personnel Changes - 8/2/24

Familial loss of a loved one and biological aging: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program JAMA Network Open; by Allison E. Aiello, PhD, MS; Aura Ankita Mishra, PhD; Chantel L. Martin, PhD; Brandt Levitt, PhD; Lauren Gaydosh, PhD; Daniel W. Belsky, PhD; Robert A. Hummer, PhD; Debra J. Umberson, PhD; Kathleen Mullan Harris, PhD; 7/29/24Is the experience of losing a loved one associated with accelerated biological aging? In a cohort study of 3963 participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, nearly 40% experienced the loss of a close relation by adulthood. Participants who had experienced a greater number of losses exhibited significantly older biological ages compared with those who had not experienced such losses. These findings suggest that loss can accelerate biological aging even before midlife and that frequency of losses may compound this, potentially leading to earlier chronic diseases and mortality.

The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed. ~Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey

Sunday newsletters focus on headlines and top read stories of the last week (in order) - enjoy!