Literature Review

Pasadena Hindu Temple offers health planning series for seniors: Interactive session to cover advance care, palliative care, and hospice services Pasadena Now; 7/2/24 The Pasadena Hindu Temple is hosting a health and wellbeing series for seniors, focusing on future healthcare planning. ... Doctors Alka and Pradeep Kapoor, both board-certified in internal medicine, hospice, and palliative medicine, will present on topics including advance care planning, palliative care, and hospice care. The doctors, who have over 45 years of medical experience, are also certified in Post Acute and Long-term care medicine. ... Established in 2002, the Pasadena Hindu Temple has evolved into a hub for Indian heritage and Hindu worship in Southern California. Now operating as the Hindu Temple and Heritage Foundation (HTHF), the nonprofit organization offers various community services. Editor's Note: What cultures and faith communities are in your service areas? Do you reach out to all? Does your staffing reflect your community? Click here for U.S. Census information and search for your geographical areas. 

Four July 4th tips for families caring for loved ones with dementia Alzheimer's Association; 6/27/24 Fireworks and gatherings are staples of the 4th of July holiday, but these can create unique challenges for someone living with dementia. ... “Celebrating Independence Day can still be a fun, enjoyable experience for families impacted by dementia-related illnesses by making the proper adaptations such as being cautious about watching fireworks due to loud noises. It requires thoughtful planning to ensure their safety, comfort, and enjoyment.” said Jennifer Reeder, LCSW, SIFI, AFA’s Director of Educational and Social Services. “Being proactive, prepared, and adaptable, and creating a safe space, are the best ways caregivers can create a dementia-friendly 4th of July for their loved ones.” AFA encourages family caregivers to follow these four tips for the 4th of July:

The hidden advantages of having an older workforce in home health care Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 7/2/24In home health and hospice, the amount of nurses who are at retirement age are set to surpass new RNs, according to data from the American Medical Group Association. St. John has noticed that working with more experienced nurses has meant less turnover. "Our highest turnover is in first-year nurses," she said. Another benefit of having a workforce full of mostly seasoned nurses is that they are better equipped to handle burnout, according to Barnett.

Dwayne Johnson sings Moana song for a 4-year-old girl in home hospice care: 'It's my honor' People; by Tommy McArdle; 4/2/24 Dwayne Johnson said the Make-a-Wish Foundation connected him with the family of a young girl who "watches 'Moana' every day, all day." Dwayne made a special video for a major Moana fan.  On July 1, the actor, 52, shared a video on Instagram in which he said the Make-a-Wish Foundation had reached out to him with an urgent request to send a message to a 4-year-old girl named Lily Guerrero, who Johnson said is currently on home hospice care. "A 'rush' wish means what the implication sounds like, which is time is just not on our side when it comes to this particular wish," Johnson said in the video. "This rush wish is that Lily is on home hospice now and she watches Moana every day, all day, her dad said. Her wish is to have Dwayne Johnson sing 'You're Welcome' to her and have it recorded so she can listen to it over and over and over and over." [Click on the title's link to view the article and its video of Dwayne Johnson telling the public about Lily and singing to her.]

Hospice of the Western Reserve celebrates a record-breaking Walk to Remember [- over $380k] Cleveland.com; by Kelsy Adam, guest columnist, communications manager for Hospice of the Western Reserve; 6/30/24 Hospice of the Western Reserve’s 13th annual Walk to Remember on June 9 was one for the record books. Held on a beautiful Sunday morning at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Hospice of the Western Reserve’s signature annual fundraiser surpassed the event’s previous attendance records, with over 2,600 participants united to support the organization’s mission and to honor loved ones who have passed away. This year’s Walk to Remember also set a new fundraising record, with donations and sponsorships exceeding $380,000. ... The atmosphere at the event was one of camaraderie, remembrance and hope. As participants arrived, the sense of community was palpable. Families and friends gathered at the morning event, many wearing personalized shirts and carrying photos or mementos of their loved ones.

Muncie hospice nurse accused of obtaining narcotics 'by fraud or deceit' The Star Press, Muncie, IN; by Douglas Walker; 7/2/24 A Muncie hospice nurse is accused of ordering prescription pain medication in the names of nursing home residents who then never received the narcotics. Meredith Griffin Briles, 45, is charged in Delaware Circuit Court 5 with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or deceit, possession of a narcotic drug and failure to make, keep or furnish a record. All three charges are Level 6 felonies carrying up to 30 months in prison.

Lawmakers say CMS should ban Medicare Advantage’s use of AI to deny care McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Josh Henreckson; 6/26/24 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should consider banning artificial intelligence from being used to deny Medicare Advantage coverage pending a “systematic review,” a group of 49 congressional leaders is urging. ...  Skilled nursing providers have been sounding the alarm for years on Medicare Advantage coverage access, especially when informed by AI and other algorithms. Sector leaders have frequently noted that these methods can deny or prematurely end coverage for patients who need it to afford necessary long-term care. Providers and consumer advocates both spoke out in favor of the lawmakers’ letter this week. “LeadingAge’s nonprofit and mission driven members … have firsthand experience of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans’ inappropriate use of prior authorization to deny, shorten and limit MA enrollees’ access to medically necessary Medicare benefits,” wrote Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. ... “Implementation by [the] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which we fully support, would ensure MA plans fulfill their obligation to provide enrollees equitable access to Medicare services.”

Empowering ‘deeply undervalued’ caregivers would improve ‘lifeline for older adults’ McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 6/28/24 Direct care workers and family caregivers remain “deeply undervalued” and often overlooked despite calls for investment in the care economy, according to the authors of a new report. “These caregivers provide a lifeline for older adults, people with disabilities, and people living with chronic conditions,” PHI and the National Alliance for Caregiving said in an issue brief released Wednesday. “Empowering them in their roles will help to ensure high quality, responsive care to meet the needs and preferences of millions of Americans now and in the future.” The organizations called on providers, Congress, the Department of Labor, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, states, managed care plans and advocates to invest in the “essential partnership” between direct care workers and family caregivers. The new brief includes insights from a variety of stakeholders ...  The result is a list of recommendations that prioritize improvements to direct care jobs.Editor's Note: Our sponsor, Composing Life Out of Loss, equips hospice and palliative care organizations with caregiver education and support video libraries to strengthen relationships between the direct care professional and the family caregiver, with timely information for the entire family. Contents are written to CMS CoPs, CAHPS, and contemporary grief research; English and Spanish.

Medical Aid in Dying and the “slippery slope” argument Psychiatric Times; by Doublas W. Heinrichs, MD; 7/1/24 Commentary: A mainstay for opponents of medical aid in dying (MAID) for the terminally ill has long been the slippery slope argument. Rather than argue directly against MAID for the terminally ill, which puts them at odds with the majority of US citizens and physicians, they argue that MAID should be rejected because it will inevitably lead to unacceptable expansions to other populations. They say it will expand from the terminally medically ill, to non-terminal medically ill patients with intractable pain and suffering, to advanced directives for dementia, to psychiatric patients with intractable mental pain and suffering, or to anyone who simply finds life unbearable. It is best, they argue, to stop this by opposing the first step. Editor's Note: We do not provide this article to promote this author's conclusions, but rather to raise awareness of key issues that are being examined by individuals, by healthcare professionals, and legislators in many US states and numerous international countries.

Opposing views shared on assisted dying proposals BBC News, Isle of Man; by Rebecca Brahde; 7/1/24 Protesters both for and against proposed assisted dying laws on the Isle of Man have shared their views, ahead of an extra sitting of the House of Keys. Politicians will continue to debate legislation on Monday that would allow terminally-ill people the right to die. Millie Blenkinsop-French, from Douglas, said: "I think it is time now for us to have that choice." But Karen Owen said "one person's choice impinges on another's" and would lead to families having to have "terrifying" conversations as the end of life approaches. If the legislation is approved, there will be strict eligibility criteria: People who request an assisted death will have to be over 18, have lived on the island for at least five years and have been told by doctors they have less than 12 months to live. ... Public opinion was narrowly divided on the issue in a consultation held in April 2023 where more than 3,000 people shared their views.Editor's Note: The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. We post this international article as a sample of the international scope of this extremely controversial issue, paired with similarities in different beliefs and opinions.

National POLST collaborative announces new Board of Directors and OfficersLinkedIn post; 6/27/24The National POLST Collaborative, a leader in promoting the understanding and use of POLST – a set of portable medical orders for individuals with serious illness or frailty, is proud to announce the election of its new board of directors and officers. New Board of Directors members to the 12-person Board:

Why nurses are protesting AIHealthcare Brew; by Tom McKay; 6/26/24Continuous data collection and analysis is hardly a replacement for knowledge, nursing unions say, and sometimes gets in the way of care. The largest nursing union in the US, National Nurses United (NNU), is sounding the alarm about the use of AI in healthcare. In April, the union’s affiliate California Nurses Association (CNA) protested an AI conference helmed by managed care consortium Kaiser Permanente. Like workers in other sectors who are worried about AI encroachment, the nurses fear that the tech is contributing to the devaluation of their skills amid what they say is already a “chronic” understaffing crisis, nurses reported in an NNU survey of 2,300 registered nurses and members in early 2024. But the NNU, which represents approximately 225,000 nurses across the country, also claims healthcare operators are using AI hype as a pretext to rush half-baked and potentially harmful technologies into service, says Michelle Mahon, NNU’s assistant director of nursing practice.