Literature Review

Saint Francis Hospital’s Healthy Village creates national social-services healthcare model DelawareLive, Wilmington, DE; by Jarek Rutz; 10/23/24 Saint Francis Hospital hopes a new, unique initiative will be a national model for healthcare. As it celebrates 100 years of service, the hospital is expanding its community outreach to the Wilmington community by launching the Healthy Village at Saint Francis Hospital, which aims to deliver essential social services to those in need. Located in economically challenged neighborhoods, Healthy Villages are designed to enhance the traditional safety net hospital model. “The goal is to create the ultimate one-stop care setting that promotes synergy, diversity, and equity,” said Lillian Schonewolf, executive director of the Healthy Village at Saint Francis, in a YouTube video. Editor's note: See the article we posted yesterday about the importance of community, "Who gets access to a good death?"

Safety first: How to ward off health care facility violence SmartBrief; by Julia M. Johnson; 10/23/24Panelists on an American Hospital Association webinar highlight ways in which hospitals and practices can protect their patients and themselves. ... The American Hospital Association recently hosted a webinar about what hospitals and practices need to know to protect themselves, staff members and patients. “Understanding Origins of Violence in Health Care Facilities” featured Jason Grellner of Evolv Technology and Drew Neckar of Cosecure. Both panelists spoke candidly about technology, terminology and steps that can be taken to dial down the danger at health care facilities.  

Eight important financial questions to ask your aging parents LifeHacker; by Emily Long; 10/23/24Money conversations can be uncomfortable, but they are also essential. ... When you start asking financial questions of your parents, remember that you don't need specifics, such as dollar amounts or who is inheriting what. The purpose of these discussions is to ensure your parents' wishes are backed by a plan and to understand whether (and how) they want or need your support as they age. Their plan may also affect you directly if you have power of attorney, help with paying bills, or are expected to be a caregiver in the future.

Customizing a palliative program to patient, payer priorities Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/23/24 While some palliative care programs mirror the hospice model, more operators are working to tailor their services to patients’ specific needs, with varying intensity. This is increasingly important as payment shifts towards value-based payment models in which demonstrating cost savings is crucial to success. Providers need to demonstrate strong performance on quality scores as well as a track record of effectively preventing avoidable hospitalizations, readmissions and emergency department visits. This is particularly the case when negotiating contracts with Medicare Advantage plans, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and other value-based payment arrangements, Sue Lynn Schramm, a partner of the hospice and palliative care consulting company Confidis, LLC, said in a presentation at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Annual Leadership Conference. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Retiring NAHC President Bill Dombi exhorts advocates to keep fighting HomeCare; 10/22/24 The departing leader shares his vision for the future of home health & hospice at his final conference. Bill Dombi met his first bully in kindergarten. It only took a day for him to fight back, leaving the bully with a bloody nose and Dombi punished in a corner, the retiring president emeritus of the National Association for Homecare and Hospice (NAHC) said as he bid farewell on the last day of the organization’s annual conference in Tampa, Florida. "I was smiling the entire time—and learning that’s not the way to do it," Dombi told the crowd during his last moments on the convention stage. "You’ve got to go to law school instead." Dombi is retiring at the end of the year and was celebrated throughout this year's event, which was launched under the NAHC title, but actually took place as the National Alliance for Care at Home Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo after NAHC and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) merged in July. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

New hospice special focus programAmerican Health Association / National Center for Assisted Living; by Amy Miller; 10/22/23 ​​As required under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, CMS has established a hospice special focus program (SFP) in the Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) final rule (88 FR 77676). Through increased regulatory oversight and enforcement of the selected poor performing hospice programs, the SFP will address issues that could place hospice beneficiaries at risk of receiving poor quality of care. The hospice SFP is like the current Special Focus Facility (SFF) program in place for nursing homes. As many nursing homes refer residents to hospice programs and may receive questions from residents or their families, it will be important to keep informed if there are noted quality of care issues. 

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. ~ Milton Berle

Busting palliative care misconceptions in cancer care Cure; by Alex Biese; 10/22/24 Palliative care can serve a crucial function for patients living with serious illnesses such as cancer, as an expert explained in an interview with CURE®. “Palliative care is sub-specialized health care for patients living with serious illness, where we're really focused on alleviating the symptoms and the stress associated with illness, and our goal is to improve quality of life for patients and their families,” said Dr. Cari Low of the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute. ... However, some misconceptions persist regarding palliative care — most prominently that it is synonymous with hospice care. ... "We [i.e., palliative care] follow patients from the time of diagnosis through their curative cancer treatment and throughout their journey and into survivorship. ... Hospice is really focused on end-of-life care and comfort when cancer treatments no longer make sense. So, I really think of palliative care as this great big umbrella of support throughout the entire journey, where hospice is just a tiny piece of that umbrella.”

Everyday moments of grace: Hospice patient’s art brings joy PeaceHealth; 10/22/24 A hospice patient’s room becomes an art studio to create expressions of her life she loves to share with others. A stay at hospice did not stop Sherry McCalden from doing what she loves - creating art and sharing it with others. ... McCalden is a lifelong artist. Her love of painting started in high school. She's been creating works of art ever since. From landscapes to animals to flowers, she paints what inspires her and what she loves. Not much stops her from painting, including Parkinson's disease. For a few months, she was at the PeaceHealth Richard Nau Hospice House in Longview, Washington before her health stabilized and she was relocated to another facility. She transformed her room at Hospice House into an art studio filled with her paintings. A visit brought joy to both visitors and staff.

Dombi scholarship established HomeCare, Tampa, FL; 10/21/24The National Alliance for Care at Home and its legacy organization have established a scholarship fund in honor of retiring National Association for Homecare and Hospice (NAHC) President Bill Dombi, leaders announced Monday at the organization’s transitional conference in Tampa, Florida. ... The William A. Dombi Scholarship Fund at the University of Connecticut, Dombi’s alma mater, topped its initial fundraising goal of $50,000 and was on the way to $100,00, said Marcylle Combs, a NAHC board member who organized the gift. NAHC and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) merged this year to create the new Alliance, ... The scholarship announcement followed a moving video send-off to Dombi, who has been with NAHC since 1987, when he came aboard as lead counsel and helmed the landmark lawsuit that reformed the Medicare home health services benefit. (Read his retirement interview with HomeCare here.)

Lawsuit filed against Visiting Nurse Service entities and individual defendant for assault of hospice patient NewRamp; by NewRamp Editorial Staff; 10/22/24 The Law Offices of Robert E. Brown has filed a lawsuit against three Visiting Nurse Service entities and individual defendant Joy Odunze-Matthew following the violent assault of Carolyn Albanese, a terminally ill hospice patient under their care. The complaint alleges gross negligence by VNS and its affiliates for failing to properly vet, train, and supervise their staff, specifically the defendant Odunze-Matthew. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages to address the physical, emotional, and psychological harm suffered by Ms. Albanese and her family. 

Healthcare trends & transactions Q3 2024 Bass, Berry & Sims; by Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC; 10/21/24 In the healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, while deal volumes varied across different sectors, by and large the sure and steady pace of deal volume in Q2 continued into Q3. Moreover, several positive developments in Q3—namely, the Federal Reserve (finally) cutting interest rates, the courts striking down the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) national ban on non-competes, and California Governor Newsom’s vetoing Assembly Bill 3129—may serve as the catalysts needed to boost activity as we head into the final stretch of 2024.

Research synthesis related to oncology family caregiver spirituality in palliative care Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Betty R. Ferrell, Tami Borneman, Marianna Koczywas, and Paul Galchutt;  10/21/24 online ahead of print Family caregivers are central to the delivery of serious illness care and also have needs related to their role and experience. One aspect of the family caregiver quality of life (QOL) that has received less attention is caregiver spirituality. The research objectives for this analysis were (1) Describe spirituality in oncology family caregivers. (2) Determine the impact of palliative care interventions on spirituality and related variables in oncology family caregivers. (3) Describe findings from the research literature related to spirituality in family caregivers. The authors include two nurse researchers (BF, TB) and a physician (MK) who conducted these studies and a board-certified chaplain (PG) who contributed his expertise in chaplaincy.  ... The authors' research synthesis and the literature support the importance of additional research and clinical focus in family caregiver spirituality in serious illness care.