Literature Review

White House enlists Microsoft, Google for rural hospital cyberdefense Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 6/10/24 The Biden-Harris administration has secured commitments from Microsoft and Google to offer free and low-cost resources to rural hospitals nationwide to help them boost their cyber defenses. As part of the effort, Microsoft will be extending its nonprofit program to provide grants and up to a 75% discount on security products for independent critical access hospitals and rural emergency hospitals, according to a June 10 news release from the White House. Additionally, larger rural hospitals using eligible Microsoft solutions will also receive the most advanced security suite at no additional cost for one year. ... Meanwhile, Google committed to offering endpoint security advice to rural hospitals and non-profit organizations at no cost, alongside funding support for software migration. 

Daughter stole $25K using [dying] father's credit, debit cardsLatrobe Bulletin, Latrobe, PA; by Joseph Bell; 6/6/24 A Vandergrift woman is facing multiple felony charges after she racked up over $25,000 in credit and debit card debt using her father’s accounts. According to court records, 44-year-old Kimberly Sue Shaw of Hancock Avenue is accused of using three of her father’s credit and debit cards for unauthorized purchases, in addition to transferring a sum of money from one of his bank accounts to another while he was hospitalized and later under hospice care. The defendant’s father, Dennis Lee Barger of Washington Township, died May 2.Editor's Note: Often, we think of elder abuse as being physical harm. However, it includes much more, and your interdisciplinary team members must be trained to signs, assessments, interventions, and safety (for the patient and self). Definitions are available on the CDC's "About Abuse of Older Persons" webpage. These definitions include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, and financial abuse.

3,000+ nurses at 6 Providence facilities to strikeBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 6/10/24 Members of the Oregon Nurses Association are set to begin a three-day strike June 18 at six Providence facilities, in what the union deems the largest nurses' strike in the state's history. The union represents more than 3,000 nurses at the following facilities, according to an ONA news release:

Compassus announces new partnership for home care and hospice.InvestorsObserver; by PR Newswire; 6/10/24Compassus , a leading national provider of integrated home-based health care services, announced today they have formed a partnership with Columbus, Ohio -based OhioHealth for home health and hospice services. "We're proud to collaborate with OhioHealth to deliver high-quality, patient-centered home health and hospice care to ensure patients and families have the support they need wherever they call home," said Compassus CEO Mike Asselta . "As our teams come together, we'll continue to focus on patients, partnership and innovation to deliver superior care." The company's nearly 7,000 team members serve more than 120,000 patients annually across more than 270 touchpoints across 30 states.

Death with dignity: 50th anniversary of America’s first hospiceYankee Institute; by Andrew Fowler; 6/7/24 ... In the late 19th century, terminally ill patients faced undignified treatment or were even “refused admission to the hospital entirely” due to “availability of space and resources” or race and socio-economic class, according to Doctors, Death, and Denial: The Origins of Hospice Care in 20th Century America by Sarah E. Pajka. ... All of this shaped the outlook of Florence Wald — a former dean of the Yale University School of Nursing, and a Branford native. Growing up in the early 20th century, she recognized the flaws and inhumane nature of medical care toward terminal patients, telling the Associated Press (AP), on Nov. 26, 1971, that death is “a period of life that can have a lot of meaning. It can be content, full of joy, with lots of reminiscing.” But death needed to be “more human and meaningful,” as she stated in the same AP article. Throughout her career, Wald’s passion for palliative care revolutionized the medical profession, with her co-founding “The Connecticut Hospice,” the first in the United States, on June 11, 1974.  Since then, more than 5,200 hospices have been established in the country and millions have sought both in-patient and home care services. This is the story of how the first hospice was founded in Connecticut 50 years ago.  ... Editor's Note: This fascinating history of hospice's beginnnings illuminate core purposes, outcomes (are we measuring the right factors?), and current 21st century challenges. This article is published by the Yankee Institute, not Connecticut Hospice. This author frames this history as a stand against "euthanasia." Whatever one's ethical, political, or religious stand on today's MAiD issues (Medical Aid in Dying)--also referred to as physician assisted suicide--we invite you to find common ground in learning from our history and celebrating Florence Wald's co-founding of The Connecticut Hospice. For readers, what do you know about your hospice organization's history? What might you research and learn? Whom can you honor? Fifty years from now, what will be said of how your organization chose to address 2024's core hospice purposes, outcomes, and challenges?

Managing palliative care challenges for patients with complex symptoms Pharmacy Times; 6/7/24In an interview with the Pharmacy Times, Justin Kullgren, PharmD, FAAHPM, Palliative Medicine Clinical Pharmacist Specialist and PGY2 Pain Management & Palliative Care Residency Program Director at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, James Cancer Hospital, shares insights into palliative care and common challenges faced by pharmacists treating patients with complicated symptoms. ... Pharmacy Times: What do you wish pharmacists understood about hospice and palliative care in terms of patient care for patients with complicated symptoms? Kullgren: So, I think, number 1, pharmacists across all healthcare systems, in the hospital, at community pharmacies, long-term care, you are all going to be involved in these patients— it’s just to what degree. ... We want to do those therapies that ... are going to have the least amount of risk for our patients, or at least side effects for our patients. ...

New partnership aims to expand hospice services in EUP [Michigan]The Sault News; by Brendan Wiesner; 6/7/24 A new partnership between local and state organizations will help support hospice services for the Sault community. Several months ago, the Chippewa County Health Department decided to close its home health and hospice division. The division committed to providing hospice services until the end of 2024 or until a new program was made available for the community. The closing of the division did not affect the hospice services at the Hospice of the EUP, but it would have limited access to hospice services that are set up in people's homes. The division also provided some support to Hospice of the EUP through clinical support.Editor's Note: We posted a related article on 6/7/24, "Collaboration looks to fill void left by closure of Hiland Cottage Hospice." However, that article highlighted "Hiland Cottage Hospice" while this one focuses on "Hospice of the EUP."

Design, creation, and 13-month performance of a novel, web-based activity for education in primary cardiology palliative care Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Jill M Steiner, Caroline L Doherty, Jill A Patton, Jadry Gruen, Sarah Godfrey, John Mulrow, Richard A Josephson, Sarah J Goodlin; 6/5/24 online ahead of print Cardiovascular disease (CVD) clinicians who care for seriously ill patients frequently report that they do not feel confident nor adequately prepared to manage patients' palliative care (PC) needs. With the goal, therefore, of increasing PC knowledge and skills amongst interprofessional clinicians providing CVD care, the ACC's PC Workgroup designed, developed, and implemented a comprehensive PC online educational activity. This paper describes the process and 13-month performance of this free, online activity for clinicians across disciplines and levels of training, "Palliative Care for the Cardiovascular Clinician" (PCCVC).Editor's Note: Reiterating, this "free, online activity [is] for clinicians across disciplines and levels of training." The trajectories for cardiovascular diseases can elicit enormous anxiety--due to their roller-coaster changes that can result in sudden death--in contrast to the more predictable trajectories for cancer. Whether you use this resource or another, educate your interdisciplinary clinical managers and team members to the all-important disease and care factors for cardiology palliative care, relevant to the scope of professionals' different roles. 

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people. – Carl Jung

Surprise D-Day veteran honored on anniversaryDaily Independent; by Lin Sue Flood; 6/6/24At the tender age of 18, Surprise [AZ] resident Ned Kent joined the Army. That was January 1940 — just four months into World War II — and he served faithfully through July 1945, virtually the end of the war. A hard worker, Kent rose to the rank of technical sergeant and fought on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. He and his troop won a Bronze Star for their heroic actions storming Normandy while under German bombardment on D-Day 80 years ago. ... But those five years of service were difficult to talk about. It took Kent decades to open up about what he experienced, including the horrors witnessed while liberating a concentration camp. One of the people he shared openly with was Hospice of the Valley social worker Roberta Fellows. Once she learned about his time in the service, she was determined to give him some much-needed recognition for all he endured. She called upon a veteran volunteer with Hospice of the Valley’s Saluting Our Veteran’s program. ... The humble centenarian was beside himself, surrounded by son-in-law Sam, a Vietnam-era veteran, and Debi, who brought a surprise gift: 11 of his medals framed in a shadow box.

Navigating the complexities of palliative care for patients with comorbidities and complicated symptomsPharmacy Times; 6/6/24In an interview with the Pharmacy Times, Justin Kullgren, PharmD, FAAHPM, Palliative Medicine Clinical Pharmacist Specialist and PGY2 Pain Management & Palliative Care Residency Program Director at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, James Cancer Hospital, shares insights into palliative care and common challenges faced by pharmacists treating patients with complicated symptoms. He discusses the complex nature of patient cases in palliative care, emphasizing the importance of effective treatment management, pain tolerance, and overcoming patient barriers to treatment.

Rural pharmacy owners say it's getting harder to stay open Times West Virginian; by Devi Shastri; 6/5/24 Rural pharmacies can be a touchstone for their communities. The staff knows everyone’s names and drugs, answers questions about residents’ mail-order prescriptions or can spot the signs of serious illness. But their business models face unrelenting pressures to the point that sometimes they have to close. An AP analysis of data from 49 states and the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs shows that several largely rural states have some of the lowest number of pharmacies per ZIP code. Editor's Note: This trend for closures in rural areas is rampant for hospitals, emergency departments, physicians, and more. Click here for a letter from NHPCO and numerous hospice providers to Congress, Jan. 5, 2024: Protect rural and frontier American's access to hospice and palliative care.