Literature Review

Aroostook House of Comfort hosts 11th Annual Golf Classic: Raises over $80kThe Aroostook Hospice Foundation proudly hosted its 11th Annual Golf Classic on Saturday, June 15 at the Presque Isle Country Club, successfully raising over $80,000 for the Aroostook House of Comfort. This remarkable achievement was made possible through the generous contributions of 162 sponsors, 46 teams, 60 in-kind donors and 32 dedicated volunteers. ... The unwavering generosity of community members and partners allows them to maintain a 9,800-square foot, state-of-the-art facility where individuals and families receive compassionate care, comfort, and support during their hospice journey. Editor's Note: The Aroostook House of Comfort is an inpatient hospice and respite care facility owned by the Aroostook Hospice Foundation and staffed by Northern Light Home Care & Hospice, in South Portland, Maine.

Medical aid-in-dying bill stalls in Delaware Senate Bay to Bay News, Dover, Delaware; by Joseph Edelen; 6/24/24 An act that would allow physician-assisted suicide stalled in the state Senate on Thursday. House Bill 140, if enacted as written, permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end their life in a humane and dignified way. ... The bill, brought by Rep. Paul S. Baumbach, D-Newark, narrowly passed the House of Representatives in April, with a vote of 21-16. On Thursday in the Senate, the measure logged 10 yes votes and nine no votes, with Sen. Kyra Hoffner, D-Dover, not voting. But Senate sponsor Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, then changed his yes vote to no. The alteration meant that the initiative stalled in the Senate but could be brought back to its floor for another vote by Sunday, the last day of this year’s legislative session. Many senators seemed emotional while speaking about the measure Thursday. ...

Improving advanced care planning for late-stage cancer Medical Xpress; by Melissa Rohman; 6/24/24 Multilevel care interventions improved clinician–documented advanced care planning (ACP) compared with a clinician-level intervention alone for patients with genitourinary cancer, according to findings published in JAMA Oncology. "Clinicians often have limited time to assist patients in fully understanding ACP. This intervention is one approach to improve ACP and care delivery among patients with advanced stages of genitourinary cancer," said Gladys M. Rodriguez, MD, MS, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and lead author of the study. For patients diagnosed with late-stage cancer, ACP can help reduce unnecessary acute care, increase palliative care and improve quality of life. However, previous reports have found that less than 20% of patients will engage in ACP with their health care providers. ... The primary outcome was ACP documentation in the electronic health record by the patient's oncology clinician within 12 months. Secondary outcomes included shared decision-making, palliative care use, hospice use, emergency department visits and hospitalizations within 12 months.

Dementia decisions: Making tough choices about hospice, palliative care Being Patient; by Katy Koop; 6/25/24 In the later stages of Alzheimer's, palliative and hospice care can be necessary. But how do you find a facility designed for dementia patients? ... Dr. Maribeth Gallagher, director of Arizona’s Hospice of the Valley dementia program, joins Being Patient video reporter Mark Niu to discuss how to make these difficult decisions and what makes a palliative or hospice care program “dementia-capable.” Gallagher’s work directing the Hospice of the Valley’s dementia program has received national and international awards for its innovative approaches. Her focus on dementia care was initially inspired by her personal experiences as a family caregiver, sharing the journey with her loved one from diagnosis to death. [Click on the title's link for the full conversation, in both audio and text.]

A paradigm shift for healthtech CEOs: Increasing patient satisfaction and retention Forbes; by Eric Giesecke; 6/24/24In our hyperconnected world, seamless communication is the norm. From the latest news to customer service chats, consumers expect streamlined interactions. However, the healthcare and healthtech industries have lagged in adopting consumer-friendly practices. ... A patient’s experience is extremely important for healthcare organizations to thrive. It’s important to remember that in the digital age, competitors are not just other healthcare companies. ... So how can we customize experiences better than ever before? One important step is taking the time to understand your organization's current technology. ...

BrightSpring Health Services announces definitive agreement to acquire Haven Hospice, expanding its hospice services into the CON state of FloridaBrightSpring press release; 6/24/24BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ: BTSG), a leading provider of home and community-based health services for complex populations, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of North Central Florida Hospice, Inc. and Haven Medical Group, LLC (collectively “Haven Hospice”), a Florida-based company holding a Certificate of Need (CON) for comprehensive hospice care services in 18 counties in north central Florida. ... BrightSpring’s acquisition of Haven will allow the Company to provide advance care planning, palliative, and hospice services throughout Florida Agency for Health Care Administration service areas 3A, 4A, and 4B. Total consideration for the acquisition is $60 million, with $15 million in cash at close, $30 million in Company equity at close, and an additional $15 million in a seller note payable four years after closing. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

Reflections: Three ways to think about death and dyingPost Alley, Seattle, WA; by Anthony B. Robinson; 6/21/24Our book group had a wrap-up session on our “Aging and Mortality” series last night. We invited everyone to share their own take-aways from our six books. What did we learn? What was comforting? Challenging? How might this effect your planning and decision-making? Before I share my own take-aways from the series, I would note one general theme in what we read: the more we isolate death and the dying, the more we fear death. Here my three take-aways from the series and our conversations:

Lawmakers remain committed to passing hospice workforce bill Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/24/24 Federal legislators plan to continue to work on passing a bill designed to bolster the hospice and palliative care workforce. The Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA) has come before Congress several times but has not yet been passed. The bill’s most recent development occurred in July 2023, when it was reintroduced by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Capito has indicated that the senators are not giving up on the legislation as they seek to ensure that hospice and palliative care providers are able to meet growing demand. ... The legislation would establish fellowships through new palliative care and hospice education centers to provide short-term, intensive training, as well as incentivized award programs across all the relevant disciplines. It also would support programs to develop career paths within the field.

Research uncovers racial disparities in hospice discharge outcomesMcKnight's Clinical Daily News; by Kristen Fischer; 6/20/24When Black patients leave hospice care alive, they have a higher risk for being admitted to a hospital, according to a study published on May 16 in JAMA Network Open. About 15% of patients who enter hospice actually wind up being discharged from it before they die. That can happen for various reasons such as unplanned hospitalization, getting other treatment for a terminal condition, transferring to another hospice service, or if their condition improves. The transition to hospice can be hard, but moving to a different care setting can be challenging as well.

48 health systems with strong finances Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Andrew Cass; 6/20/24 Here are 48 health systems with strong operational metrics and solid financial positions, according to reports from credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service released in 2024. Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Health systems were compiled from credit rating reports. [Click on the title's link for the list.] Editor's Note: This list is from larger "health systems," and does not reflect stand-alone hospice and palliative organizations.

Anatomy of hospice grief camps for children Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 6/20/24 Training staff and volunteers to provide developmentally-appropriate grief support is among the key parts of operating summer camp programs for children and adolescents suffering a recent loss. Whether rolling out summer grief camps for the first time or innovating these programs throughout the course of several decades, hospices need a firm grasp around the different emotional and cognitive needs of pediatric populations coping with the death of a loved one, according to Alissa Drescher, senior director of mission-based services at Alive Hospice. With a greater understanding of how children process death, hospices can ensure staff and volunteers are well-equipped to support their evolving needs as they grow, Drescher said. [Click on the title's link to continue reading, particularly "Common threads among children's grief programs."]

The hospice as a sacred placeThe New Statesman; by Ken Worpole; 6/21/24[UK] The hospice building retains a special place in the modern imagination, a new iteration of Larkin’s “serious building on serious earth”. ... The symbolic power of the hospice building was demonstrated in 2014, when 500 people attended a meeting protesting the proposed closure of Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury. “It’s only bricks and mortar,” advocates of closure argued, suggesting that hospice care could be provided just as meaningfully at home. John Harries, resident-researcher at St Christopher’s, followed the saga closely. The arguments against closure, he saw, came from families of those who had died within hospice walls, and for whom the building had “achieved the status of a sacred place”: for them, “closure was seen as an act of desecration”. For Harries, “Care is an invisible abstraction, but for many it is symbolised and made concrete by the building.”Publisher's Note: A bit of hospice history woven into this interesting piece.