Literature Review

Bristol Hospice opens 4 de novos in 7 days Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/19/24 Bristol Hospice has opened four new locations within a single week in three different states. Two of the de novos have launched in Texas in the Rio Grande Valley and Austin communities. The remaining two are in Bangor, Maine and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Bristol Hospice, which is backed by the private equity firm Webster Equity Partners, employs more than 3,000 staff in close to 80 locations across 18 states. The company has been a prolific buyer in the M&A market, but more recently has leaned harder into its de novo strategy.

Kentwood senior living center closing after large fire damages campus buildings ABC 13, Kentwood, MI; by Mary Dupuis; 8/21/24 A Kentwood senior living center is closing after a fire heavily damaged one of the buildings on its campus, the center announced Wednesday. A fire broke out in the attic of the memory care building at American House Kentwood around 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 while a third-party HVAC company was doing maintenance work. Kentwood Deputy Fire Chief Mike Hipp said 12 residents had to be evacuated from the facility as large flames poured from the attic area. The Kentwood Fire Department said everyone inside American House Kentwood at the time of the fire made it out safely. The senior living community offers assisted living, memory care and hospice care for seniors. 

Mortuaries get a modern-day makeover The Hustle; by Sara Friedman; 8/20/24 When window shopping in a city, it’s often an aesthetic storefront that captures your attention and pulls you inside. But what if the handcrafted vase that caught your eye was actually an urn for human remains? That’s the business model for the crop of trendy, modernized mortuaries popping up around the world, per The New York Times. ... Pretty enough to be spas or nightclubs, these new mortuaries bring some levity to customers looking for something different. In a Co-Op Funeralcare study of 4k people in the UK, 68% said they see funerals as celebrations of life, not sad occasions. [Examples given] ... These new mortuary models are tapping into a lucrative industry: The average funeral costs ~$6.6k in London, while the median cost of a US funeral is $8.3k.

Molina Healthcare of Ohio donates $125,000 to address shortage of home care and hospice nurses Business Wire; by Ben Jackey; 8/21/24 Molina Healthcare of Ohio ("Molina") awarded a $125,000 grant to the Center for Community Based Care (CCBC), the nonprofit foundation arm of the Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice (OCHCH). The investment will fund efforts to address the shortage of nurses in home care and hospice settings and support a new hotline aiding Ohioans managing serious illnesses from home. ... "Molina believes all individuals should have access to high-quality care and our support of CCBC will help create greater capacity for Ohioans to receive care from home," said Ami Cole, plan president for Molina Healthcare of Ohio. "CCBC is reducing gaps in health equity and we are proud to invest in their work."

Future trends in aged care careers Intelligent Living; by Jennifer Barns; 8/21/24Medical advances have increased the average life expectancy. By 2050, older people—or those above 60 years—are expected to comprise 22% of the global population, almost twice compared to 2015, according to the World Health Organization. As the population ages, the demand for skilled professionals in the aged care sector is also going through the roof. ... Editor's Note: This article provides statistics and user-friendly language that might be helpful for your employee recruitment strategies.

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union awards Home Health & Hospice Care $2,024 for National Nonprofit Day CUInsight, Lowell, MA; by Robin Lorenzen; 8/20/24 Home Health & Hospice Care was selected as the winner of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s National Nonprofit Day campaign. The organization received a $2,024 donation as the winning prize. National Nonprofit Day was celebrated on Saturday, August 17. The campaign, which is part of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Small Acts That Give Back initiative, ran from July 15 through August 2. Community members nominated their favorite local 501(c) (3) nonprofits for the chance to win a $2,024 donation. ... “We’re absolutely thrilled to receive this generous donation from our friends at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union; this support is crucial in supporting our Access To Care Programs,” remarked Paula J. Telage, Director of Corporate Giving at Home Health & Hospice Care.

BoldAge CMO Glenn Meyers: PACE is palliative care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/19/24 Palliative care is integral to Programs for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) programs, according to Dr. Glenn Meyers, who was recently promoted to chief medical officer of BoldAge PACE. New Jersey-headquartered BoldAge emerged last year, established by a group of former hospice and home health leaders. The company currently operates four PACE centers located in the Northwest and the Midwest, with two more slated to open before the end of the year. Ultimately, BoldAge PACE plans to build a national footprint.

Integration of palliative pharmacists to elevate oncologic care Pharmacy Times; by Alexis Beachy, PharmD and Jessica Geiger, PharmD, MS, BCPS; 8/20/24... Conclusion: This case demonstrates several aspects of care palliative pharmacists can assist with, though it is certainly not all-encompassing. All things considered, pharmacists are an essential asset of the palliative team. Their experience further enriches the interdisciplinary team and grants all patients and families many benefits. Specifically, patients receiving oncologic care benefit from collaboration with a palliative care pharmacist. In addition to offering a more individualized and holistic approach to care, palliative pharmacists can also provide patients with quicker and improved symptom management, which often improves quality of life and may also increase survival rates.Editor's Note: This article provides excellent history, definitions, and descriptions of the pharmacist's significant role in providing expert palliative and hospice care.

Deals reached to keep some Steward hospitals in Massachusetts open, Gov. Healey says Boston 25 News; by Colin A. Young, State House News Service; 8/16/24 Gov. Maura Healey announced late Friday morning that Massachusetts will take St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton by eminent domain in order to keep the hospital open while it transitions to a new owner. ... The governor said deals in principle have been struck to transition operations at the other four for-sale Steward Health Care hospitals – Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, the Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill and Morton Hospital in Taunton – to new operators. ...

Nationwide home healthcare and hospice provider to pay $3.85M to resolve False Claims Act allegationsDepartment of Justice press release; 8/20/24Intrepid U.S.A. Inc., headquartered in Dallas, and various wholly-owned subsidiaries (Intrepid) have agreed to pay $3,850,000 to resolve allegations that Intrepid violated the False Claims Act in connection with two lines of its business: first, that Intrepid knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for home healthcare services for patients who did not qualify for the Medicare home healthcare benefit or where services otherwise did not qualify for Medicare reimbursement; and second, that Intrepid knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for patients who did not qualify for the hospice benefit. The settlement is based on Intrepid’s ability to pay.

Nationwide home healthcare and hospice provider to pay $3.85M to resolve False Claims Act allegations U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs; Press Release; 8/20/24 Intrepid U.S.A. Inc., headquartered in Dallas, and various wholly-owned subsidiaries (Intrepid) have agreed to pay $3,850,000 to resolve allegations that Intrepid violated the False Claims Act in connection with two lines of its business: first, that Intrepid knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for home healthcare services for patients who did not qualify for the Medicare home healthcare benefit or where services otherwise did not qualify for Medicare reimbursement; and second, that Intrepid knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for patients who did not qualify for the hospice benefit. The settlement is based on Intrepid’s ability to pay.

​​Bioethicists scrutinize Pontifical Academy for Life’s new guidance on withdrawing food, water The Catholic World Report; by Jonah McKeown; 8/16/24 After the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAFL) last month issued a booklet summarizing the Church’s teaching on a number of bioethical issues, the section on “artificial nutrition and hydration” (ANH) has some observers concerned about what they see as a departure from previous Church teaching. ... The Church’s teaching on this issue was recently in the news in the United States because of the ongoing case of Margo Naranjo, a disabled Texas woman whose parents, who are Catholic, announced last month that they had decided to allow Margo to die by starvation in hospice. They were prevented from doing so after a judge intervened. ... What does the Pontifical Academy's new document say? ... “[T]he doctor is required to respect the will of the patient who refuses them with a conscious and informed decision, also expressed in advance in anticipation of the possible loss of the ability to express himself and choose,” the PAFL wrote. he PAFL noted that Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of considering the whole person, not just individual bodily functions, when making medical decisions.Editor's Note: This "guidance" and discussion is much more complex than the summarized information above. Click on the title's link to read more.

John Oliver on US for-profit hospice care: ‘too important to just hope the free market fixes it' The Guardian; by Adrian Horton; 8/19/24 On the latest Last Week Tonight, John Oliver delved into the many issues with hospice care in the US. Doing so is “an almost offensive parody of this show”, he acknowledged. “If somebody else did that, it would genuinely be hurtful. But I promise this is worth talking about.” There are “lots of dedicated people work with hospices, providing huge relief for dying patients and their families, particularly those who want to remain at home”, such as the 1.8 million Americans who received end-of-life care at home last year. But like anything, hospice is subject to fraud, mismanagement and abuse. One government report estimated that hospice’s inappropriate billing costs Medicare hundreds of millions per year. ... “Hospice care, when done well, is hugely beneficial to those that are dying and their families. It is too important to just hope the free market fixes it,” Oliver concluded. “This industry badly needs reform. That’s clear.” [Click on links below for hospice responses to this "Hospice" episode of Last Week Tonight.]