Literature Review

Saturday NewslettersResearch literature will be the primary focus of Saturday newsletters - enjoy!

Quality of data on profit status reported Care CompareJournal of Pain & Symptom Management, by Joan M. Teno, Emmanuelle Belanger, Gulmeena Khan; 11/23.For-profit hospice providers differ in both key processes of care and bereaved family member perceptions of the quality of care. Recent rapid growth of hospices, formation of national for-profit hospice chains, and acquisition of hospice by private equity firms has raised concerns regarding the quality of hospice care. In response, starting in April 2023 the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services made hospice ownership data public on the Care Compare website to help consumers make informed choices in hospice programs. On the Care Compare website, hospice are listed as for-profit, nonprofit, and other category, based on hospices’ self-reported ownership status. In this study, we examined the accuracy of this information.

Gentle endings: Lessons learned in a hospice for those without a homeDeseretNews, by Eliza Anderson; 1/3/24 Jillian Olmsted was intrigued by a news story in 2015 about attempts to open a small residential hospice for the homeless in Salt Lake City, where she lives. The INN Between would offer a home for people who were unsheltered and dying so they could be fed and cared for, in beds and out of the cold. But she was also floored by the hue and cry of neighbors who didn’t want them around — even though they were terribly medically frail. Her dad was fighting cancer, and she had just helped care for her mom and stepfather, who died a month apart. Both “had insurance and a nice home and family to take care of them.” Why begrudge someone shelter, care and comfort in such dire circumstances? 

California becomes first state to offer health insurance to all undocumented immigrantsABC News, by Mary Kekatos; 1/2/24California will welcome the new year by becoming the first state to offer health insurance for all undocumented immigrants. Starting Jan. 1, all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal, California's version of the federal Medicaid program for people with low incomes.Editor's note: Hospice implications...?

Financial hardship drives unhappiness in people living with dementia, study findsMcKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kristen Fischer; 1/4/24A new study is uncovering just how tough it can be financially to live with dementia. The report, published Dec. 29 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that nearly 56% of people with dementia face financial hardships. Those financial challenges are linked with worse reported satisfaction with life and healthcare. ... The study examined data from 534 participants with dementia who shared details on satisfaction with their lives and their healthcare. The researchers compared that data to information from questionnaires from 576 people who were newly diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment.

What is Palliative Care?Money, by Bianca Rodriguez Rojas; 1/4/24Palliative care is a healthcare approach that aims to provide comfort and improve the quality of life of people diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening disease such as cancer, heart failure or Parkinson’s.Editor's Note: Interesting this appeared in Money magazine...

After loved ones' long-awaited organ transplants, caregivers often find challenges are just beginningSTAT, by Annalisa Merelli; 1/4/24By the time his wife Glenda Daggert received a double organ transplant in 1999, Ira Copperman already had a lot of experience as a caregiver. ... After the transplants, Daggert had a new kidney and a new pancreas, and was no longer diabetic. Yet this was not the ending to all her health issues, nor to Copperman’s role as a caregiver. “Transplantation is not the end story. You don’t stop what you do as caregiver or care partners the day after a transplant,” said Copperman, who serves as vice president of the nonprofit Transplant Recipients International Organization. “It is a lifelong journey.”

Death anxiety impairs self-esteem, quality of life in older adults with chronic diseaseMcKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kristen Fischer; 1/4/24No surprise here: A new study that shows anxiety about dying can affect self-esteem and quality of life among people with chronic diseases. The authors said they’d like to see more interventions to bolster self-esteem and lower death anxiety in middle-aged and older adults who have chronic diseases. The study was published on Tuesday in BMC Psychiatry. The negative consequences of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease (along with the unpredictability of death) makes middle-aged and elderly adults who have these diseases more vulnerable to death anxiety, the authors wrote. 

Other Business Headlines of Interest, updated 1/4/24 per nasdaq.com

If you do not try, your chance of success drops to 0.0%...

Sleep pods, coffee bars, and coworking spaces: Hospital staff lounges get a makeoverHealthcare Brew, by Shannon Young; 12/7/23Health systems are looking at how they can better attract, retain, and support staff with respite spaces. Picture this: a large coworking environment with collaboration areas, cappuccino bars, and programmable spaces. No, it’s not a Silicon Valley startup, a student union, or even a swanky airport lounge. It’s the next generation of hospital employee break rooms. After years of optimizing hospital spaces to focus on the patient experience, more health systems are looking at how they can better attract, retain, and support staff, Mike Pukszta, codirector of CannonDesign’s global health practice, told Healthcare Brew.Editor's Note: Consider implications for today's hospice staffing. Office-based leaders, have you ever spent a day with a team member making visit after visit? While you want staff out in the field, do they have a home base where they can easily collaborate, eat, communicate with each other? Seek feedback and consider adjustments that can make a big difference in employee satisfaction and well-being.

NY healthcare orgs collab to deliver value-based hospice, palliative careTechTarget, by Victoria Bailey; 1/3/24Bassett Healthcare Network, a New York-based health system, has partnered with Helios Care to provide patients with value-based hospice and palliative care. ... Together, the two organizations will create an electronically driven referral process that will promote value-based contracting for hospice and palliative care services and establish a comprehensive palliative care and hospice service to treat patients in the hospital, in outpatient settings, and at home. In addition, the partnership will prioritize developing a transitional care program to provide in-home care for patients with serious illnesses, chronic diseases, and end-of-life needs.

Yesterday's 10-Second Question was: What is your greatest hope for the new year? (per a Wall Street Journal email). Responses included: