Literature Review

Increasing Hospice CAHPS scores through enhanced caregiver training Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 4/19/24 Improving education and training for family caregivers may give hospices’ quality scores a boost. Maryland-based Hospice of the Chesapeake has introduced a standardized caregiver training program designed to enhance the work they had previously done in this area. After a review of scientific literature, it became clear that nationally, caregiver training was spotty, and this affected families’ perceptions of the care their loved one received, Monica Ferebee, clinical manager of hospice at Hospice of the Chesapeake ... More than 70% of hospice patients are primarily cared for by untrained family caregivers with no medical background, Ferebee found. She led Chesapeake’s change project to address these concerns, and thereby improve performance on Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys. 

Change in long-term care: Nursing homes across U.S. closing limaohio.com, by Precious Grundy; 4/19/24... According to the American Health Care Association website, more than 1,000 nursing homes have closed in the United States since 2015. ... According to the Population Reference Bureau website, in 2050 the population older than 65 will increase from 58 million (in 2022) to 82 million in just a few decades. The topic of long-term care will remain in questions. The American Health Care Association also said nursing homes across the United States have closed due to staffing shortages. ... Older adults now have the option of a home health aide, assisted living facilities and family caregivers.Editor's Note: How is this trend playing out in your service area? How do these closures impact your referral sources? Your hospice patients in skilled nursing facilities and memory care units? Accuity of patient care needs in the home, assisted living?  Hospital-in-the-home? The palliative care services you provide?

If you love the work you are doing, then you will love Tuesday! - Catherine Pulsifer

961 nurses get training on palliative careThe Daily Star - Healthcare; 4/19/24[India:] Palliative Care Society of Bangladesh (PCSB), in collaboration with Kumudini Welfare Trust of Bengal Limited, provided training to the nurses in two phases held on April 2-4 and April 18-19. ... At present, approximately 800,000 people across Bangladesh, including more than 70,000 children, are in need of palliative care.

Save A Lot donates 7,000 pounds of food and $500 to local hospice Hazard Herald [KY], by Justin Begley; 4/18/24Save A Lot has once again lent its support by donating seven thousand pounds of food and water, along with a $500 gift card, to the Greg and Noreen Hospice Center. This year marks the fifth consecutive year that the grocery chain has made such a donation to hospice. Jason Smith, a district manager for Save A Lot, alongside management from other stores, was on hand to unload truckloads of supplies to replenish the hospice’s pantry ...

Forget Doctors’ Day. Here’s how to really value doctors Forbes, by Sachin H. Jain; 4/21/24 ... Here are five steps that the hospitals, health systems and other entities that employ physicians and other healthcare professionals can revalue their work and give it the prominent place of honor it deserves. 

JAMA Revisited, from May 1924: The Promise of a Longer Lifetime JAMA; 4/18/2024.Originally published May 10, 1924 | JAMA. 1924;82(19):1518-1519.Editor's Note: Yes. This article's original date is May 10, 1924; one hundred years ago, shortly after coming through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919.Modern hygiene has been described as the reaction against the old fatalistic creed that deaths inevitably occur at a constant rate. The study of vital statistics shows that there is no “iron law of mortality.” ... The New York report states that the increase in the expectation of life has been almost entirely confined to the ages before 35 years. In the future, the health officer must, of necessity, consider steps to be taken to minimize the mortality among those of middle and advanced life. There is much to encourage man today to seek to secure a normal lifetime.

Chag Pesach Kasher Vesame’ach (pronounced: CHAG PEH-sach kah-SHER ve-sah-MAY-ach) - Have a joyful and kosher Passover - Begins at sundown Monday April 22, 2024 and ends at sundown Tuesday April 30, 2024

Global assessment of palliative care need: Serious health-related suffering measurement methodologyJournal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Xiaoxiao J Kwete, Afsan Bhadelia, Héctor Arreola-Ornelas, Oscar Mendez, William E Rosa, Stephen Connor, Julia Downing, Dean Jamison, David Watkins, Renzo Calderon, Jim Cleary, Joe Friedman, Liliana De Lima, Christian Ntizimira, Tania Pastrana, Pedro E Pérez-Cruz, Dingle Spence, M R Rajagopal, Valentina Vargas Enciso, Eric L Krakauer, Lukas Radbruch, Felicia Marie Knaul; 4/16/24Inequities and gaps in palliative care access are a serious impediment to health systems especially low- and middle-income countries and the accurate measurement of need across health conditions is a critical step to understanding and addressing the issue. Serious Health-related Suffering (SHS) is a novel methodology to measure the palliative care need and was originally developed by The Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Relief. ... The discussion encompasses opportunities for applying SHS to future policy making assessment of future research priorities particularly in light of the dearth of data from low- and middle-income countries, and sharing of directions for future work to develop SHS 3.0.

Connecticut home care safety bill would create administrative burdens, hospices sayMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 4/19/24 Some hospices are fighting to be carved out of a Connecticut state bill that would impose stricter safety policies for home-based healthcare providers. The legislation’s burdensome administrative requirements could affect patient care, they argue. ...  The bill’s introduction comes only months after a visiting nurse was killed on the job while providing care through a Connecticut home care agency. ... By the time a hospice could produce background checks and safety reports for a client, it may be too late to provide effective treatment, according to Barbara Pearce, chief executive officer of Connecticut Hospice.Editor's Note: For more information, see the articles we posted on 

Help Serenity Hospice workers win their unionSEIU503; 4/18/24Workers at Serenity Hospice have been organizing for pay equity, adequate raises, affordable health care, regular hours, PTO, and the ability to manage trauma and compassion fatigue. The workers unanimously decided to form a union, and asked management to voluntarily recognize them. Serenity’s parent company (Addus Healthcare) already has SEIU-represented employees at its home health agency in Eugene. Instead, Addus hired one of the most expensive union-busing law firms in the country, and has been paying them hundreds of dollars per hour to spread anti-union propaganda. Workers are sticking together and staying strong, and plan to vote YES in their union election next week. Editor's Note: Hospice & Palliative Care Today's posting of this article denotes neither support nor opposition to this action. Rather, we are reporting it for hospice and palliative care leadership awareness. Unions and strikes among healthcare professionals--for these same cited reasons--continue to be a growing trend, nationwide.

Season Hospice is expanding beyond Rochester KIMT 3 News, Rochester, MN; by Saral Khare; 4/18/24Earlier this April Seasons Hospice has already begun to provide at home hospice care to one patient in Owatonna. Seasons Hospice Executive Director, Kristina Wright-Peterson says it’s important to go out to rural communities and give hospice to those who need it. Wright-Peterson says residents who get hospice can focus on what truly matters. 

Terminally ill pediatric patients and the grieving therapist Psychotherapy.net, by Sara Loftin, LPC-S, RPT-S; 4/18/24 A pediatric clinician shares the rewards and challenges of working with terminally ill children and their families. When asked about the favorite aspect of my (dream) job, I could talk for hours. I feel passionate about working in a pediatric hospital setting with chronically ill children and their families. Each day brings new challenges. ... Experiencing the death of a child is the most painful part of my job, and it will never make sense to me although logically, I know this happens. On the other hand, I feel honored to be a small part of the most vulnerable time in a family’s life, and to walk alongside them in their journey of grief and loss. ... It has been impossible for me to not be deeply impacted working in this arena. [This article includes:]