Literature Review

What is hospice care? 6 myths about this end-of-life optionNPRDecember 28, 2023... Former President Jimmy Carter, the longest-living former president in American history at age 99, joined those numbers in February when his family announced he was entering hospice. ... Many assumed the decision meant that Carter wouldn’t be alive for much longer. But contrary to popular belief, hospice care isn’t necessarily only for people who have just a few days to live, nor does it mean giving up care entirely. ... Here’s the truth about some of the myths about hospice care and how it works.

Lawsuit—Minnesota’s free training hurt nursing assistant schoolsStar Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)December 26, 2023A group of nursing assistant training schools has sued Minnesota, saying their business has been undercut by the state’s free training program. With its no-cost training for would-be nursing assistants, Minnesota’s two-year-old Next Generation Nursing Assistant training program has been hailed as a solution to the state’s worsening health care labor shortage. But providers left on the outside of that program say they have struggled. 

New services help post-acute, hospital partnershipsModern HealthcareDecember 27, 2023Nursing homes and home healthcare companies are branching into new lines of business to increase revenue as demand for post-acute care rises and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements stagnate. It is a trend that Ash Shehata, a partner at business consulting firm KPMG, has been tracking for the past two years. Healthcare providers are under increasing pressure from insurers to quicken the move of patients to less-costly settings. 

I Promised My Sister I Would Write About How She Chose to DieBy Steven Petrow, Guest ColumnistNew York TimesDecember 28, 2023On the day before my sister Julie died, I lay down on her bed and held her gingerly in my arms, afraid that any pressure would hurt her. She had lost so much weight that she looked like a stick figure I might have drawn when we were kids. 

Aaron A. & Maria H. Putnam Family Charitable Trust gives grant to Aroostook Hospice FoundationThe County (Presque Isle, ME)December 26, 2023Presque Isle, ME—The Aroostook Hospice Foundation, owner of the Aroostook House of Comfort, is delighted to announce the receipt of a generous $5,000 grant from the Aaron A. and Maria H. Putnam Family Charitable Trust of Houlton. 

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”Søren Kierkegaard

Saint Louis University Hospital readies for 2-day nurse strikeBecker’s Hospital ReviewDecember 26, 2023Nurses represented by National Nurses United are set to begin a two-day strike at Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. Dec. 27. ... The union said the strike is in response to hospital management’s “persistent union-busting and outsourcing of RN jobs.” This is the second strike the union has called this year at Saint Louis University Hospital, with the first taking place in September.

Death by Doctor May Soon Be Available for the Mentally Ill in CanadaNew York TimesDecember 27, 2023Canada already has one of the most liberal assisted death laws in the world, offering the practice to terminally and chronically ill Canadians. But under a law scheduled to take effect in March assisted dying would also become accessible to people whose only medical condition is mental illness, making Canada one of about half a dozen countries to permit the procedure for that category of people. That move has divided Canadians, some of whom view it as a sign that the country’s public health care system is not offering adequate psychiatric care, which is notoriously underfunded and in high demand. 

Non-profit hospice group uses thrift store to help fund their servicesWMAZ-TV (Macon, GA)December 27, 2023Warner-Robins, GA—This thrift store might sell a variety of goods, but the proceeds help terminally ill patients get the end-of-life services they need. Sheila Redding is the store manager for the Heart of Georgia Hospice thrift store. She enjoys the opportunity to give back. Since 2021, the thrift store has provided more than $80,000 for hospice services. 

Palliative Care Consultation and Family-Centered Outcomes in Patients With Unplanned Intensive Care Unit AdmissionsJournal of Palliative MedicineJamie T Nomitch, et.al.December 25, 2023Context: Hospitalized patients who experience unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions face significant challenges, and their family members have unique palliative care needs. Objectives: To identify predictors of palliative care consultation among hospitalized patients with unplanned ICU admissions and to examine the association between palliative care consultation and family outcomes.Conclusions: For patients experiencing unplanned ICU admission, palliative care consultation often happened after transfer and was associated with illness severity, comorbid illness, and hospital site. Patient death was associated with family symptoms of psychological distress.

Hospice volunteer rule to return in ‘24 Requirement to resume in U.S., stateArkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)December 24, 2023On Jan. 1, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will reinstate rules that, among other things, require volunteers to provide at least 5% of care hours at hospices across the country, including in Arkansas. Those rules were lifted during the first years of the covid pandemic ...

Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought HospitalsNew York TimesDecember 26, 2023The rate of serious medical complications increased in hospitals after they were purchased by private equity investment firms, according to a major study of the effects of such acquisitions on patient care in recent years. The study, published in JAMA on Tuesday, found that, in the three years after a private equity fund bought a hospital, adverse events including surgical infections and bed sores rose by 25 percent among Medicare patients when compared with similar hospitals that were not bought by such investors. The researchers reported a nearly 38 percent increase in central line infections, a dangerous kind of infection that medical authorities say should never happen, and a 27 percent increase in falls by patients while staying in the hospital. 

Hospital merger activity to increase in 2024Modern HealthcareDecember 26, 2023Hospital merger and acquisition activity is expected to increase next year as hospitals manage financial pressure, competitors combine and insurers grow. ... The number of announced hospital deals through the third quarter rose by more than 50%, to 53 proposed transactions from 35 last year, according to data from consultancy Kaufman Hall. Deal activity was particularly pronounced among midsized health systems ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion in annual revenue. ... Nearly 40% of the 18 proposed hospital deals announced in the third quarter were driven by financial distress, according to Kaufman Hall.