Literature Review

We are not okay: Moral injury and a world on fireAmerican Journal of Bioethics, by Keisha S. Ray; 4/24Moral injury gives name to a feeling that I have been having lately as I’m asked to show up to work and my life as if there aren’t people who didn’t wake up today because of violence, disease, and greed. I’ve celebrated holidays and my own professional accomplishments, but I can’t escape that lump in my throat, that nagging feeling that this is all meaningless given the state of the world. After all, my principles won’t feed the starving, shelter the bombed, free the captive, or care for the sick. I don’t have the answer. I do not know what we are supposed to do about our perpetual moral injury. I do find some comfort in the origins of moral injury—calling out a broken system rather than broken individuals (Talbot and Dean Citation 2018). I am not broken; I am just a bioethicist and a human forced to work and live within a broken world.

New patient safety measures imminent as risk of harm evolves: CMS McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kimberly Marselas; 4/10/24 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services remains acutely focused on patient harm and will introduce new measures addressing patient safety later this year, agency leaders said at an event in Baltimore Tuesday. ... Agency officials are working with other Health and Human Services branches and meeting internally to develop a 10-point patient safety strategy to be unveiled later this year. 

The HAP Foundation conducts research study on Black Americans’ experience with serious illness care in ChicagoThe HAP Foundation, by Rachel French; 4/9/24 The HAP Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago have completed a joint research project to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of Black Americans around serious illness care in Chicago. Through a community-based participatory research design, narratives from Black individuals living in Chicago were captured by focus groups and in-depth interviews. “Community-Based Study: Prioritizing Dignity and Respect in End-of-Life Care for Black Chicagoans” is being distributed widely to health care providers and the community to encourage conversations and create change in behavioral patterns during end-of-life care.Editor's Note: Click here for this downloadable, 17 page booklet.

Overcoming key diversity gaps within the healthcare continuum MedCity News, by Alexandra Moens; 4/9/24Leaders need a framework to identify, understand, effectively address diversity gaps, and measure improvement across the continuum of care. A data-driven approach can provide valuable insights into demographic trends, disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, and the underlying factors contributing to these discrepancies. Disparities in diversity and inclusion continue to permeate every aspect of healthcare. ... In the U.S., stark statistics reveal the extent of these imbalances. Only about 36% of active physicians are female, with even fewer identifying as non-White. While Black and Hispanic Americans comprise a considerable portion of the population, their representation among healthcare practitioners is disproportionately low. 

Governor Lamont announces $35.5 million in state grants to support nonprofit providers with capital improvement projects [$775 thousand to Connecticut Hospice]  State of Connecticut, Office of the Governor; 4/10/24 Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is awarding approximately $35.5 million in state funding to nonprofit providers across Connecticut for capital improvement projects that support each respective organization in their mission of delivering services to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. The grants are being released through the state’s Nonprofit Grant Program, which is administered by the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. [The list includes:] ... "Branford – Connecticut Hospice: $775,000 (Pharmacy Improvements)"

New York’s home health, personal care workforce achieves fastest growth in nation: BLS McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 4/10/24 New York is adding home health and personal care jobs faster than any other state, growing its supply of such workers by 12% between May 2022 and May 2023, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state added roughly 62,000 home health and personal care aides during that time period, which was more than double that of any other state and accounted for over one third of nationwide home care aide employment growth, according to an analysis by the Empire Center, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank based in New York. 

Executive personnel changes

New study calls home health star ratings into question McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy, 4/11/24A comparison of agency-reported functional measures and claims-based hospitalization measures raises doubts about the value of star ratings as a means of evaluating home health agency (HHA) quality. The study, published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, analyzed differences between claims-based and agency-reported outcomes for nearly 23 million patient episodes before and after the introduction of the star ratings system to compare changes over time. 

6-year-old boy battling serious illness sworn in as Lynwood police officer NBC TV 5 Chicago, by Evrod Cassimy; 4/9/24 Child battling serious illness gets wish granted by village. With his hand raised in the air and a round of applause from those in attendance, the Village of Lynwood’s newest cop was sworn in at just 6 years old. Keyjuan Andrewin has dreams of helping people as a police officer and has battled serious health issues for most of his young life. 

Friday. The golden child of the weekdays. The superhero of the workweek. The welcome wagon to the weekend. — Anonymous

Providers still navigating Change outage as systems are restored Modern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 4/10/24 Providers are seeing some improvements following the Change Healthcare cyberattack nearly two months ago, but not necessarily because they are reconnecting to restored systems. Hospitals and medical groups are submitting claims to payers through alternate vendors, allowing them to generate cash. But the level of claims and payments moving among healthcare organizations that had heavily relied on Change Healthcare is still far from normal.

Angela Hospice opening a hospice residence at Lourdes Senior Community in Waterford Detroit Regional Chamber, by Angela Hospice; 4/10/24 Angela Hospice will expand its caring services to the Waterford community and beyond, when it begins operating a 15-bed hospice residence at Lourdes Senior Community this summer and providing additional home hospice services in the area. The non-profit will extend its geographic reach further into north Oakland County, offering additional outreach to benefit all in the community, not just those on hospice care, through transformational grief support groups, educational outreach, and their Good Samaritan program, which serves those who are without insurance or the ability to pay for hospice.

'I just want to take everybody fishing': Dose of the Coast provides a much needed respite Nola.com - Louisiana Inspired, by Jack Barlow; 4/9/24 Dealing with a serious illness is all consuming. One nonprofit strives to give people suffering life-altering illnesses a much-needed break. Baton Rouge-based Dose of the Coast takes people dealing with cancer and other similar illnesses out for a day on the water. ... The genesis of the organization began in 2014, with a fishing trip for Ashley Ferguson's father, Donald Walker. ...