Literature Review

Ohio annual remembrance walk raised nearly $20,000 Miami Valley Today; by Staff; 7/3/24 Ohio’s Hospice raised almost $20,000 at its annual Remembrance Walk held on the grounds of the Inpatient Care Center in Troy, drawing approximately 150 participants to honor and remember their loved ones. The Miami County community came together in a spirit of celebration and support, sharing memories and reinforcing the organization’s mission of Celebrating Life’s Stories for those facing a life-limiting illness. ... Ohio’s Hospice confirmed that all proceeds from the event will directly benefit patient care in the community, ensuring that funds raised locally stay within the area they serve.

How to overcome the cumulative effects of change Healthcare IT Today; by guest author Maura Koehler-Hanlon; 7/5/24 Healthcare IT organizations are currently undertaking major initiatives to enhance patient engagement, streamline processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and more. This extensive workload can overwhelm employees, leading to burnout due to the sheer volume of changes. ... In this environment, it becomes critical for leaders to understand change saturation and build change resilience. Here’s what leaders need to know and do to move forward:

How rituals support nursing teams American Nurse Journal - American Nurses Association; by Heather Fitzgerald, DBe, MS, RN; 7/2/24Question: I’m a clinical manager for a pediatric critical care unit. We’ve recently had a significant increase in end-of-life care. I’m proud of our nurses and the skillful, compassionate support they provide to patients and families during these tragic events. In an emotional support debrief, nurses expressed a desire for more opportunities to pause and reflect on meaning and purpose in their challenging work. How do I regularly schedule time to support nurses in ways they value while also adhering to our organization’s budget and productivity expectations? Answer: ... creating a supportive sense of community and connection need not violate your commitment to budget management. You can enact opportunities to orient to meaning and purpose, to shared identity and belonging, and to unit and organizational mission through small rituals that deliver benefits similar to your debriefing forum. Rituals ... have deep, prehistoric roots, which indicate that humans have long sought connection and meaning-making in moments of joy, grief, and uncertainty. Nurses participate in patient-centered rituals in various settings. For example, organ donor honor walks, the ringing of a bell to mark a cancer treatment milestone, discharge celebrations after a long hospitalization, and celebrations of life and of birth. The nursing profession also should pay more attention to the importance of nursing-centered rituals.Editor's Notes: Nurse burnout is a root cause for both high turnover and increased unionization/strikes among nurses, especially nurses in their first year of practice. What nursing-centered ritual(s) might bring meaning and renewal to your nurses? Ask. Create, pilot, and evaluate. Engage them in the process.  

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world. - Mary Oliver

Illinois launches PACE services to provide better care integration for elderly population State of Reform - Illinois News; by Maddie McCarthy; 7/2/24 The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) officially launched in Illinois in June, and designated PACE centers have begun rolling out services to their members. ... “PACE is an integrated model of care that provides all the care and services covered by Medicare and Medicaid, as authorized by the interdisciplinary team, as well as additional medically-necessary care and services not covered by Medicare and Medicaid,” said the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) in a statement sent to State of Reform. Illinois has five regions offering PACE services: West Chicago, South Chicago, Southern Cook County, Peoria, and East St. Louis. HFS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded contracts to seven designated centers.

DME Service Solutions joins the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) OpenPR - Worldwide Public Relations; Press release from DEM Service Solutions; 7/4/24DME Service Solutions, a provider of B2B outsourcing solutions specializing in healthcare, is pleased to announce its partnership with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). This partnership allows DME Service Solutions to engage with a community dedicated to advancing quality care and operational efficiency in the home care and hospice industry. NAHC represents the home care and hospice community, advocating for accessible and affordable care. By partnering with NAHC, DME Service Solutions connects with a network of professionals focused on effective home care solutions. This partnership provides access to the latest information and in-depth analysis of industry trends, which is essential for staying aligned with current industry needs. NAHC also offers educational programs that will help DME Service Solutions enhance staff expertise and continuously improve service quality.

38 hospitals, health systems cutting jobsBecker's Hospital CFO Report; by Kelly Gooch; 6/28/24 A number of hospitals and health systems are reducing their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges. [Listed] are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations announced this year [by Becker's]. June:

10 key Medicare Advantage updates in 2024 Becker's Payer Issues; by Rylee Wilson; 6/27/24 The first half of 2024 brought shifting trends for Medicare Advantage. Payers continued to warn of rising medical costs in the MA population, and some are predicting they will lose members next year. Insurers picked up a win in June when CMS said it would recalculate star ratings for 2024. Here are 10 key Medicare Advantage updates to know: 

Survey: Adults dropped from Medicaid after pandemic faced healthcare access, affordability issues CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Research and Innovation Office, University of Minnesota; by Mary Van Beusekom, MS; 7/2/24 A survey of low-income adults in four southern US states shows that nearly half of those disenrolled from Medicaid after COVID-19 pandemic protections ended had no insurance in late 2023, leading to struggles to afford healthcare and prescription drugs and threatening to broaden a gap that had narrowed during expanded governmental benefits. The data were derived from 89,130 adult residents of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas participating in the National Health Interview Survey in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In 2023, states rechecked Medicaid eligibility after COVID-19 governmental protections expired, disenrolling millions. The average participant age was 48.0 years, and 51.6% were women. Researchers from Beth Israel Medical Center and Harvard Medical School published the results late last week in JAMA Health Forum.

States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model CMS.gov; 7/2/24 On July 2, 2024 CMS announced that Connecticut, Maryland, and Vermont will be the first state participants in the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model. Hawaii will also participate, pending satisfaction of certain requirements. Applications to participate in Cohort 3 of the model are due August 12, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. EST (Cohort 3). Eligibility requirements and additional model details can be found in the NOFO.  To stay up to date on model announcements, events, and resources, please sign up for the AHEAD Model listserv.

Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets. ~Kevin Plank

Dwayne Johnson sings Moana song for a 4-year-old girl in home hospice care: 'It's my honor' People; by Tommy McArdle; 4/2/24 Dwayne Johnson said the Make-a-Wish Foundation connected him with the family of a young girl who "watches 'Moana' every day, all day." Dwayne made a special video for a major Moana fan.  On July 1, the actor, 52, shared a video on Instagram in which he said the Make-a-Wish Foundation had reached out to him with an urgent request to send a message to a 4-year-old girl named Lily Guerrero, who Johnson said is currently on home hospice care. "A 'rush' wish means what the implication sounds like, which is time is just not on our side when it comes to this particular wish," Johnson said in the video. "This rush wish is that Lily is on home hospice now and she watches Moana every day, all day, her dad said. Her wish is to have Dwayne Johnson sing 'You're Welcome' to her and have it recorded so she can listen to it over and over and over and over." [Click on the title's link to view the article and its video of Dwayne Johnson telling the public about Lily and singing to her.]