Literature Review

As America’s population ages, women shoulder the burden as primary caregivers PBS News; by Ali Rogin, Claire Mufson, and Satvi Sunkara; 3/30/24 Currently, 1 in 6 Americans is older than 65, a number that’s projected to rise to 1 in 4 by 2050. As older Americans’ needs for medical care and other support grow, women bear the biggest part of the burden of caring for them. Ali Rogin speaks with some women about their experiences and author Emily Kenway about the often unseen costs of caregiving. 

Bereaved Parent Support Study: Seeking Participants Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Cancer, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; 4/2/24This program is offered as a research study examining three types of support for bereaved parents who have lost a child to cancer. The study is jointly sponsored by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Cancer, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; however, families need not have received care from one of these institutions. ...The counseling will be provided through videoconferencing and all activities for this study can be completed in [the participant's] home. ... There will be no charge for any support offered through the study. [Click on the title's link for more information.] 

Meet the women who give end-of-life care to Utah’s homelessGood Things Utah, by Nicea DeGering; 4/2/24A Utah non-profit’s mission is to provide medical help and end-of-life care to those in our community experiencing homelessness. The Inn Between has been providing unique services in Salt Lake City for eight years.  ... [The] mission of The Inn Between is to end the tragedy of vulnerable people dying on the streets of our community by providing medical respite and end-of-life care to those experiencing homelessness.The group provides a home environment that enables adults experiencing homelessness to gain access to professional hospice care from State-licensed hospice agencies; undergo life-saving medical treatment; stabilize in preparation for surgery; or recuperate from serious illness, injury, or surgery. Editor's Note: Read more to meet Jillian Olmsted, Executive Director and Kellie Mierement, Community Engagement Manager.

Man with chainsaw assaults Vermont hospital workers, destroys property Becker's Hospital Review, by Madeline Ashley; 4/1/24 A man was taken into custody by Vermont State Police after assaulting staff and destroying property with a chainsaw at St. Johnsbury-based Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital. State troopers apprehended Tyler Roy, 27, on March 25 in the hospital parking lot "actively assaulting staff," according to a March 31 Vermont State Police news release. Mr. Roy was taken into custody and is cited to appear in Caledonia County Superior Court on April 6.

Some prepaid funeral expenses to southern Colorado funeral home being investigated CBS TV 11 News, by Melissa Henry; 3/29/24A man and his wife wonder whether or not they will ever get more than $7,000 dollars back for prepaid funeral expenses after paying Return to Nature Funeral Home. Jon and Carie Hallford are at the center of an investigation in which they are accused of abuse of a corpse, money laundering, theft, and forgery after officials say 189 bodies were found improperly stored at a building tied to the couple’s business in Penrose.

After Empath Health, Trustbridge complete affiliation, ‘Home Health is high on priority list’ Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 4/1/24 Last September, the post-acute providers Empath Health and Trustbridge signed a memorandum of understanding to begin an affiliation process. On Monday, that affiliation process was completed, forming the largest nonprofit post-acute provider organization in the state of Florida. Together, the organization will care for 5,000 patients daily and employ more than 5,000 staff members and 3,000 volunteers.

FTC continues to challenge $320M Novant, CHS deal Becker's Hospital Review; by Naomi Diaz; 3/29/24The Federal Trade Commission filed court documents on March 25 seeking a preliminary injunction to bar Winston-Salem, NC-based Novant Health from its $320 million acquisition of two North Carolina hospitals from Franklin, TN-based Community Health Systems. According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, the FTC alleged that Novant Health's proposed acquisition ... would "irreversibly consolidate the market for hospital services in the Eastern Lake Norman Area in the northern suburbs of Charlotte."

How to look after your mental health while packing up Mum or Dad’s home The Conversation, 3/31/24 So Mum or Dad has died, or moved to aged care, and now you’ve got to pack up their house. It’s a huge job and you’re dreading it. It’s normal to feel grief, loss, guilt, exhaustion or even resentment at being left with this job. So how can you look after your mental health while tackling the task? 

Northwell hospital nurses cancel strike Becker's Hospital Review, by Kelly Gooch; 4/1/24Members of the New York State Nurses Association have called off a planned April 2 strike at New York City-based Staten Island University Hospital after reaching a tentative agreement with management on a new labor contract. The union represents 1,300 workers at the facility. ... SIUH is part of New Hyde Park, NY-based Northwell Health, a 21-hospital system with more than 85,000 employees total. ... The agreement "adds nurse staffing on units that need help"; includes an expedited process for creating staffing standards in new units; and features wage increases that total 22.12% over three years and include annual pay increases, market adjustment pay, and experience pay, the union said.

Should we be using palliative care for scleroderma? The Medical Republic, by Karina Bray; 4/2/24Almost three-quarters of systemic sclerosis patients could benefit from specialist palliative care, according to Australian research. The first-of-a-kind study, published in Arthritis Care & Research, set out to examine and quantify the need for palliative care to address high symptom burden as an integrated part of systemic sclerosis management. ... “Almost 75% of SSc patients may benefit from specialist palliative care input to manage specific severe symptoms, and the overlapping nature of such symptoms highlights the complex symptom management needs of SSc patients,” the authors wrote. 

Hospice facility “House of Goshen” opening in Flossmoor in April Crusader Staff; 3/29/24 House of Goshen has announced a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new 14-bed, 14,000-square-foot inpatient Hospice House, scheduled for Thursday, April 11, at 4 p.m. The facility broke ground at 19810 Governors Highway in March 2023. The upcoming April ceremony marks a milestone in the organization’s commitment to enhancing end-of-life care in the Village of Flossmoor, Illinois. ... The new facility will operate under the umbrella of Oasis Hospice.

Global Medical Tourism Report 2024: Numbers, prospects and problems Business Wire; 4/1/24 Medical tourism has been touted as the next big thing for many years. ... Medical tourism refers to the practice of individuals traveling across borders to receive medical treatment or healthcare services. ... This global phenomenon has gained significant traction in recent years due to various factors such as cost savings, high-quality healthcare facilities, and accessibility to advanced medical treatments. Editor's Note: The term "medical tourism" appears increasingly in our searches for newsletter articles. Become familiar with this practice as it applies to the patients your organization serves.

CMS finalizes 2025 Medicare Advantage rates Becker's Payer Issues, by Rylee Wilson; 4/1/24 CMS finalized a slight decrease in Medicare Advantage benchmark payments for 2025. The agency published its final rate notice for 2025 April 1. The final rule was largely similar to CMS' proposed payment rates issued in January. The agency will cut benchmark payments by 0.16% from 2024 to 2025. CMS estimated plans will see 3.7% higher revenue overall in 2025. MA risk score trend of 3.86% — the average increase in risk adjustment payments year over year — will offset risk model revisions that will lead to a 2.45% decline in revenue and a projected decline in star rating bonuses, according to the agency.