Literature Review

Ga. to become 1st state to allow pharmacies to sell medical marijuanaWALB-TV (Albany, GA)December 9, 2023Albany, GA—Georgia is expected to become the first state to allow independent pharmacies to sell medical marijuana. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications in early December. But the Drug Enforcement Administration is fighting it.

The shortest answer is doing. ~Jacula Prudentum, George Herbert, 1640

Brookdale Reports November 2023 OccupancyPRNewswireDecember 8, 2023Nashville, TN—Brookdale Senior Living Inc. reported today its consolidated occupancy for November 2023. November 2023 weighted average occupancy increased 140 basis points year-over-year to 78.4%. Achieved twenty-five consecutive months of year-over-year weighted average occupancy growth.

National HME Acquires Hospice SourceHospice NewsDecember 8, 2023The durable medical equipment provider National HME has acquired Hospice Source, also a DME company. The transaction beefs up National HME’s footprint, which currently includes more than 50 locations nationwide.

As deficit estimate hits $68 billion, Newsom seeks ‘major changes’ to healthcare wage lawLos Angeles TimesDecember 7, 2023With California facing an expected $68-billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking “major reforms” to pull funding from a costly plan next year to begin raising the statewide minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 an hour. ... It’s unclear whether Newsom is suggesting he would like to narrow the higher minimum wage to fewer workers, or whether he’s seeking to delay or pause implementation of the increase.

Future of LCHD-Hospice uncertainDaily Gate City (Keokuk, IA)December 8, 2023Keokuk, IA—Lee County Supervisor Chairman Garry Seyb is prepared for a lengthy workshop following the supervisors’ regular meeting Monday as officials look at the possible discontinuation of the Lee County Health Department’s hospice program. “It’s an emotional issue. It provides a needed, respectable service as far as I know,” Seyb told The Daily Democrat on Friday. “With that being said, we are looking at everything, not just the health department.”

Severna Park Teens Fold Hope Into Gifts For Hospice PatientsSeverna Park [MD] VoiceDecember 8, 2023... Kateri Jarvis and Hannah Kim hope classmates will help them make hundreds of origami cranes to give to Hospice of the Chesapeake patients. Inspired by the Wishing Crane Project, a nonprofit organization started by high schoolers in Arizona, the Severna Park High School juniors worked through the summer to start a chapter at their school.

What It’s Like Watching My Friends Die in PrisonBy Martez JohnsonVeraDecember 7, 2023I work in hospice at a maximum-security prison. The question I get the most is, “How can you do that?” Honestly, it’s not easy. We are literally sitting with death. Hospice is a program that we sign up for, where we sit with another prisoner while he dies. That’s not all we do; there’s far more to it than that. But for now, that’s what I’ll say. When someone who is sick and has signed a “do not resuscitate” order gets to the point of no return, they call us in. I or one of my comrades sit with them while they die. When I started hospice, I didn’t really know what it meant. I understood how to do the job itself, but I didn’t really understand its gravity in full. The toll it takes on you. How mental it is. How much love it takes. How much forgiveness you have to give to the man who’s dying in front of you, even when it’s not yours to give. How much it makes you want forgiveness for your past actions. I go into each room knowing that death is on the other side of that door. By the time I show up, there’s no more hope. Can you imagine being in prison without any hope? I don’t think it’s right for any human to die in prison, but I’ve seen it so many times. I walk with death. I sit with death. ... So, to answer that question I get most: I do this because my friends need me to.[Editor’s Note: an advocate for prison reform, a writer, a hospice volunteer, and a mentor.]

Teleios Collaborative Network Announces Teleios University GraduatesNews ReleaseDecember 7, 2023Hendersonville, NC—Teleios Collaborative Network announced its 2023 Teleios University graduates. Eleven individuals successfully completed the year-long program, earning their certificates in leadership excellence. TU’s Leadership Excellence program is unlike any other. This one-year course is provided through monthly webinars, experiential monthly activities, quarterly challenges and more. It culminates with a capstone project and earns each participant who completes the assignments a certification in leadership excellence. This year’s graduates include the following leaders in the Hospice and Serious Illness Sector:

COVID vaccination rates ‘alarmingly’ low among nursing home staff, CDC says—’A real danger’FOX NewsDecember 7, 2023Despite the higher risk that the coronavirus poses to older adults, a surprisingly low share of nursing home staff and residents are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. Only six states are indicating that over 10% of staff members are updated on their vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Finding purpose in the journey—Hospice volunteer shares joy of finding life againWest Plains (MO) Daily QuillDecember 8, 2023West Plains, MO—For Kay “Katie” Dowler, volunteering one day a week at Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice has become her way of giving and finding a renewed sense of purpose. The journey with Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice has come full circle, from being patient’s partner to a grateful volunteer.

UnitedHealth hit with Medicare Advantage marketing complaintModern HealthcareDecember 7, 2023Advocates for people with disabilities are calling on regulators [to] halt what they describe as misleading Medicare Advantage marketing by UnitedHealth Group. The Center for Medicare Advocacy, National Health Law Program, Disability Rights Connecticut and National Disability Rights Network wrote the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Trade Commission and other state and federal officials Thursday to protest UnitedHealthcare advertisements for Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans appearing in Connecticut. The ads target people with both Medicare and Medicaid and spotlight extra benefits from Medicare Advantage plans that state and federal laws already require, the groups wrote. “Unquestionably, this misleading advertising is intended to induce, and has induced, thousands if not tens of thousands of older adults and disabled low-income individuals we are charged with representing to sign up for UnitedHealthcare’s plan, having been led to believe this means they can get extra benefits,” the letter says. UnitedHealth Group did not immediately respond to an interview request.