Literature Review

$200,000 raised for Hospice of Redmond at Festival of TreesCentral Oregon Daily News (Bend, OR)December 5, 2023More than $200,000 was raised at this year’s Festival of Trees. The Hospice of Redmond holds the event every year to raise money for its non-profit services, making sure that people who need end-of-life care can get it even if they don’t have the funds. One of auctioned trees sold for almost $12,000.

2023’s Most Impactful Hospice DealsHospice NewsDecember 5, 2023A rich mix of hospice merger and acquisition activity at the end of 2023 is fueling trends into next year. Hospice M&A activity has diverged from the frenzied pace set in recent years. The hospice space in the last five years has seen record-breaking multiples, a prevalence of private equity-backed platform transactions and large-scale assets up for grabs. This year saw a slow but significant start, with mainly smaller and fewer hospice transactions taking place. As valuations have come down, asset sizes have varied and the scope of buyers has pivoted. However, the hospice market also saw a number of multi-billion-dollar “mega-deals” involving payers that stand to reshape aspects of the industry. The forthcoming sale of Amedisys to Optum marks one of the most significant transactions in the hospice industry in terms of valuation and buyer trends.

Hospice awareness campaign launched to educate D.C. residents about care benefits

Dartmouth Health finances improveValley News (West Lebanon, NH)/VT DiggerNovember 29, 2023Lebanon, NH—Dartmouth Health continues to see a financial loss on operations, but the red ink has subsided substantially since last year, according to filings with bondholders last week. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended Sept. 30, DH saw an operating loss of $8.2 million, or 1%.  Overall, including SVHC, expenses were up about 10% to $844 million for the first quarter of the year, over the same period last year. ... Meanwhile, revenues were up nearly 15%, or $107.5 million, compared with the same quarter last year. That was partially aided by SVHC’s membership, as well as by growth in patient volumes, contracted payment rates and higher inpatient acuity at DHMC, the system’s flagship academic medical center.

The Center to Advance Palliative Care Celebrates 20th Anniversary of its Palliative Care Leadership CentersNews ReleaseDecember 5, 2023New York, NY—Since 2000, the percentage of hospitals (with 50 or more beds) with a palliative care program has more than tripled, from 25% to more than 83%. Additionally, palliative care has expanded beyond the hospital into community settings such as long-term care facilities, nursing homes, office practices, and patient homes. This expansion and growth has been fueled by the Center to Advance Palliative Care’s Palliative Care Leadership Centers first launched in 2003 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. ... Over the past 20 years, more than 1,300 palliative care teams have trained with a PCLC. And, 80% of them went on to institute palliative care services within two years. Today, there are eight Palliative Care Leadership Centers, including:

Labor challenges slowing nonprofit hospital recovery—FitchModern HealthcareDecember 5, 2023Nonprofit hospitals and health systems are recovering financially but more slowly than expected, according to a report Fitch Ratings published Tuesday. Much of the sector has broken even in operations on a month-to-month basis in 2023, but it happened later in the year and to a lesser extent than analysts anticipated, the credit ratings agency reported. Labor costs, although softening, remain the top pressure point. Fitch is keeping the nonprofit hospital sector in the “deteriorating” category. Downgrades have outpaced upgrades by about 3-to-1 so far in 2023. Negative rating outlooks grew from 8.9% in 2022 to 10.7% this year. ... In 2024, operational success will largely hinge on how well hospitals recruit and retain employees, Fitch concluded.

Medical marijuana takes off in Mississippi, but stalls out in AlabamaBirmingham (AL) NewsDecember 5, 2023Alabama passed a law legalizing medical marijuana in May 2021. Mississippi followed seven months later in January 2022. While Alabama’s medical marijuana licensing process has faced several deadlocks in the face of lawsuits, mismanagement and political opposition, Mississippi’s has marched steadily forward. Its first dispensaries opened in early 2023, and the number has already grown to about 100 by year’s end, said Henry Crisler, assistant director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association. ... Dispensary owners said the industry has encountered some obstacles in Mississippi but have also shown that medical marijuana has a place in the Deep South.

Government expects to recover more than $3B from healthcare fraud, misspent funds in fiscal year 2023Healthcare DiveDecember 4, 2023The HHS’ Office of the Inspector General is expected to recover more than $3.44 billion in fiscal year 2023 as a result of investigations into fraud and misspent funds in Medicare, Medicaid and other government health programs, according to the agency’s latest report.

Bitter strike over as nurses, N.J. hospital reach tentative agreementNewark (NJ) Star-LedgerDecember 2, 2023The nurses strike that lasted more than 120 days has finally ended. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital announced Friday that it has tentatively reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Steel Workers 4-200, which represents the 1,700 nurses who went on strike Aug. 4.

President Jimmy Carter’s experience dispels hospice mythsBy Aaron WheelerDes Moines RegisterDecember 4, 2023... What makes Carter’s hospice situation a little different from most is that he first received hospice services in February 2023—a full 10 months ago, shortly after the recurrence of a life-limiting cancer. While many individuals and families view hospice services as a “last resort,” it’s clear the Carters viewed it for what it is: a way to help people live as fully as they can as long as they are able. If I could change one thing about the way most people view hospice services, that would be that “hospice” is often a word people dread because of the “death sentence” connotation. In reality, hospice is not about giving up hope. It’s about maximizing quality of life based on the individual’s choices, and often about helping family members transition back from caregiver status to simply being a spouse or a son or a daughter again.[Editor’s Note: Aaron Wheeler is vice president of home and community-based services for WesleyLife, Johnston, IA].

8-year-old in hospice wants 2,000 cards for his birthday and ChristmasWEWS-TV (Cleveland, OH)December 4, 2023Cleveland, OH—If you are looking to give some love this holiday season, there is a young boy who would appreciate getting a Christmas or birthday card from you. Andrew Miller is an 8-year-old who enjoys cards and loves reading them every day. Linda Miller, Andrew’s mom, said last year, her son was diagnosed with two types of Stage Four cancers. ... “He’s got so many little tumors starting in our inoperable places and there’s nothing we could do about it,” said Linda. So, his parents came up with a plan to get his spirits up again. “Every time something comes in the mail, he’s all excited. So, for his birthday we’re trying to get him 1000 birthday cards,” said Linda. ... If you would like to send a card, the mailing information is: Buddy, Truman House Community Hospice, 716 Commercial Ave. SW, New Philadelphia, OH 44663.

Banner Health to close hospice operations; staff moves to Phoenix nonprofitPhoenix Business JournalDecember 4, 2023Banner Health, the state’s largest health system, is closing down its own hospice operations and is transitioning its patients and hospice staff to another provider. An estimated 70 hospice staff from Phoenix-based Banner Health have begun the move over to Hospice of the Valley, effective Dec. 1.

Lifepoint Health and Ascension Saint Thomas announce joint ventureHealthcare DiveDecember 4, 2023Rural hospital chain Lifepoint Health and Ascension Saint Thomas announced a joint venture last week to co-own Highpoint Health, a four-hospital system in Tennessee currently operated by Brentwood, Tennessee-based Lifepoint. The hospitals and care sites will be co-branded with Ascension Saint Thomas, but will be majority-owned and operated by Lifepoint, according to the release.