Literature Review
VITAS Expects a Steady 2024 for Revenue, Growth
12/06/23 at 04:00 AMVITAS Expects a Steady 2024 for Revenue, GrowthHospice NewsDecember 4, 2023After the tumultuous years of the pandemic, VITAS Healthcare expects a stable growth trajectory heading into 2024. Florida-based VITAS is a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. Though the company has not yet released financial guidance for 2024, VITAS anticipates a “predictable” 2024 in terms of earnings and growth, executives said at Monday’s Bank of America Healthcare Conference.
Today's Encouragement 12/6/23
12/06/23 at 04:00 AMHistory despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. ~Maya Angelou
Nursing home staffing rule finds scant political support
12/06/23 at 04:00 AMNursing home staffing rule finds scant political supportModern HealthcareDecember 4, 2023President Joe Biden’s high-profile plan to improve nursing home quality by setting staffing minimums has attracted intense resistance and lukewarm support, regulatory comments and public statements reveal. The nursing home industry strenuously opposes the policy, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed Sept. 1.
How Value-Based Care, Investors Could Impact Palliative Care Staffing
12/06/23 at 04:00 AMHow Value-Based Care, Investors Could Impact Palliative Care StaffingPalliative Care NewsDecember 4, 2023Interest in palliative care is rising among job-seeking clinicians, but the influx remains too slow to meet rising demand. ... Though far more resources are needed, more opportunities for clinical palliative care training have been emerging in recent years, according to Dr. Nathan Goldstein, currently professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Supporters optimistic that aid-in-dying legislation could get vote in 2024 General Assembly
12/06/23 at 04:00 AMSupporters optimistic that aid-in-dying legislation could get vote in 2024 General AssemblyMaryland MattersDecember 4, 2023... Maryland lawmakers have tried year after year, but so far, no bill to legalize medical aid in dying has passed. But supporters of the legislation think that 2024 might be the year it passes, due to a changing political climate and overall voter support for the measure.
A nursing reboot—Jobs are on the rise in Florida
12/06/23 at 04:00 AMA nursing reboot—Jobs are on the rise in FloridaTampa Bay Times/Florida TrendNovember 29, 2023All the (nursing shortage) churn resulted in the highest vacancy and turnover rates for hospital RNs ever recorded by the Florida Hospital Association, which tracks such data. Three years later, there are signs of a rebound. Vacancy rates for hospital RNs have dropped from 21% in 2022 to 13% in 2023, and turnover dropped from 32% to 20% over the same period.
Lessons in Caregiving
12/06/23 at 03:55 AMLessons in CaregivingBy Lisa B. SamalonisNext AvenueDecember 4, 2023... When my parents, in their late 70s, became ill with several chronic and terminal health ailments, my sisters and I worked to support them and honor their wishes to age in their home. ... Like many adult children and family friends new to this process, we were unaware of everything we did not know about the complexity of safely aging in place and the available resources. ... Often, coordination of care is very challenging. ... Being a vocal advocate can help your loved one immensely. ... Yet, taking care of oneself allows one to care for others.[Editor’s Note: The author is a writer and editor based in New Jersey. She writes about health, parenting, books and personal finance.]
Why are the holidays so hard?
12/06/23 at 03:50 AMWhy are the holidays so hard?Jenn Flaum, LCSW, MBAExecutive Director, Heartlight Center, Denver, COThe holiday season can be filled with emotions that can be more profound and surprising than other times of the year, especially for individuals who are grieving. Subsequently, it is common for us to ask the question: Why are the holidays so hard? Editor Note: The author includes several suggestions that may be helpful for you, your patients, and their family members.
Models can predict when older adults with dementia may need nursing home care
12/06/23 at 03:45 AMModels can predict when older adults with dementia may need nursing home careMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 5, 2023It often can be difficult to determine when a person with dementia may need to go to a nursing home or receive that level of care. A new study created models to help people determine when older adults living with dementia will require nursing home-level care. The results can give people and their loved ones evidence-backed data if it comes time to make that decision. The study was published on Dec. 4 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Never Visit a Dying Person
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMNever Visit a Dying PersonBy Virginia A. Simpson, PhDNext AvenueDecember 1, 2023Before a fit of disgust at my callousness takes over, I’m going tell you what I mean when I say, Never visit a dying person. After a young woman named Beyhan died, her friends put together her words and published a small book called “Beyhan’s Journey.” Beyhan said, I could always tell when someone was visiting a dying person. She meant that because they no longer saw her as the person she still was, they treated her differently. The message is this: Visit the person, not their disease, diagnosis or prognosis.[Editor’s Note: The author has worked with dying and grieving people for more than 38 years. She’s the author of “The Space Between: A Memoir of Mother-Daughter Love at the End of Life.”]
CAPC Palliative Care Provider Directory
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMCAPC Palliative Care Provider DirectoryPress Release, 12/4/23Finding palliative care services should be easy and convenient, not only for patients living with a serious illness, and their families, but also for their medical teams. CAPC’s national Palliative Care Provider Directory provides a quick and easy way for patients, families, and referring clinicians to locate and contact palliative care programs in their area.
FAIRHOPE places umbrellas around area for people to use or borrow
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMFAIRHOPE places umbrellas around area for people to use or borrowLancaster (OH) Eagle GazetteDecember 3, 2023Lancaster, OH—FAIRHOPE Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc. has placed umbrellas around Fairfield County to use and borrow as part of its thank you to the community for the November Celebration of Hospice and Palliative Care Month. “We are grateful to be part of such an extraordinary community that always supports us,” said Kristin Glasure, FAIRHOPE President/CEO.
NY latest to adopt LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights for long-term care residents
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMNY latest to adopt LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights for long-term care residentsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 4, 2023New York has become the latest state to adopt legislation establishing a bill of rights for LGBTQ+ residents in other long-term care facilities. S 1783A / A 372 prohibits assisted living communities and other long-term care facilities and their staffs from discriminating against residents on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or HIV status.
End-of-life clinicians are trying to shift Hollywood’s depiction of death
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMEnd-of-life clinicians are trying to shift Hollywood’s depiction of deathDeath is often depicted in TV and movies, but some clinicians say not very accurately. They’re trying to shift the way Hollywood represents it.NPRDecember 3, 2023YESHA RASCOE, HOST: We’re used to seeing death on TV and in the movies, but some clinicians who work with people at the end of life say the most common depictions aren’t representative of what happens in the real world. They’re trying to shift the stories we tell about death to help people cope better.[Editor’s Note: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded a similar effort 20 years ago called “Last Acts.”][Editor’s Note: To listen to the 4-minute report, click here.]
State’s regulators under fire for not imposing ‘meaningful’ punishment on operators
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMState’s regulators under fire for not imposing ‘meaningful’ punishment on operatorsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 4, 2023If provider punishments in Maine ramp up in the near future, operators won’t need to look far for the catalyst. A ProPublica investigation into what it calls the failures of the state’s oversight agencies is creating a lot of heat in and around the sector. ... In partnership with The Maine Monitor, ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network shined a spotlight on the state’s health department for citing dozens of resident rights violations and hundreds of other deficiencies between 2020 and 2022 but imposing only the “lowest intervention possible, even for some of the most serious abuse and neglect incidents.” ... Long-term care advocates said that a lack of regulatory enforcement essentially encourages bad behavior. Industry representatives called for increasing nursing hours and requiring on-site medical directors in assisted living rather than imposing sanctions.
Hospice 36-month rule work-around not worth the risk, financial experts warn
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMHospice 36-month rule work-around not worth the risk, financial experts warnMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 4, 2023Though the recently enacted 36-month rule presents another obstacle for hospice transactions, mergers and acquisitions experts encouraged buyers to play by the rules rather than push the boundaries of the new regulation. This so-called 36-month rule, which requires re-enrollment for providers that undergo a change in majority ownership within 36 months of initial Medicare certification, now covers hospice as part of the 2023 home health final rule. It had previously only applied to home health facilities.
Light-a-Life Tree Lighting for Hospice Buffalo
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMLight-a-Life Tree Lighting for Hospice BuffaloWKBW-TV (Buffalo, NY)December 2, 2023Buffalo, NY—Hospice and Palliative Care Buffalo hosted its 35th annual Light-a-Life Memorial Tree Lighting Ceremony. This is a longstanding tradition that provides an opportunity to remember loved ones who were cared for by Hospice and Palliative Care Buffalo.
Savannah Hospice honors loved ones for the holidays
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMSavannah Hospice honors loved ones for the holidaysWTGS-TV (Savannah, GA)December 3, 2023Savannah, GA—Hospice Savannah hosted their 32nd annual Tree of Light Memorial Ceremony on Sunday. The memorial honored the memory of loved ones during the holiday season.
Nurse-led geriatric primary care model offers care benefits for seniors
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMNurse-led geriatric primary care model offers care benefits for seniorsMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 4, 2023A new study found that integrating Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training-Primary Care (GITT-PC) can improve primary care for older adults. Essentially, GITT-PC trains healthcare workers to function as a team while integrating geriatric care into primary care settings. It can focus on using nurses instead of doctors. Overall, the model aims to change practices by leveraging Medicare reimbursement billable codes for Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), Chronic Care Management (CCM), Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Dementia services. The study was published Friday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
It’s OK to Never ‘Get Over’ Your Grief
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMIt’s OK to Never ‘Get Over’ Your GriefBy Mikolaj Slawkowski-Rode, MA, PhDNew York TimesDecember 3, 2023Over the past century, traditional mourning practices have fallen out of favor in the West. Black is now usually worn only to a funeral, and not always then. But traditional mourning practices were designed to do just that: to preserve a place for the dead among the living, to help mourners carry the weight of their grief not by getting over it but by maintaining their relationship with the deceased (as metaphysically suspect as that might sound to modern ears). Today we are encouraged to step out from the shadow loss casts over our lives and return to happiness. ... This approach to grief and mourning might seem to be a good thing, like picking yourself up after a fall. It is arguably less morbid, with its emphasis on “getting closure” and “moving on” in a process whose goal is “healing.” But I fear the benefits do not outweigh the costs. ... [Editor’s Note: The author is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Warsaw and a research fellow at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford. He is the editor of “The Meaning of Mourning: Perspectives on Death, Loss, and Grief.”]
NAHC offers guidance, prevention strategies for home care workplace violence
12/05/23 at 04:00 AMNAHC offers guidance, prevention strategies for home care workplace violenceMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 4, 2023Providers and their caregivers need to take actions to protect themselves against workplace violence, a group of experts said in a webinar sponsored by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “We may not be able to 100% prevent violence for safety concerns in the home setting,” Candyce Slusher, owner of senior care consulting firm Slusher Consulting, said during the Wednesday webinar. “So we’ll do what we can to recognize those things ahead of time and try to protect our staff, but they also need to know how to protect themselves and feel comfortable coming to you when there’s issues.”
‘Between Life & Death: Terri Schiavo’s Story’ Official Trailer
12/05/23 at 04:00 AM‘Between Life & Death: Terri Schiavo’s Story’ Official TrailerMSNBC.comNovember 22, 2023Sunday, December 3rd, MSNBC Films presents “Between Life & Death,” an NBC News Studios production. The documentary retraces the tragic story of Terri Schiavo from the 1990s and early 2000s, going beyond the headlines of the national debate over her life that reverberates in today’s culture wars. Watch “Between Life & Death: Terri Schiavo’s Story,” Sunday, December 3rd at 10pm ET on MSNBC and streaming on Peacock.[Editor’s Note: To watch the one-minute trailer for this 90-minute documentary, click here. There is no pdf associated with this item.]
Three historic California hospices to merge
12/05/23 at 03:55 AMThree historic California hospices to mergeMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 4, 2023A blockbuster merger of three long-standing providers will create the largest independent nonprofit hospice network in northern California. By the Bay Health, Mission Hospice & Home Care and Hope Hospice, three providers with deep roots in their communities, disclosed the deal in a statement Friday.
A woman’s hospice death leads to a police standoff at an Orange home
12/05/23 at 03:50 AMA woman’s hospice death leads to a police standoff at an Orange homeKBMT-TV (Beaumont, TX)December 2, 2023Orange, TX—SWAT responded to a standoff at a house in Orange after a husband didn’t want his wife’s body be taken away. Around 7 p.m. a call was made about a woman in hospice passing away, according to Orange Police Sergeant Isaac T. Henry III. Soon after a hospice nurse called saying the husband made suicidal and threatening comments to people because he was upset that his wife had passed away, Henry told 12News crew at the scene. When Orange police responded there was a short standoff2. The husband eventually came out of the house and is now going to have a mental evaluation, according to Henry.