Literature Review

Special Bulletin – CA Wildfires Public Health EmergencyCommunity Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP); Special Bulletin; 1/14/2025 HHS Declares Public Health Emergency for California to Aid Health Care Response to Wildfires. The declaration follows President Biden’s major disaster declaration and gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting the emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. HHS has waived sanctions and penalties for violations of certain provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule against hospitals in the emergency area. [Click on the title's link to continue reading]

Climb aboard that jungle gym: Career path need not be linear to be successful The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN; by Theresa Laxton; 1/10/25 In today’s ever-evolving professional landscape, more women are realizing that their careers don’t have to follow a linear path. Instead, they’re embracing the concept of a career jungle gym, a metaphor introduced by Sheryl Sandberg in her book “Lean In.” Unlike a ladder with one direct route, a jungle gym allows for lateral moves, creative pivots and even deliberate pauses, all of which can lead to success. For women, and nurses in particular, this mindset is transformative. ...

Uruguay’s iconic ex-President Jose Mujica says his cancer has spread and that he’s dying Associated Press - World News, Santiago, Chile; by Nayara Batschke; 1/9/25 ... “Honestly, I am dying,” said the former leader, who governed the small South American nation of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. The article noted that he had tears in his eyes. “What I ask is that they leave me alone. Don’t ask me for more interviews or anything else,” he said. “My cycle is over.” ... In the interview with Busqueda, Mujica said his autoimmune disease, severe kidney disease and other underlying medical problems led to his decision not to pursue treatment after medical tests showed his cancer had returned and metastasized. “I’m an old man, and because I have two chronic illnesses my body cannot handle it,” he said. ... Mujica told Busqueda that he would devote his “final stage” of life to his farm on the outskirts of Montevideo, the capital, where he has grown chrysanthemums with his wife for decades.Editor's note: Whatever one's political stances, may we see and hear the unifying, universal inevitabilities of facing dying and death.

Building a smarter long-term care system in New York The National Law Review; by Adam Herbst of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP - Healthcare Law Blog; 1/10/25 New York State has a long-standing commitment to supporting its most vulnerable populations through Medicaid-funded services for older adults and those requiring long-term care. However, rising costs and an increasingly complex healthcare landscape have created challenges that demand innovative solutions.  ... The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) offers a clear path forward. This model has consistently demonstrated its ability to reduce healthcare costs while enhancing patient outcomes by integrating medical, social, and behavioral health services under one umbrella. ... Despite these clear benefits, New York has not approved a new PACE program since 2011, leaving this proven model underutilized in the state.

Bestselling author: I asked 26,000 people around the world their biggest regrets—these were the top 4 NBC News NECN Channel 4, Boston, MA; by Aston Jackson, CNBC; 1/11/25 Living life without regrets is impossible, says bestselling author Daniel Pink. "Everybody has regrets. It's one of the most common emotions that human beings have," said Pink, in a podcast episode that published last month. "And yet, we've been sold such a bill of goods about positivity and being positive all the time that when we feel regret, we think we're the only one." Pink combed through decades of research and surveyed more than 26,000 people from 130 countries about their biggest regrets for his 2022 book, "The Power of Regret," according to his website. Most of those people struggled with four core regrets:

St. Croix Hospice to acquire Mayo Clinic Health System hospice operations in Southwest Minnesota PR Newswire, Oakdale, MN; by St. Croix Hospice and Mayo Clinic Health System; 1/13/25 St. Croix Hospice and Mayo Clinic Health System have entered into a definitive agreement for St. Croix Hospice to acquire Mayo Clinic Health System's hospice operations in Southwest Minnesota. The agreement remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. ... "With more than 75 locations across the Midwest staffed by local care teams, St. Croix Hospice has been proudly providing hospice care for Mayo Clinic Health System patients throughout the Midwest for many years," says St. Croix Hospice Chief Clinical Officer Mandy Cogswell. ... "This marks the second recent transaction where St. Croix Hospice has acquired a health-system based hospice program, including a fourth quarter 2024 purchase in Iowa and Nebraska," said St. Croix Hospice CEO Heath Bartness.

CMS Gives Notice of 4.3% Pay Hike for Medicare Advantage Plans Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 1/13/25 The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to increase payments to Medicare Advantage plans for 4.3% in 2026, but implementation will depend on what happens with the new presidential administration. CMS has issued an advance notice of policy changes for Medicare Advantage and Part D that would install technical updates, including to the ways the agency calculates payments to health plans. ... Though Medicare Advantage does not cover hospice care, many providers depend on MA payments for other programs like palliative care, among others. The changes are intended to continue CMS’s three-year phase-in of updates to the MA risk adjustment model and growth-rate calculation related to medical education costs. However, it will be up to the incoming Trump administration to bring these changes to fruition — if they so choose. 

Prospect Home Health and Hospice, LLC bankruptcy filing BankruptcyObserver.com; Case Number 25-80011; 1/13/25 The bankruptcy petition for Prospect Home Health and Hospice, LLC [Northern District of Texas bankruptcy cour] showed assets in the range of more than $1B with liabilities in the range of more than $1B. Prospect Home Health and Hospice, LLC reports that the number of creditors is in the range of more than 100,000.

[UK] Volunteers collecting Christmas trees for charityBBC News, West of England; by Harcombe; 1/10/25Volunteers are collecting thousands of Christmas trees to raise money for a hospice. The team from Dorothy House Hospice offers the collection service across Somerset and Wiltshire and will be collecting trees from doorsteps until Sunday. Since the service was launched eight years ago, they have raised £370,000 for the hospice, raising more than £118,000 so far this year. Dan Varley, from the hospice's fundraising team, said: "We do it as a way to support the community, but also to raise funds for the hospice which is so, so vital for us." 

Lamar Area Hospice receives donation from proceeds of Backyard Bash, Angel Open The Prowers Journal, Lamar, CO; by Barbara Crimond; 1/11/25 The Lamar Area Hospice was recently the recipient of a very generous donation.  Presenting a check for $75,000 was Rose Ann Yates of the Lamar Hospice Foundation’s fundraising committee. ... The donation was made possible from the committee’s two large fundraisers held each year – the Backyard Bash and the Angel Open golf tournament. ... Pelley says the group is blessed this year to have 35 corporate sponsors.  She still marvels at the generosity of a community our size and the hard work the volunteers and fundraising committee members do.  She calls it a “community effort” and said the diversity of the fundraisers appeals to a broad range of people. 

Quilting for a cause: Sterling sewing group donates quilts to Rock River Hospice & HomeShaw Local News Network, Sterline, IL; by Brandon Clark; 1/12/25The ladies of New Life Lutheran Church’s sewing group know what it means to sew love into every stitch. The group meets at the church from 9 a.m. to noon every Wednesday to sew, quilt, knit and crochet for fun, fellowship and a good cause. Group member Karen Lofgren said they donate the quilts they make to Rock River Hospice & Home of Sterling, which gives one to each new client. ... Lofgren said the sewing group has been donating quilts since Rock River Hospice opened in 2017. The sewing group donates an estimated 120 to 150 large quilts to the hospice home each year and recently presented its 1,000th quilt.

Health systems: It's time to break up with short-termism Becker's Hospital Review; by Molly Gamble; 1/10/25Health systems begin 2025 emerging from a half-decade of crisis management. Now is the time for executive teams to lift their heads from quarterly survival and make bets on their long-term future. ... In recent years, a number of leaders, including those within health systems, openly declared their departure from 10-year strategic plans. Even five-year outlooks are considered ambitious, some argued. Agility and short-term performance is sometimes hailed as the hallmark of savvy leaders, while long-term vision risks being dismissed as impractical or naive. This mindset may have served its purpose during the stop-and-go nature of the pandemic, but risks leaving organizations flat-footed and without a defined strategy for what could come next. Teams may feel the shift. The return of competitive, distinct and long-term plans will require systems' executive teams and boards to revive organizational muscles that may have lain dormant through years of crisis response.