Literature Review

[Preface to Mother's Day 2025 ...] My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enoyed it. - Mark Twain

At age 99, Jimmy Carter is still exercising his right to vote Story by CNN and Atlanta News First; 5/10/24 Former President Jimmy Carter, age 99, is still exercising his right to vote. Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, said the nation’s 39th president cast a mail-in ballot this week for the May 21 Georgia primary, emphasizing his grandfather is not going to miss an election. The former president entered hospice care more than a year ago in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Since then he celebrated his 99th birthday last October and attended the annual Peanut Festival, which celebrates the region’s cash crop. He also mourned the loss of his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November at the age of 96. To date, that has been Jimmy Carter’s last public appearance. 

Utah man angry: "Why am I still alive?" Cat Country 107.3/94.9; by Andy Griffin; 5/10/24 George Ball (not his real name) is angry. He's dying soon, he knows that. But what he's really mad about is that he's still alive. "I signed the paper. I made the request," he said. "So, why am I still alive?" ... The 72-year-old Utahn recently had a heart attack (cardiac arrest), and was essentially dead for a few minutes before being resuscitated at a Utah hospital. Life-saving measures were taken, including shooting adrenaline into his heart. He was gone, but they brought him back. Happy ending, right? The only problem was, Ball had signed and certified a DNR -- a do not resuscitate order -- so that if he, well, died, heroic measures would not be taken to bring him back to life. ...

LifeBio announces partnership with New York State Office for the Aging to capture the legacies of hospice patientsKFOL/KJUN HTV10; 5/9/24 LifeBio has launched a partnership the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) and the Association on Aging in NYS (AANYS) to rollout an innovative life story project to people in hospice care. This is the first initiative of its kind in the U.S. to be supported with funding from a state-level unit on aging. Using the LifeBio Memory app to record the voices of New Yorkers, each participating hospice patient will receive back a Life Story Book containing stories, memories and favorite photos to share with loved ones. Audio files will be saved privately and securely. LifeBio will also offer the option of journals for handwriting the stories. 

What nurses really need is better staffing: The common strategies to raise nurse morale need an updatePenn LDI - Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; by Karen Lasater, PhD, RN, and Jane Muir, PhD, APRN; 5/10/24Pizza. Coloring books. Goody bags. They could be activities at a 5-year-old’s birthday party. But they’re not: These are many employers’ attempts to lift the morale of nurses on the frontlines of chronically understaffed organizations. What nurses really want are better working conditions so they can deliver the best care possible to their patients. As researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, we asked thousands of nurses why they are leaving their profession. Their answers are straightforward — short staffing is so rampant that the public’s health care is at risk. The playbook of corporate health care asks nurses to do much with little, but nurses aren’t willing to skimp on quality and safety. There isn’t a nursing shortage — it’s nurses’ refusal to be part of a system that puts profits before safety.

Chutes and Ladders Fierce Healthcare; by Noah Tong; 5/3/24 Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. [Click on the title's link for this extensive list.]

Shocked at end-of-life: An educational video for hospice workers about Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Sarah Godfrey, MD, MPH; Christine L. Chen, MD; Melanie S. Sulistio, MD; Sharika Kumar, MD; and Kelley Newcomer, MD; 2/24 Introduction: Hundreds of thousands of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) die yearly. Though ICD shocks can be lifesaving, they can also be severely painful. One third of ICD patients are shocked in the last day of life irrespective of DNR status. Over 97% of hospice programs admit patients with ICDs, yet only 10% have deactivation policies and less than 50% of hospice patients have their ICD deactivated. ...  Conclusion: Hospice personnel have limited knowledge about ICDs, prohibiting best care of patients with these devices at EOL. A short educational video increased knowledge and may serve as a helpful tool. Improving ICD knowledge amongst hospice personnel is essential to ensuring the unique needs of hospice patients with ICDs are met.

The power of art in palliative care InSight+, Melbourne, Australia; by Caitlin Wright; 5/6/24 ... Melbourne artist Jeffrey Kelson is known for his thought-provoking portraits, several of which have been exhibited at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. He believes a portrait is a window into a subject’s heart and mind. However, after being diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer, it wasn’t this style of art that Mr. Kelson was drawn to. As soon as he felt well enough to return to his studio, he started work on a series of colourful collages. “At one point, my wife came into the room and commented on how bright they were and how full of life force. She was surprised that I could create pieces that were so energetic when I felt so ill. I hadn’t really thought about it. I just needed to work,” he told InSight+. ... Palliative care specialist Dr Eric Fairbank was one of Mr Kelson’s art students for several years before Mr. Kelson’s diagnosis. He said Mr Kelson’s approach to his diagnosis has confirmed his belief that the best outcomes of cancer treatment are achieved when they’re complemented by the patient’s own resources of mind, will and spirit. [Click on the title's link to view several of his paintings.]

Elara Caring, cited in death of visiting nurse Joyce Grayson, vows to contest violation McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/3/24 The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited home health, hospice and personal care provider Elara Caring for failing to provide adequate safeguards to protect visiting nurse Joyce Grayson from workplace violence. Grayson, a licensed practical nurse, was killed last Oct. 28 while providing a home health visit for a client living in a halfway house in Willimantic, CT.  The DOL disclosed this week that its OSHA division cited New England Home Care, where Grayson worked, and Jordan Health Care Inc., which both do business as Elara Caring, with a “Willful-Serious” citation. Elara Caring faces up to $163,627 in penalties resulting from the citation. ...

Maddy Baloy had only 1 year to live after cancer diagnosis — and chose joy: 'Didn’t let anything defy her’ People; by Lizzie Hyman; 5/8/24 Even surrounded by loved ones in hospice care at her Florida home, Maddy Baloy craved adventure. “She kept saying, ‘I want to go outside and go swimming,’ ” her fiancé Louis Risher tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. It was how Baloy had approached each day from the time she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in February 2023, to the end of her life on May 2, 2024. In just over one year, the 26 year old gained the admiration and support of millions who followed her journey on TikTok as she worked her way through a 19-item bucket list of skills to learn, people to meet and places to go. “Maddy did not let anything defy her,” Risher, 27, says. “She was always just about love.”

Sunday newsletters focus on headlines and top read stories of the last week (in order) - enjoy!

How to become a great bossBy Jeffrey J. Fox; 2002The Great Boss Simple Success Formula:

The value of screening for a history of incarceration in the palliative care settingAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Joseph Michael Schnitter, Joshua Hauser; 5/24In this article, we explore existing literature that highlights the unique physical, cognitive, and psychosocial challenges that formerly incarcerated patients face. We proceed to argue that palliative care providers should screen for a history of incarceration to identify and address the needs of this patient population. We also offer strategies to create a safe, welcoming environment to discuss past traumas related to these patients’ time in prison.