Literature Review

Disbelief, distress, & distrust: trending institution related emotional distress during COVID-19Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care; Jillian Sherman, Shannon Petros; 10/24The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the well-being of individuals working in the healthcare sector. Numerous themes were identified [in this study], including the importance of caseload, general support, team support, management, and professional flexibility. Additional end-of-life themes were identified, including the impact of death, lack of personal protective equipment, fear of transmitting the virus, COVID disbelief, and the inability of clinicians and/or family to be with patients in person. From the experience participants had during COVID-19, four areas of change were identified: professional resilience, management/ethics support, professional development, and physical and emotional safety.

Fear of cancer recurrence in adult survivors of childhood cancerJAMA Network Open; Alex Pizzo, MSc; Wendy M. Leisenring, ScD; Kayla L. Stratton, MSc; Élisabeth Lamoureux, BA; Jessica S. Flynn, MSc; Kevin Alschuler, PhD; Kevin R. Krull, PhD; Lindsay A. Jibb, PhD, RN; Paul C. Nathan, MD, MSc; Jeffrey E. Olgin, MD; Jennifer N. Stinson, PhD, RN; Gregory T. Armstrong, MD, MSc; Nicole M. Alberts, PhD; 10/24In this cross-sectional study of 229 North American adults who survived childhood cancer, one-third of survivors reported experiencing elevated fear that their primary cancer will recur or a subsequent malignant neoplasm will develop. Fear of cancer recurrence was associated with chronic health conditions, treatment-related factors, anxiety, depression, and perceived health status.

The influence of patient-provider communication on self-management among patients with chronic illness: A systematic mixed studies reviewJournal of Advanced Nursing; Christin Iroegbu, Delphine S Tuot, Lisa Lewis, Lea Ann Matura; 9/24Chronic illnesses studied: diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Available evidence suggests that patient-provider communication influences chronic illness self-management. A provider's ability to adjust and tailor their communication style is an important factor in helping patients to achieve optimal self-management. Future research should explore this phenomenon in other common chronic illnesses not included in this review. Additionally, research on the patient's role in this process could help improve patient-provider communication.

Risk of dementia diagnosis after injurious falls in older adultsJAMA Network Open; Alexander J. Ordoobadi, MD; Hiba Dhanani, MD, ScM; Samir R. Tulebaev, MD; Ali Salim, MD; Zara Cooper, MD, MSc; Molly P. Jarman, PhD, MPH; 9/24In this cohort study, new ADRD [Alzheimer disease and related dementias] diagnoses were more common after falls compared with other mechanisms of injury, with 10.6% of older adults being diagnosed with ADRD in the first year after a fall. To improve the early identification of ADRD, this study’s findings suggest support for the implementation of cognitive screening in older adults who experience an injurious fall that results in an ED visit or hospital admission.

Few older patients with advanced heart failure are evaluated for advanced therapiesCardiology Advisory; by Jessica Nye; 10/3/24Only a small proportion of older patients with advanced heart failure (HF) are evaluated for left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation or heart transplant (HT) and palliative care is underutilized, according to study results submitted to the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Annual Scientific Meeting 2024, held virtually from September 27 to 30, 2024... Fewer than a third of patients (29%) were referred for palliative care.

The prevalence of lifetime trauma and association with physical and psychosocial health among adults at the end of lifeJournal of the American Geriatics Society; by Kate A. Duchowny, Alexander K. Smith, Irena Cenzer, Chelsea Brown, Grace Noppert, Kristine Yaffe, Amy L. Byers, Carla Perissinotto, Ashwin A. Kotwal; 10/24National guidelines recognize lifetime trauma as relevant to clinical care for adults nearing the end of life. We determined the prevalence of early life and cumulative trauma among persons at the end of life by gender and birth cohort, and the association of lifetime trauma with end-of-life physical, mental, and social well-being. Older adults in the last years of life report a high prevalence of lifetime traumatic events which are associated with worse end-of-life physical and psychosocial health. A trauma-informed approach to end-of-life care and management of physical and psychosocial needs may improve a patient's quality of life.

Private equity in senior living an increasing focus of federal, state government McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto, Lois A. Bowers and Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 10/7/24 At press time [10/7], a bill that would require private equity firms and hedge fund organizations in California to give prior notice of acquisitions or changes in control to the state’s attorney general was sitting on the governor’s desk, to become effective Jan. 1 if he signed it into law. It is just one example of legislation recently put forth at the state or national level focused on the private equity and real estate investment trust funding sometimes used in senior living and in other industries. ... The legislation calls for greater transparency for private equity firms and for-profit companies that own healthcare entities, including nursing homes, hospitals, and mental or behavioral health facilities. ...

Mission Hospital nurses, HCA agree to new contract Becker's Hospital Review; by Erica Carbajal; 10/10/24 Union nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., have approved a new labor contract with Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, which owns the hospital. National Nurses United, which represents more than 1,600 Mission Hospital nurses, shared news of the new agreement in an Oct. 9 news release. The three-year agreement includes up to 29% wage increases for some nurses, a pilot program to ensure nurses can take meal and rest breaks during their shifts, new measures to ensure nurses are floated to units similar to their usual specialty, and the ability to use preferred names and personal pronouns on name badges. "Mission Hospital is so important to Asheville and all of western North Carolina," Hannah Drummond, RN, a nurse in the hospital's catheterization lab recovery unit, said in the union's news release. "This contract is another step forward to making Mission the hospital it needs to be for our patients. Nurses are the backbone of Mission Hospital, and this contract adds steel to our spine." 

Palliative and hospice care in the prehospital setting

Florida hospitals reopen post-Milton Becker's Hospital Review; by Molly Gamble; 10/10/24, 5:00 pm EDT Florida hospitals' emergency preparedness largely proved effective throughout Hurricane Milton, leaving some in a position to resume normal operations Friday, Oct. 11. Such is the case for 1,041-bed Tampa General Hospital, the region's only level 1 trauma center. On its main campus, Tampa General healthcare providers and staff who are trained in emergency management remained on-site throughout the storm to care for patients. The hospital did not experience major power outages due to reinforcement from its Central Energy Plant, built in 2022 at 33 feet above sea level. TGH planned to resume normal operations on Friday, Oct. 11. HCA Florida Healthcare began resuming operations for several sites on Oct. 10, reopening three locations that had been temporarily closed in hurricane preparations. Before Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 as a Category 3 storm, 313 healthcare facilities in the state reported evacuations, including 17 hospitals. All hospitals that remained open before the hurricane remained operational the morning of Oct. 10, with the exception of HCA Florida Largo Hospital, which evacuated about 230 patients early Wednesday morning due to flooding in the facility's basement. While Florida hospital facilities withstood Hurricane Milton relatively well, the state's healthcare system is expected to face ongoing pressure. Flooding and storm damage are likely to disrupt outpatient and community-based services, such as pharmacies, which could lead to higher patient volumes in emergency departments.

Maryland hospitals face IV shortage as hurricanes hit suppliers The Baltimore Banner; by Sapna Bansil; 10/10/24 Hospitals across Maryland are scrambling to conserve IV fluids after damage from Hurricane Helene last month halted production at the country’s leading manufacturer and triggered a national shortage — which could worsen as Hurricane Milton drenches Florida this week. Baxter International shut down its plant in Marion, N.C., about 35 miles east of Asheville, after it experienced severe flooding and a nearby bridge collapsed. The facility produced 1.5 million bags a day and accounted for 60% of the nation’s supply of IV fluids, according to the American Hospital Association. Another key manufacturing plant, for B. Braun Medical in Daytona Beach, Florida, is in the path of Hurricane Milton. The company said that it planned to temporarily close the facility and that it had relocated its inventory farther north. In a statement posted to its website Wednesday, Baxter said that as it has ramped up production at its global facilities, most customers are now able to receive the majority of what they typically order. There is no timeline on when production will resume in North Carolina.

Two Los Angeles-area residents arrested on indictment alleging scheme to fraudulently obtain and launder Medicare proceedsUnited States Attorney's Office - Central District of California; Press Release; 10/9/24 A Los Angeles woman and a San Fernando Valley man were arrested today on a 24-count federal grand jury indictment alleging a scheme to defraud Medicare out of more than $54 million via hospice and diagnostic testing services that were never provided and then laundered their illicit proceeds, including by buying millions of dollars’ worth of gold bars and coins. Sophia Shaklian, 36, of the Larchmont area of Los Angeles, and Alex Alexsanian, 47, of Burbank, were arrested early this morning. They are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. ... According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on October 2, Shaklian, often using aliases, managed and submitted claims for seven health care providers enrolled with Medicare and located in Los Angeles County. These businesses included a hospice company she owned – the Pasadena-based Chateau d’Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care – and several diagnostic testing companies: Saint Gorge Radiology in Sylmar; Hope Diagnostics in North Hollywood; Direct Imaging & Diagnostics and Lab One – both located in Hollywood; and Labtech and Lifescan Diagnostics in Claremont.

Whether it is a tsunami, or whether it is a hurricane, whether it's an earthquake - when we see these great fatal and natural acts, men and women of every ethnic persuasion come together and they just want to help. ~ Martin Luther King III