Literature Review



Veterans’ care new battleground in nursing home staffing mandate

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Veterans’ care new battleground in nursing home staffing mandate McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kimberly Marselas; 3/5/24Two senators have introduced a bill to determine exactly what “unintended circumstances” could result for elderly veterans if a federal rule mandating staffing levels at all US nursing homes is allowed to proceed. ... The bill would require the VA to study potential risks associated with the proposed Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule — especially as they pertain to rural providers. The senators said the proposal would “unsustainably change staffing ratios at nursing homes.”

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Today's Encouragement: Be yourself ...

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Be yourself; everyone is already taken. - Oscar Wilde

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Home care nurse strike ends without deal

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Home care nurse strike ends without deal Northwest Labor Press, by Mallory Gruben; 3/1/24Usually, PeaceHealth jointly bargains with the home health unit and a unit of about 1,500 hospital nurses, and all nurses are paid the same. But for this round of negotiations, PeaceHealth demanded that bargaining happen separately. Hospital nurses reached an agreement in August that raises wages 20.5% over four years. PeaceHealth’s latest offer to the home health nurses is a 14.75% raise over four years. [Erin] Grace [a nurse,] says without an equal contract for equal work, PeaceHealth will have difficulty attracting and retaining home care nurses. According to ONA, the unit has already lost a quarter of its members, and more say they plan to leave if a contract isn’t reached soon. 

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Hittin' the Road for Hospice: Annua motorcycle ride raises $22,000 for Gulfside Hospice patients and their families

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Hittin' the Road for Hospice: Annual motorcycle ride raises $22,000 for Gulfside Hospice patients and their families The Laker / Lutz News; by Mary Rathman; 3/5/24[Scroll down on the page for the article] For more than a decade, motorcycle riders have been coming together to raise funds for Gulfside Hospice and support patients in need and their families. During the 12th annual Hittin’ the Road for Hospice, the crowd raised just over $22,000 for the nonprofit, according to a news release.

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Providers meet with OMB to prevent ‘devastating’ effect of 80/20 provision

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Providers meet with OMB to prevent ‘devastating’ effect of 80/20 provision McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 3/4/24Home care stakeholders have been busy on Capitol Hill voicing concerns about a controversial provision of the proposed Medicaid Access Rule. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice and Home Care Association of America met with the Office of Management and Budget last week to discuss the Access Rule’s so-called 80/20 provision. The provision, if finalized, would require that 80% of Medicaid payments for personal care, home health and homemaker services be spent on workers’ compensation. “If that one provision is finalized as proposed, it would be so detrimental that we’d likely lose a significant portion of our service delivery base and people would go without care,” Damon Terzaghi, NAHC’s director of Medicaid HCBS (home- and community-based services) said in an interview with McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “It would truly be devastating.”

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Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services launch cross-government inquiry on impact of corporate greed in health care

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services launch cross-government inquiry on impact of corporate greed in health careFederal Trade Commission; 3/5/24The Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly launched a cross-government public inquiry into private-equity and other corporations’ increasing control over health care. ... The agencies seek comments on a variety of transactions, including those involving dialysis clinics, nursing homes, hospice providers, primary care providers, hospitals, home health agencies, home- and community-based services providers, behavioral health providers, as well as billing and collections services.

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Hospice launches Mothers Day tribute page

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Hospice launches Mothers Day tribute page Newrie.ie; 3/3/24Southern Area Hospice has launched an online tribute page ahead of Mother’s Day, providing a platform for individuals to remember their mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures who have passed away. Visitors to the Mother’s Day online tribute page can leave messages, share stories, and upload photographs of their loved ones. The page also allows individuals to read other dedications, fostering a sense of community and remembrance. 

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15 C-level job openings with HCA

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

15 C-level job openings with HCA Becker's Hospital Review, by Molly Gamble; 3/5/24The largest health system in the country is seeking leaders for numerous roles at the top of its hospitals. With more than 182 hospitals and 2,300 sites of care, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare is seeking to fill thousands of positions across its 20-state enterprise. [Included] are job listings active on the HCA job boards as of March 4 for C-level executive positions with its hospitals or subsidiaries, organized by role and presented alphabetically.

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Revolutionizing Elderly Care: Palliative Care's growth and integration into Value-Based Models

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Revolutionizing Elderly Care: Palliative Care's growth and integration into Value-Based ModelsBNN, by Olalekan Adigun; 3/5/24Amid the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, palliative care is undergoing a significant transformation, marking a new era in the management and delivery of healthcare services to the elderly. Dr. Jason Black, a seasoned family medicine practitioner with a specialized fellowship in geriatrics, is at the forefront of this change. Working for Gilchrist, a hospice and palliative care organization in Baltimore and central Maryland, Dr. Black embodies the integration of palliative care into the broader healthcare framework, emphasizing value-based care models.

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The current state of community-based palliative care

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

The current state of community-based palliative careHospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/4/24“Palliative care” is becoming a buzz word in health care, even if many people don’t understand the loosely defined term. However, wide variation exists in how different providers deliver these services in the absence of a standardized, national definition or a more concrete regulatory structure that includes quality measures, Logan Hoover, vice president of policy and public relations for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), said at the Hospice News Palliative Care Conference in Tampa, Florida.

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Physicians grow louder on noncompetes

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Physicians grow louder on noncompetes Becker's Hospital Review, by Ashleigh Hollowell; 3/4/24 Amid a nationwide shortage of physicians, contractual noncompete clauses are making it more challenging for patients to receive the care they need, particularly in more rural regions, and physicians are pushing back, NBC News reported March 3. The American Medical Association estimates that between 35% and 45% of physicians in the U.S. are bound by noncompete clauses of some kind.

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Primary care physician's next frontier: Palliative care

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Primary care physician's next frontier: Palliative careMedscape, by Larry Beresford; 3/5/24Palliative care, a medical specialty that focuses on clarifying the treatment goals of seriously ill patients, helping with end-of-life planning, and emphasizing pain and symptom management, has been growing in recent years. Already well-established in most US hospitals, it is also expanding in community settings, often as an extension of hospice programs. Now, by adding primary care physicians and practices to their service mix, palliative care groups are better meeting the needs of a neglected — and costly — population of frail elders.

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Bill to legalize medical aid in dying fails to advance in General Assembly, won’t become law in 2024

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Bill to legalize medical aid in dying fails to advance in General Assembly, won’t become law in 2024 ABC News 8, Richmond, VA; by Tyler Englander; 3/4/24A bill to allow terminally ill patients to ask for physician-assisted death, or “medical aid in dying,” failed to pass a House committee on Monday, meaning it won’t become law in 2024. The House Courts of Justice Committee agreed to continue Senate Bill 280 to 2025, ending its chances of final passage in this year’s session.

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The framework on palliative care in Canada - five years later: a report on the state of palliative care in Canada.

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

The framework on palliative care in Canada - five years later: a report on the state of palliative care in Canada.Government of Canada; 3/5/24[From the "Minister's Message," The Honorable Mark Holland, PC, MP] As Minister of Health, I am pleased to present Health Canada’s 2023 Report on the State of Palliative Care in Canada. Since the release of the Framework on Palliative Care in Canada in 2018, there have been collective efforts to advance palliative care awareness, access to training, supports for caregivers and providers, and to stimulate research and improve data collection on palliative care. And I am especially encouraged to report that, since 2018, we have moved closer to our collective vision for palliative care in Canada. This progress is the result of collective and collaborative efforts by governments, organizations and individuals over the last five years.Editor's Note: What can we learn from our Canadian neighbors from their new five-year report "On the state of palliative care in Canada"? In our daily gleaning of articles for this newsletter, numerous articles with similar topics, ethical challenges, and core purposes appear from Canada. 

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Coverage denials in Medicare Advantage—Balancing access and efficiency

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Coverage denials in Medicare Advantage—Balancing access and efficiencyJAMA Health Forum; by Suhas Gondi, MD, MBA; Kushal T. Kadakia, MSc; and Thomas C. Tsai, MD, MPH; 3/1/24 Each year, millions of claims for medical services are denied by health insurance plans. Many denials may be justified as a necessary strategy to reduce wasteful spending from low-value care. However, denials may also delay diagnosis and/or treatment for patients, and appealing denials contributes to clinician workload and burnout. This tension is apparent in the Medicare program, where denials affect millions of beneficiaries who enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA). 

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A whistleblower lawsuit cost ChristianaCare $47M. Why are whistleblower cases increasing?

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

A whistleblower lawsuit cost ChristianaCare $47M. Why are whistleblower cases increasing? Delaware Online, by Esteban Parra and Xerxes Wilson; 3/4/24A former medical director specializing in neurosurgery at southern Delaware’s largest health care provider claims in a lawsuit that Bayhealth Medical Center misclassified “brain-dead” patients in order to overbill for services. ... [The whistleblower reported that] hospital officials discussed a "new hospital initiative" in which suspected "brain-dead" patients would be discharged and admitted to hospice before any declaration of brain death, according to the lawsuit. The scheme allowed for prolonged billing where previous billing ended with the patient’s death, the complaint states. [Please refer to the article for details.]

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Scientists reveal that nearly all older Americans follow one of nine trajectories in their last three years of life

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

Scientists reveal that nearly all older Americans follow one of nine trajectories in their last three years of life SciTechDaily, by Rutgers University; 3/2/24A Rutgers Health analysis of millions of Medicare records has laid the groundwork for improving end-of-life care by demonstrating that nearly all older Americans follow one of nine trajectories in their last three years of life. “Identifying which paths people actually take is a necessary precursor to identifying which factors send different people down different paths and designing interventions that send more people down whatever path is right for them,” said Olga Jarrín, the Hunterdon Professor of Nursing Research at Rutgers and corresponding author of the study published in BMC Geriatrics.

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InnovAge launches first PACE Center in Florida providing comprehensive healthcare program for seniors to promote independence

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

InnovAge launches first PACE Center in Florida providing comprehensive healthcare program for seniors to promote independence MarketScreener, Globe Newswire; 3/4/24InnovAge Holding Corp. (“InnovAge”) (Nasdaq: INNV), the industry leader in providing comprehensive healthcare programs to dual-eligible seniors through the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) launched a new center in Tampa, its first in the state of Florida. This PACE center has the capacity to serve approximately 1,300 participants.

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What is Sustainable Health Care Design?

03/06/24 at 03:00 AM

What is Sustainable Health Care Design? gb&d; by Andrew Biro; 3/4/24Improving the sustainability of our health care facilities is not only imperative to addressing climate change, but it also helps create healthier, more productive societies that are better suited to providing accessible, equitable health care to all persons. These are the basics of sustainable health care design, including strategies for implementation, metrics for measuring sustainability, and a few examples of successful, sustainable health care projects from around the country. Editor's Note: This article features a photo from The Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

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Creating comfort through communication: Strategies for supporting mental wellbeing in palliative care

03/06/24 at 02:00 AM

Creating comfort through communication: Strategies for supporting mental wellbeing in palliative careWorldHealth.net; 3/4/24... To provide comprehensive and compassionate care, this article explores the various strategies for communicating and supporting mental well-being in palliative care. 

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Man’s dying wish was to see newest ‘Dune’ film. Director made it happen before release

03/05/24 at 03:30 AM

Man’s dying wish was to see newest ‘Dune’ film. Director made it happen before release Global News, by Alessia Simona Maratta; 3/4/24 A palliative care patient’s end-of-life wish was to see the second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune before he passed. The Quebec filmmaker and his team rushed to make it happen almost two months before the film’s premiere and just days before the man died. 

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Congress floats Medicare physician pay bump: 4 notes

03/05/24 at 03:30 AM

Congress floats Medicare physician pay bump: 4 notes Becker's Hospital CFO Report, by Mackenzie Bean; 3/4/24 Physicians are set to receive a 1.7% increase in Medicare pay effective March 9 as part of a $460 billion spending package congressional leaders released this weekend. Four things to know: ... [click on the title's link for more]

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Contract CNA staffing associated with worse care quality outcomes: study

03/05/24 at 03:00 AM

Contract CNA staffing associated with worse care quality outcomes: study McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 3/1/24Nursing homes that use contract staffing to fill certified nursing assistant position vacancies are more likely to experience worse care quality than those that do not, according to the results of a study by PHI. The proportion of total CNA hours filled by contract CNAs in SNFs increased from 2% in 2017 to 11% in 2022, the study found.

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Obstacles and opportunities for palliative care in the ICU

03/05/24 at 03:00 AM

Obstacles and opportunities for palliative care in the ICU Palliative Care News, by Rachel Edwards; 3/1/24A growing body of research touts the benefits of palliative care for patients, families, and even providers. However, when evaluated through randomized clinical trials, the results tend to lean toward mediocre. Palliative Care News spoke with experts in the field to unpack the reasons behind those results and identify the obstacles that are getting in the way of a more effective approach.

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APRNs, home health / personal care aides top healthcare careers in 2024

03/05/24 at 03:00 AM

APRNs, home health / personal care aides top healthcare careers in 2024 McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 2/28/24Advanced practice registered nurses and home health and personal care aides lead the list of top healthcare careers in 2024, according to a study from digital healthcare platform Tebra. The researchers compared 46 healthcare industry jobs by median pay, 10-year outlook and expected job growth, employment per 10,000 workers and web search volume, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. ... Among all healthcare occupations included in the study, ones in home care had the highest employment rate. 

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