Literature Review

CT hospitals need nurse-to-patient ratios. Legislators should mandate themBy Kristin Henry, RNCT MirrorDecember 9, 2023As a registered nurse in Connecticut—one who graduated in 2019 shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic made its boisterous presence—I have seen firsthand the detrimental effects that inadequate staffing and unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios can have on the health of your loved ones. ... Appropriate nursing staff not only would achieve clinical and economic improvements in patient care, it would decrease nurse fatigue and burnout. ... Unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios have been statistically shown to increase patient mortality. ... Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law effective October 1 of this year. Under Public Act 23-204, CT hospitals must create a dedicated staffing committee to develop nurse staffing plans. Hospitals that fail to comply can face penalties. This bill is a small step in a very long staircase. Nowhere in this bill does it mention mandating specific staffing ratios. Until nurses and patients are protected from unsafe situations by the state, the battle is not over.

Forced to work in a vacuum, MedPAC recommends another Medicare cutMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 11, 2023A Congressional advisory group appears ready to recommend a 3% Medicare pay cut for nursing homes in 2025. In what has become an annual tradition, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voiced ongoing concerns Friday about the use of Medicare Fee for Service reimbursement to effectively subsidize Medicaid rates and Medicare Advantage payments. With official data indicating that patients still have plenty of access to care, panel staff recommended MedPAC tell Congress that it should pursue a cut to Chair Michael Chernew, PhD, a healthcare policy professor at Harvard, said the 3% cut could be steeper given the reported margins. But the commission—tasked only with considering Medicare policy—remains cognizant of the pressures faced by providers accepting Medicaid and being increasingly low balled by managed care plans.

Experts offer suggestions for dealing with holiday anxiety and depressioMacomb (MI) DailyDecember 10, 2023At this time of year, everywhere around there are full of holiday images of family gatherings, brightly lit trees, lavish gifts and tables laden with rich foods, beverages and desserts. For those whose depression and anxiety is triggered by the holiday season and those who have lost a loved one, a treasured pet, or even a job and are grieving, the holidays can be tough to navigate. “One of the things we do say is to know your own limitations,” said Karen Monts, practice manager of Counseling Services at Hospice of Michigan. “Don’t feel pressured to do things a certain way or allow images on television to get into your mind so that you feel like everyone is having a wonderful holiday except you, because we know that is not the case.” Monts says trying to plan ahead for the holiday can help to alleviate stress and depression. “You know this is going to be a different holiday without that loved one, so try and figure out what works for you,” Monts said. ... Monts advises people who are experiencing grief, anxiety and depression at the holidays to use the “AIM” method to sort out their emotions: access what you are feeling; identify what you are experiencing; and manage what you do in response to those feelings.

State—Nursing home dumped alleged rape victim at homeless shelterIowa Capital DispatchDecember 8, 2023An Iowa nursing home resident was evicted and dumped at a homeless shelter after complaining that an employee of the home raped her, according to state records. ... John Hale, a consultant and advocate for Iowa seniors, said “the story of what allegedly happened to this resident is absolutely sickening. It’s simply incredible that a nursing home and its parent corporation would allegedly have such an awful response to a rape allegation, allow an alleged rapist to continue to be employed, deal so inhumanely with a resident, and would suspend a facility employee who tried to do the right thing.” Hale also questioned the state’s response to the situation. “How the governor or any state legislator can sleep at night knowing that this kind of alleged cruelty exists in an Iowa nursing home is beyond me,” he said. “If this doesn’t serve as a wake-up call to take action, nothing will.”

Hospice of South Texas guided Woodsboro woman through transition to afterlifeVictoria (TX) AdvocateDecember 9, 2023Woodsboro, TX—Rebecca Roitsch had suffered an accidental overdose on morphine after undergoing surgery to remove both of her breasts. Roitsch was battling an aggressive Stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to her bones and other organs, riddling her body with more than 30 metastases. ... She became a patient of the Hospice of South Texas in Victoria where health care providers aimed to ease her pain and heal her spirit as the inevitable approached. ... When Roitsch was first admitted into the Hospice of South Texas in April, she feared the worst. She worried the hospice would be a sterile place without life or love, where she would languish in a cold, unfamilar clinical setting. Quickly, she realized she had been wrong. ... “These people here came into (my hospice) room, and it was like lightning filled the room. I’m not kidding. They were real. They were just fabulous. They listened. They didn’t push you. If you couldn’t eat, then you couldn’t eat. They were just wonderful, and I started realizing that this was not what I had in mind at all.”

Sen. Jacque—No Patient Left Alone Act advances with bipartisan supportWis PoliticsDecember 7, 2023Madison, WI—Our loved ones would never be isolated from their families and friends again under legislation that cleared a State Senate committee today protecting our right to visit those dear to us in hospitals and care facilities. State Sen. André Jacque (R-De Pere), co-author of the proposal with State Rep. Chuck Wichgers, said research coming out of the pandemic has shown what we have known all along about the damage done to patients and their families by blocking human contact when they need each other most. ... Sen. Jacque said the No Patient Left Alone Act addresses these problems by allowing patients in health care facilities to receive visitors, subject to COVID-19 infections protocols, and to have in-person compassionate care visitation between a resident and any individual the resident requests to relieve physical or mental distress. ... The No Patient Left Alone Act (Senate Bill 257) passed the Senate Committee on Health earlier this morning 0n a bi-partisan 5-1 vote. It must next clear the full Senate and Assembly, and be signed by the Governor, to become law.

Hospice of Michigan Receives $10,000 Grant from the Fund for the Community of the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community FoundationNews ReleaseDecember 5, 2023Petoskey, MI—Hospice of Michigan recently received a $10,000 grant from the Fund for the Community of the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation in support of its grief support services. The grant will help individuals in Emmet County, both adults and children, who are coping with the loss of a loved one.

‘Nobody speaks about this’—Diana Rigg made impassioned plea for assisted dying law before deathThe Guardian (London, England)December 9, 2023Diana Rigg made an impassioned case to legalise assisted dying in a message recorded shortly before her “truly awful” and “dehumanising” death from cancer three years ago. The actor’s statement calling for a law that gives “human beings true agency over their own bodies at the end of life”, published today in the Observer, adds to the ongoing debate on assisted dying, with MPs [Members of the British Parliament] expected to publish recommendations to the government within weeks.

Ransomware group posts stolen Tri-City Medical Center documents to dark webSan Diego Union-TribuneDecember 8, 2023Though Tri-City Medical Center got its operations back up and running 17 days ago, ransomware extortion efforts appear to be ongoing against the Oceanside hospital. Earlier this week, a cyber security expert noted in a message on X, formerly called Twitter, that “INC RANSOM”, a well known group of cyber extortionists, announced its possession of records stolen from the health care provider on the dark web, an anonymous corner of the Internet where such information is often bought and sold.

Brookdale Reports November 2023 OccupancyPRNewswireDecember 8, 2023Nashville, TN—Brookdale Senior Living Inc. reported today its consolidated occupancy for November 2023. November 2023 weighted average occupancy increased 140 basis points year-over-year to 78.4%. Achieved twenty-five consecutive months of year-over-year weighted average occupancy growth.

National HME Acquires Hospice SourceHospice NewsDecember 8, 2023The durable medical equipment provider National HME has acquired Hospice Source, also a DME company. The transaction beefs up National HME’s footprint, which currently includes more than 50 locations nationwide.

As deficit estimate hits $68 billion, Newsom seeks ‘major changes’ to healthcare wage lawLos Angeles TimesDecember 7, 2023With California facing an expected $68-billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking “major reforms” to pull funding from a costly plan next year to begin raising the statewide minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 an hour. ... It’s unclear whether Newsom is suggesting he would like to narrow the higher minimum wage to fewer workers, or whether he’s seeking to delay or pause implementation of the increase.