Literature Review

Hospice and home health care in Estes Park: A 2024 updateEstes Park Trail Gazette, by Dawn Wilson; 1/5/24Estes Park Health Board of Directors and management made the difficult decision to eliminate in-home hospice and home health care services as part of a plan to bring the hospital into a financially secure position. Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, marked the last day that Estes Park Health provided these services.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

Talking about dyingJAMA Network, by Yael Schenker, MD, MAS; 12/23As a palliative medicine physician, I had been asked to see her for pain. Reading through her medical record, I saw that she had been admitted to the hospital 5 days ago. Many specialists had been involved in her care, their notes laser focused on the particular body part or system within their area of expertise...

Most palliative care nurses feel unable to meet patient needsNursing Times, by Ella Devereaux; 1/4/24Junior health staff are having to make complex decisions about end-of-life care, due to a lack of out-of-hours palliative care nursing services, a new report has warned. The report, published by the Queen’s Nursing Institute and the Marie Curie Charity, has assessed how end-of-life care has changed over time and some of the issues that continue to impact the efficiency of services.

Pets can improve health outcomes for older adults living at home, overseas study findsMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 1/3/24Pet ownership may be linked to slower cognitive decline among adults aging in place, according to a recent study conducted in England. “Older adults living alone are at high risk for developing dementia,” the researchers wrote in the study published by JAMA Network Open. “Pet ownership might completely offset the association of living alone with faster rates of decline in verbal memory and verbal fluency among older adults.”Editor's Note: What happens when the senior adult becomes to ill to take care of their pet? Explore one  program, Banfield's "Peace of Mind: Keeping Pets and People Together During Hospice Care."

Upcoming e-prescribing regs could give relief to hospice, palliative care providers, advocates sayMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 1/5/24Proposed rules, if finalized, could make it easier for providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine. The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to develop a “special registry” for certain controlled substances that could be prescribed without an in-person visit, according to Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations and policy at LeadingAge. Certain substances were already granted similar prescription flexibilities during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE); a new registry would subject these substances to oversight by the DEA.

Older Americans say they feel trapped in Medicare Advantage plansKFF Health News, by Sarah Jane Tribble; 1/5/24Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has grown substantially in the past few decades, enticing more than half of all eligible people, primarily those 65 or older, with low premium costs and perks like dental and vision insurance. And as the private plans’ share of the Medicare patient pie has ballooned to 30.8 million people, so too have concerns about the insurers’ aggressive sales tactics and misleading coverage claims.

How technology is shaping the value-based care evolutionMcKnights Long-Term Care News, 1/4/24Podcast - Join us as we explore the transformative influence of technology on the evolution of value-based care. Leaders from MatrixCare, a key technology solution, and Mark Parkinson, President of AHCA, join us to discuss the challenges faced by post-acute providers in the ever-changing world of value-based care.

To affiliate or acquire: Trends in nonprofit hospice consolidationHospice News, by Jim Parker; 1/5/24Recent years have seen an uptick in consolidation activity among nonprofits in the hospice space. Increasingly, nonprofit s are pursuing acquisitions and affiliations, as well as forming regional collaboratives. To achieve these kinds of growth, hospices must consider whether they should affiliate or buy another company outright. Each approach comes with benefits and risks.

After the chaotic closure of a St. Louis nursing home, will others also shut down?St. Louis Post-Dispatch; 12/24/23St. Louis, MO—The north St. Louis nursing home that closed abruptly last weekend, setting off a chaotic relocation of residents and layoffs of workers without warning, had been in decline for several years. ... Other area nursing homes face similar financial pressures and lingering damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. ... “I think we’re going to see a lot of nursing homes close, that’s my prediction—I mean a lot of nursing homes,” [Harvey] Tettlebaum [a lawyer who for decades has represented the Missouri Healthcare Association, a group for long-term health care organizations] said. “I think it’s going to escalate next year.” Among the most vulnerable are providers that primarily serve residents who rely on Medicaid.

Aaron A. & Maria H. Putnam Family Charitable Trust gives grant to Aroostook Hospice FoundationThe County (Presque Isle, ME); 12/26/23Presque Isle, ME—The Aroostook Hospice Foundation, owner of the Aroostook House of Comfort, is delighted to announce the receipt of a generous $5,000 grant from the Aaron A. and Maria H. Putnam Family Charitable Trust of Houlton.

What do people dream about before they die? Doctors mention this one common detail24/7 News Agency, 12/25/23A study from 2020 confirms that patients who experienced such symptoms became stronger and mentally stronger. There was peace coming from them. The family and relatives of the dying person claimed that being aware of this information helped them go through the mourning process more smoothly. Christopher Kerr, a cardiologist and director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Center in Buffalo, as well as the author of the book “Death is Just a Dream”, is one of the first people who decided to explore the topic of dreams occurring just before death.