Literature Review

Hospice prepares to thank Vietnam era vetsMid Hudson News; 3/17/24In early 2017, Congress passed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act, establishing March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.  The holiday is also known as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” and in honor of those who served during the Vietnam era, the Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties will host its fourth annual “Thank You” and Memorial Ceremony on March 29 at 10 a.m. at the Cornwall Yacht Club. Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties is a community partner of “We Honor Veterans,” a campaign developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.Editor's Note: Click here for information about March 29th, National Vietnam War Veterans Day.   

[UPDATED] Skilled Nursing giant PACS Group files for IPO as it looks to expand footprint Skilled Nursing News, by Zahida Siddiqi; 3/14/24 PACS Group filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, citing focus on growth plans in its filing. ... The Farmington, Utah-based PACS Group is one of the largest skilled nursing providers with more than 200 nursing facilities across nine states and serves over 20,000 patients daily. It plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol PACS. 

Use of machine learning to optimize referral for early palliative care: Are prognostic predictions enough  Journal of Clinical Oncology - Editorials; by Gary E. Weissman, MD, MSHP; Joseph A. Greer, PhD; and Jennifer S. Temel, MD; 3/15/24  The Takeaway In the article that accompanies this editorial, [Weissman] et al used a machine learning (ML) algorithm to identify patients with advanced cancer who were receiving non–curative-intent treatment and at risk of death within 1 year to allocate early palliative care services at least 6 months before death as a means to increase use of early palliative care in the context of limited resources. While ML prognostic models are one promising strategy for triaging palliative care services, initiation of palliative care based exclusively on estimated survival and in the months before death likely excludes patients who would benefit from early palliative care initiated at the time of diagnosis, regardless of their estimated survival.

CHI Memorial awards nonprofit grants Hamilton County Herald; 3/15/24 ... Welcome Home of Chattanooga, which provides hospice and respite care to marginalized populations, received $80,852 to expand its social services, access to mental health treatment and nutritional support. 

Healthcare workers' mental well-being among ECRI's top patient safety concerns Becker's Behavioral Health, by Rylee Wilson; 3/14/24 The mental and physical well-being of the workforce is one of the ECRI's top 10 patient safety concerns for 2024.  The nonprofit organization published its annual list detailing the biggest threats to patient safety March 12. "Rampant physical and emotional exhaustion" has led some healthcare workers to leave the workforce, creating stress on those who remain and possibly threatening patient care, according to ECRI's report. 

Clinician perspectives on integrating neuro-oncology and palliative care for patients with high-grade glioma  Oxford Academic Neuro-Oncology Practice; by Rita C Crooms, MD MPH; Jeannys F Nnemnbeng, MD MS RRT; Jennie W Taylor, MD MPH; Nathan E Goldstein, MD; Ksenia Gorbenko, PhD; Barbara G Vickrey, MD MPH; 3/14/24  Background/objectives: Patients with high-grade glioma have high palliative care needs, yet few receive palliative care consultation. This study aims to explore themes on 1) benefits of primary (delivered by neuro-oncologists) and specialty (SPC) palliative care and 2) barriers to SPC referral, according to a diverse sample of clinicians.

The 19 rural emergency hospitals, by state Becker's Hospital CFO Report, by Andrew Cass, 3/15/24Nineteen hospitals have converted to the rural emergency designation since the law that created the designation took effect in January 2023, according to data from University of North Carolina's Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research in Chapel Hill.  Here are the hospitals that have converted to rural emergency status, by state: ... [Click on the title's link to view]

Institutional effforts to address legacies of slavery—Implications for the health care system JAMA Health Forum; by Sara N. Bleich, PhD; Jose F. Figueroa, MD, MPH; Martha Minow, JD; 3/14/24... Health care systems across the country are increasing their efforts to help address structural racism. For example, the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN), which launched in 2017, includes 40 health systems in 45 states and Washington, DC, that have committed to address structural racism and the corresponding public health disparities. HAN aims to improve community health by leveraging key assets such as hiring, purchasing, and place-based investment strategies.

Music Therapy to facilitate Relationship Completion at the end of life: A mixed-methods studyJournal of Music Therapy; by Fu-Nien Hsie, Helen Shoemark, Wendy L Magee; 3/14/24 The concept of relationship completion is embodied as the core belief for end-of-life care in Taiwan, known as the Four Expressions in Life. ... Four themes around opportunities emerged from the interviews: the opportunity for exploration, for connection, for expression, and for healing. The integrated findings suggest that music therapy facilitated relationship completion and improved quality of life for both patients and their families. Furthermore, this study supports that the transformative level of music therapy practice within a single session for end-of-life care is attainable.

VITAS CEO Westfall: Market conditions more favorable for hospice acquisitions Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/15/24  Changes in the marketplace have made further acquisitions by VITAS Healthcare more likely. VITAS, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. ..., recently announced its first deal in several years, the $85 million purchase of hospice assets from Covenant Health. While the company does not comment on its specific acquisition plans or its pipeline, VITAS may be more active in the M&A space in the coming year, CEO Nick Westfall indicated ...

HIMSS24: Change Healthcare outage is the elephant in the room Modern Healthcare - Digital Health, by Brock E.W. Turner; 3/14/24 There's certainly buzz about the Change Healthcare data breach at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s annual conference. But getting executives to talk openly about it is a non-starter. The breach, which has hobbled systems nationwide, has put even greater emphasis on the topics of cybersecurity and protecting patient data. But many attendees at the event in Orlando, Florida, have been unwilling to discuss it on the record, citing their relationship with the claims processing company owned by UnitedHealth Group.

Hospices stepping up performance on visits-in-last-days-of-life measure Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/14/24 Hospices, in aggregate, are showing improvement on the quality measure for visits in the last days of life. The number of registered nurse and social worker visits during a patient’s final week is one of the seven quality measures that CMS uses to evaluate providers. In Calendar Year 2021, the share of hospice care days with nurse visits in the last seven days of life rose to 63%, up from 62% year over year, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). 

Care Alternatives, whistleblowers resolve hospice fraud suitBloomberg Law, by Daniel Seiden; 3/15/24