Literature Review

Grant helps launch paramedicine program for patients in need Westfair Business Journal, Sleepy Hollow, NY; by Westfair Online; 11/15/24 Northwell Phelps Hospital received a $125,000 grant from the Phelps Community Foundation to help launch the Westchester Community Paramedicine Program. ... They will utilize remote physiological monitoring to track blood pressure, oxygen saturation and cardiac rhythms, providing convenient and cost-effective care compared to emergency room visits. “This program is designed to address the gap in access to primary and nonemergency medical care for vulnerable populations,” said Barry Geller, M.D., chair of the emergency department and associate medical director at Phelps Hospital. ...  The initiative will first focus on patients served by Phelps’ palliative care, geriatric and emergency medicine programs with plans to expand service to cancer patients. It is expected to reach approximately 200 individuals during the first year, ...

8 digital healthcare trends for 2025 Perficient; by Lysa Young-Bates; 11/15/24 Our experts are closely monitoring eight healthcare trends that are shaping industry leaders’ strategies in 2025. ... Let’s dive into the eight healthcare trends and pragmatic innovations that our experts are helping HCOs navigate in 2025.

Expert advocates for timely palliative care for patients experiencing heart failure during address to URI College of Nursing The University of Rhode Island. Kingston, RI; by Patrick Luce; 11/14/24 While palliative care is common for patients diagnosed with life-threatening conditions like cancer or Alzheimer’s Disease, it is less commonly prescribed to patients suffering from heart failure, a missed opportunity to provide enhanced care for those critical patients, according to Yale University Professor Shelli Feder, who addressed Rhode Island nurses, students and professors during [the URI College of Nursing Distinguished Lecture] on Nov. 13. ... Feder detailed a study ... that shows access to palliative care varies widely among patients suffering from heart failure. Reasons vary from heart failure often being diagnosed late, rendering palliative care irrelevant, to some local hospital systems lacking processes to refer cardiovascular patients to palliative care providers. Feder urges medical facilities to adopt specific policies for referring patients to palliative care to help guide providers’ behavior toward timely referral to palliative experts.

$11,650 raised by October’s Annual United Hospice Service luncheon Sanilac Broadcasting Company - WMIC/WTGV/WBGV, Sandusky, MI; 11/15/24 The Annual United Hospice Service Luncheon, held on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, at the Marlette Elementary School was a success with a total of 130 tickets sold. The event included a delightful afternoon featuring a catered lunch, a prize-drawing raffle, a silent auction, and a lively fundraising auction hosted by Aspire Rural Health System’s own co-CEO, Andy Daniels. Businesses donated over 120 items for the fundraising auction such as Holiday-themed baskets, quilts, gift certificates, ground beef, a chartered fishing day, merchandise, crafts, and more. The event raised a total of $11,650 for United Hospice Service.

Homecare owner allegedly withholds $86k in wages HomeCare, Indianapolis, IN; 11/11/24 The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has alleged that home health care company owner Hahn March violated federal wage laws and withheld $86,000 in wages by using improper pay practices at her two Indianapolis, Indiana, companies: Signal Health Group Inc. and SHG Employee Leasing Company. In 2018, federal investigators cited March for not paying overtime wages to employees at her then-owned company, Aging and Disabled Home Healthcare. ... The complaint was filed following an investigation by the DOL Wage and Hour Division, which discovered March and Nancy Stanley, the chief financial officer of both companies, used an artificial regular rate pay scheme to lower hourly pay rates and, in turn, shortchanged employees $86,427 in overtime wages. ... The DOL is seeking $172,854—including $86,427 in back wages and an equal amount in liquated damages—for 43 current and former employees. ... “Employees who work in home health care—one of our nation’s lowest-paying professions—provide necessary daily and hospice care that allow individuals to remain in their homes and aid them in navigating their basic needs, providing dignity and comfort to clients and their families,” said Aaron Loomis, Wage and Hour Division district director.

National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, and American Cancer Society unveil Advanced Cancer Guide to Support Patients & Families Facing Terminal Cancer National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; 11/13/24 Today, the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the national voice for nonprofit serious illness care providers, proudly introduces the Advanced Cancer Care Patient & Caregiver Guide, developed in collaboration with the American Cancer Society. This essential resource is designed to assist individuals living with cancer and their caregivers by providing critical information that enables them to receive care in the comfort of their own homes. ... This comprehensive guide aims to minimize hospital and emergency room visits, easing stress for patients, families, and medical facilities alike. Drawing on the expertise of over 100 serious illness care providers and the American Cancer Society, it delivers practical, reliable support for those navigating cancer care at home. Editor's note: The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is a sponsor for our newsletter.

Social determinants of health and US health care expenditures by insurerJAMA Network Open; Giridhar Mohan, MPH; Darrell J. Gaskin, PhD, MS; 10/24US health expenditures have been growing at an unsustainable rate, while health inequities and poor outcomes persist. In this cross-sectional study of 14,918 insured adults, individual-level SDOH [social determinants of health] were significantly associated with US health care expenditures by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. These findings may inform health insurers and policymakers to incorporate SDOH in their decision-making practices to identify and control health care expenditures, advancing health equity.

Most heart failure patients miss out on guideline-recommended palliative care Cardiovascular Business; by Dave Fornell; 11/6/24 Over the past decade, the American Heart Association (AHA) and European Society of Cardiology have recommended integrating palliative care into heart failure management. Despite these recommendations, the use of palliative care for heart failure remains low in the United States. Racial and geographic variations in access and use of palliative care are also pronounced, highlighting health disparities. These were the findings of a recent study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers at Saint Louis University led the study and said only one in eight patients with heart failure in the United States receive palliative care consultations within five years of diagnosis. Their study highlights the alarmingly low uptake of palliative care among adults with heart failure in the U.S., especially compared to patients with cancers that have the same mortality rates. The study also pointed out significant racial and geographic disparities. Black patients were 15% less likely to receive palliative care compared to their white counterparts. They said this disparity is particularly concerning given the higher cardiovascular risk and mortality rates in the Black population.

Clinician staffing and quality of care in US health centersJAMA Network Open; Q. Wilton Sun, BA; Howard P. Forman, MD, MBA; Logan Stern, DNP, APRN; Benjamin J. Oldfield, MD, MHS; 10/24In this cross-sectional study of 791 US health centers, 5 distinct clinician staffing ratio models were identified, and models emphasizing physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician associates were positively associated with distinct sets of individual quality metrics. In this cross-sectional study of health centers, physician FTE [full time equivalent] ratio was associated with higher performance in cancer screening, infant vaccinations, and HIV testing; APRN FTE ratio was associated with higher performance in preventative health assessments; and PA FTE ratio was associated with higher performance in infant vaccination.

Older Americans living alone often rely on neighbors or others willing to help California Healthline; by Judith Graham; 11/12/24Donald Hammen, 80, and his longtime next-door neighbor in south Minneapolis, Julie McMahon, have an understanding. Every morning, she checks to see whether he’s raised the blinds in his dining room window. If not, she’ll call Hammen or let herself into his house to see what’s going on. Should McMahon find Hammen in a bad way, she plans to contact his sister-in-law, who lives in a suburb of Des Moines. That’s his closest relative. Hammen never married or had children, and his younger brother died in 2022. Although Hammen lives alone, a web of relationships binds him to his city and his community — neighbors, friends, former co-workers, fellow volunteers with an advocacy group for seniors, and fellow members of a group of solo agers. ... American society rests on an assumption that families take care of their own. But 15 million Americans 50 and older didn’t have any close family — spouses, partners, or children — in 2015, the latest year for which reliable estimates are available. Most lived alone. By 2060, that number is expected to swell to 21 million. ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]Editor's note: This important article references (1) "a noteworthy study published by researchers at Emory University" titled "Solo but not alone," which we will include in a Saturday research issue and (2) an AAPR survey that gives the name "solo agers." I give a shout-out to the visionary "Living Alone Program" back in 1993 at Hospice of Louisville (now Hosparus), and to all hospices who deliver creative, quality care to persons who live alone.

Do you remember a time when you chose the harder path because it was the right thing to do. It wasn’t easy, but deep-down, you knew it was the right choice. Acting with integrity, even when it’s tough, shapes your character. ~Life Changing Quotes

Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Comorbid depression in patients with head and neck cancer compared with other cancersJAMA Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery; Marina C. Martinez,; Andrey Finegersh, MD, PhD; Fred M. Baik, MD; F. Chris Holsinger, MD; Heather M. Starmer, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S; Lisa A. Orloff, MD; John B. Sunwoo, MD; Davud Sirjani, MD; Vasu Divi, MD; Michelle M. Chen, MD, MHS; 10/24This cohort study found that patients with HNC were twice as likely to screen positive for depression on a validated survey than those with other cancers, despite having similar rates of self-reported depression and depression medication use. These findings suggest that self-reporting of depression may result in underreporting and undertreatment in this population and, thus, a need for further work in developing interventions to improve identification of and optimize treatment for patients with HNC and comorbid depression.