Literature Review

NHPCO's CaringInfo program launches new consumer blog, insights NHPCO Press Release; 4/15/24 CaringInfo, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), has launched a new consumer blog, Insights, offering timely and practical content on serious-illness care and services from a variety of perspectives in both English and Spanish. ... CaringInfo also offers more information about advance directives and free advance directives and instructions for all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington DC in both English and Spanish, downloadable as PDF files.

CMMI’s proposed TEAM Model offers another risk-based opportunity for home health providers Home Helath Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 4/15/24Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center announced a new proposed model that will undoubtedly affect home health providers, and also allow them the opportunity to get more involved in value-based care initiatives. The Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), which would eventually be mandatory if finalized, would have selected acute care hospitals put under full responsibility for the cost – and quality – of care from surgery up until the first 30 days after hospital discharge.

Hospices call on Government to help fund rising staff bill ShropshireStar.com, United Kingdom; 4/14/24 Hospices are facing a huge cash shortfall because of a rising staff bill which is putting services at risk, a charity has warned. Hospice UK said the Government must provide cash urgently after its analysis showed hospices will need £120 million to match upcoming pay rises in the NHS. ... Hospice UK said rising costs, such as energy and food prices, together with squeezed donations as people cope with an increased cost of living, mean hospices are currently budgeting for a total deficit of £186 million this year.Editor's Note: Increasingly, we are seeing more articles for hospice community fundraisers throughout the UK: England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Repeatedly, the tone is dire; requests are urgent.

From Hardship to Healing: The power of gratitude Everyday Health, by Simran Malhotra, MD; 4/15/24 This is my journey of previvorship in a nutshell: In a span of six years, between ages 26 and 32, I welcomed two children within 19 months, worked a full-time job during early motherhood as a palliative care physician, served on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and underwent multiple breast cancer risk-reducing surgeries in 2020. When people hear my story, I often get asked the same question repeatedly: “How did you handle all that?” ...

Canyon Lake Hospice Care extends compassionate services to El Cajon community Iowanews Headlines; 4/12/24 Canyon Lake Hospice Care, known for its unwavering commitment to providing compassionate end-of-life support, is extending its services to the El Cajon community. This expansion heralds a significant milestone, not just for Canyon Lake Hospice Care, but also for the residents of El Cajon who seek specialized hospice care.

VR off a smartphone? Tech breakthrough could allow seniors to do away with clunky headsets McKnights Senior Living, by Aaron Dorman; 4/11/24 Virtual reality is becoming more and more popular among older adults. Could the next innovation allow them to experience VR from their smartphone? A full-color, three-dimensional display can be generated off of a smartphone screen, according to new research. Such a breakthrough would make it even easier, and cost-effective, for senior living providers to offer VR and augmented reality content for residents or allow for new telehealth opportunities. The technology would involve only a smartphone screen and a second screen called a “spatial light modulator” to create the multi-layered image

Houston hospital says doctor’s changes to a database made patients ineligible for liver transplants NBC News 13; by Jamie Stengle and Carla K. Johnson, The Associated Press; 4/12/24 A Houston hospital has halted its liver and kidney transplant programs after it says a doctor manipulated a database for liver transplant patients, making them ineligible to receive a new organ. ... Data from OPTN [The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network] shows that four patients died or became too ill for a transplant in 2021, 11 in 2022, 14 in 2023, and so far this year, that number was at five.

Goals of care among patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers in the last years of life JAMA Network; by Semra Ozdemir, PhD; Isha Chaudhry, MSc, Chetna Malhotra, MD; et al; 4/11/24 Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of patient-caregiver dyads, findings suggested the importance of interventions aimed at reducing discordance in goals of care between patients and caregivers and helping them develop realistic expectations to avoid costly, futile treatments.

Tracking layoffs, closures in healthcare nationwideModern Healthcare; 4/12/24Modern Healthcare is tracking closures and layoffs from health systems, digital health companies, insurers and other related businesses nationwide to better understand how labor costs and concerns are impacting the industry in rural communities and cities alike. 

Reno Little Theater’s ‘The Quality of Life’ explores the complications of death and grief ThisIsReno, by Taylor Harker; 4/14/24Reno Little Theater’s “Quality of Life” brilliantly interweaves the lives of two families confronting profound grief and mortality. ... Together, ... two families navigate the turbulent waters of existential crises, each bringing their unique perspectives on faith, resilience and the ethics surrounding end-of-life decisions. ... “Quality of Life,” a dramatic comedy by Jane Anderson, explores how individuals and families confront and converse about death. The narrative is both tender and perceptive, delving into the internal conflicts and strong familial bonds that challenge and uphold them.

The Maine Death with Dignity Act Annual Report - Data from calendar year 2023 Produced by Data, Research, and Vital Statistics Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Department of Health and Human Services; 4/12/24 In accordance with 22 MRS § 2140(17), the Department of Health and Human Services (Department) [has generated and made available] to the public an annual statistical report of information collected under the Maine Death with Dignity Act. ... This report is for patients who completed a written request for medication to hasten their death in calendar year 2023. Patients who completed the oral request but not a written request within the calendar year will be included in the subsequent year’s report.

Oaks sells nursing home to national operator The Times and Democrat, by Gene Zaleski; 4/13/24 The Oaks Healthcare, the nursing home segment of The Oaks of Orangeburg (SC), has sold its nursing home services to Cascade Capital Group, a Skokie, Illinois-based private health care real estate investment and asset management firm. ... The Oaks will become PACS' 25th nursing home in the state and will join over 220 other nursing homes that PACS operates throughout the country. ... [The Oaks of Orangeburg manager] Clay Fowler said the changes will enable a greater focus on the PACE program. The program was rebranded as the Orangeburg Senior Helping Center-A PACE Healthcare Program in February 2022.

‘Are nursing homes our only option?’ These centers offer older adults an alternative. Rhode Island Current, by Anna Claire Vollers; 4/12/24PACE centers attract bipartisan interest and, in some states, scrutiny. ... PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) centers provide government-funded medical care and social services to people older than 55 whose complex medical needs qualify them for nursing home care, but who can live at home with the right sort of help. ... Nationally, PACE centers are owned by a variety of health care organizations, including nonprofits, for-profit companies, large health care systems and religious organizations. ... [The] explosive growth has come with challenges ...