Literature Review

Pettit Caps Remarkable 40-Year Career With VITAS HealthcareVitas press release, 12/29/23MIAMI, FL – VITAS Healthcare is bidding a heartfelt farewell to one of its most esteemed and dedicated professionals, Peggy Pettit, RN, who retired at the end of December 2023. Pettit’s four decades of unwavering commitment to VITAS and the hospice community have left an indelible mark, impacting countless lives and embodying the true spirit of compassionate care.

Pediatric palliative care: Jaisyn Reese's storyPortage Life, By Center for Hospice Care; 12/22/23Indiana: Jaisyn Reese, a pediatric patient, is another example of how CHC's interdisciplinary team helps patients and their loved ones. 

High Impact Articles - Core Roles and Responsibilities of Physicians in Hospice Care: A Statement by and for U.S. Hospice and Palliative Care Physicians.Journal of Palliative Medicine, by Ira Byock and on behalf of HPM Physicians Concerned About Hospice Care*. Physicians are integral members of hospice interdisciplinary teams (IDTs). This statement delineates the core roles and responsibilities of hospice medical directors (HMDs) and hospice physicians who are designated by the hospice program to fulfill core HMD responsibilities. In addition, we describe the basic elements of hospice programs' structure and function required for hospice physicians to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Finally, we call attention to hospice program characteristics and circumstances of the work environment that should raise a hospice physician's concerns that hospice patients and families are at risk of receiving low-quality care.Editor Note: While this was posted in December, we wanted to include it in the inaugural edition, too.

Steven Garner - What he learned about quilting in prisonQuiltFolk Magaine, Issue 28, October 2023Louisiana’s notorious Angola prison is the largest maximum security state prison in the country. But it’s also become known for its hospice program and, to a lesser degree, its prison quilters. Steven Garner was incarcerated at Angola for 31 years and now spends most of his free time building on the quilting skills he learned in prison. He moved to Colorado to be near family, and Quiltfolk visited him at his niece’s house, where he does most of his sewing these days. He shared his current projects and his future dreams.Editor Note: While this article appeared several weeks ago, we wanted to include it in our inaugural newsletter. The link is to the public portion of this article; to read the entire article it's worth purchasing a copy of the magazine. Also, Steven's website is now available: https://www.snt31consulting.com/.

Solving for X at the End of Life

Push for end-of-life bill will continue in 2024

Virtual care works best when patients see their own family doctor, study findsNews Release; 12/27/23Toronto, ON—Compared to patients who had a virtual visit with their own family doctor, those who received virtual care from a doctor outside of their family care team were 66 percent more likely to visit the emergency department within seven days, according to new research. The study, led by researchers at the University Health Network, Unity Health Toronto, and ICES, also showed that patients receiving virtual care outside of an existing family doctor-patient relationship were 25 percent more likely to have an in-person visit and 88 percent more likely to have another virtual visit within seven days.

People are talking to their dead loved ones—and they can’t stop laughing. It’s a refreshing trend.USA Today; 12/29/23Everyone grieves differently—and if you’ve spent any time on TikTok in recent days, you might have noticed some unexpected, unusual methods. Some people—to the tune of millions of likes—are confessing or sharing stories with their dead loved ones directly on social media.

More than 200 terminally ill Vermonters qualified for the state’s aid-in-dying law in its first decadeVT Digger, 12/28/23Over 200 terminally ill patients have sought and qualified to receive life-ending drugs since Vermont first legalized medical-aid-in-dying more than a decade ago, according to a recent report from the Vermont Department of Health. Vermont first legalized the practice—sometimes referred to as “death with dignity” by supporters or “assisted suicide” by opponents—in May 2013. From then until the end of June 2023, 203 Vermonters sought and qualified for the medication, according to the report. Not all of those who had access to the drugs obtained or used them, according to the Department of Health. Some died from the underlying disease. ... A vast majority of those who utilized the program had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, according to the report.

Without music, life would be a mistake. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Too Few Cancer Patients Get Palliative Care When Urinary Blockages AriseHealthDay News; 12/28/23The prognosis is poor for many cancer patients who develop serious urinary blockages, but researchers say less than half receive palliative care. ... Hospice care can make patients comfortable and head off aggressive treatments for patients with malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO) who are nearing the end of life, said lead researcher Dr. Michael Felice, of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

Hodge PodgeKDLM-AM (Detroit Lakes, MN); 12/28/23Connie DeKrey, grief specialist for Hospice of the Red River Valley, talks about how to move on after a loss, but stressed that everyone deals with loss differently. “New Years has its own set of emotions that are prompted. For instance, families have gathered from a distance, and traveled, and there’s a real anticipation of that. But at some point everyone has to go home again and so that extra support and connection ... it can be a real letdown when everyone has to go back to their own homes. There can be some hesitancy, even dread, about beginning the new year without that loved one. But there might also be a sense of hope or expectancy of something positive.”[Editor’s Note: To listen to the 7-minute interview, click here.]