Literature Review

Bayada invests $375,000 to train future nurses in Pima County Bayada Communications, 3/26/24 Bayada Home Health Care, a nonprofit, global leader in home health care has granted $375,000 to fund nursing education for at least 15 students in Pima County. Tucson’s Bayada Skilled Nursing office ... is partnering with JobPath, a local nonprofit, to support students pursuing Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Registered Nurse (RN) certifications in the greater Tucson area. The grant to JobPath ... will help cover program tuition, books, and other expenses to support those who might otherwise not be able to afford nursing education. 

Antibiotics in end-of-life care NEJM Journal Watch, by Abigail Zuger, MD; 3/27/24Antibiotics often are considered to be among the gentler and more comfort-oriented interventions in end-of-life care, certainly far less aggressive than intubation or last-ditch surgery. ... Still, antibiotics do entail their own costs in the form of toxicities and need for intravenous access, and liberal antibiotic use reliably worsens institutional and community drug-resistance profiles. ... A new review was written for infectious disease consultants but contains specific suggestions that should interest both generalists and other subspecialists caring for dying patients. 

M&A volume may shift from hospice to home health Hospice News, by Jim Parker, 3/26/24 Though many expect a hospice M&A rebound in 2024, the scales are tipping in favor of home health companies among buyers. Generally, signs point to heightened buyer activity this year, particularly among private equity as interest rates start to come down. 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Hospice Payment Rate Update Proposed Rule (CMS-1810-P)CMS email; 3/28/24The FY 2025 hospice payment update percentage is 2.6% (an estimated increase of $705 million in payments from FY 2024). ... The proposed FY 2025 rates for hospices that do not submit the required quality data would be updated by the proposed FY 2025 hospice payment update percentage of 2.6% minus four percentage points, which results in a -1.4% update. ... The proposed hospice cap amount for the 2025 fiscal year is $34,364.85 (FY 2024 cap amount of $33,494.01 increased by the FY 2025 hospice payment update percentage of 2.6%). The proposed rule can be viewed at the Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.

How home-based care providers are leveraging palliative care in hospital partnerships Home Health Care News, by Patrick Filbin; 3/26/24 Oftentimes, talks between home health providers and their many referral partners are an exercise in education. For providers offering palliative care, that education usually starts at a 101-level. Part of that conversation with hospital and health system partners includes convincing case managers that patients will be better suited at home. Editor's Note: Features Choice Health at Home CEO David Jackson; Kaiser Permanente Senior Director of Care Hospice and Palliative Care Gina Andres

The burden of getting medical care can exhaust older patients Navigating Aging, by Judith Graham; 3/27/24 [Ishani Ganguli] is the author of a new study showing that Medicare patients spend about three weeks a year having medical tests, visiting doctors, undergoing treatments or medical procedures, seeking care in emergency rooms, or spending time in the hospital or rehabilitation facilities. ... [Additionally,] more than 1 in 10 seniors, including those recovering from or managing serious illnesses, spent a much larger portion of their lives getting care — at least 50 days a year. ... When [treatment burden becomes overwhelming], people stop following medical advice and report having a poorer quality of life, the researchers found.

Covid-19: Life as nurses in first critical incident hospital Nursing Times, by Edd Church; 3/26/24 Two nurses who were at the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak have splen about their experiences four years on.

Hospitalists more likely to recommend hospice than specialists: Study Becker's Hospital Review, by Mariah Taylor; 3/27/24 A New Haven, CT-based Yale School of Medicine study [published in the American Cancer Society Journals] suggests oncology hospitalists have better hospice utilization and reduce hospital stays for cancer patients compared to oncologists. Researchers compared referrals for hospice settings from hospitalist-led services and oncologist-led services. Hospitalist-led services referred 11.8% of patients to inpatient hospice settings, nearly double the referral rate of oncologist-led services (5.8%). The adjusted average length of stay before inpatient hospice care was 6.83 days for hospitalist-led care and 16.29 days for oncologist-led care. 

Hosparus affiliate opens $11 million PACE Center Louisville Business First, by Shea Van Hoy; 3/26/24 Care Guide Partners, an affiliate of Hosparus Health, has opened the PACE center ... in Elizabethtown, KY. Care Guide Partners' PACE required $11 million in startup costs, with $3 million to come from fundraising and donor support. The Schmidt Family Foundation’s naming opportunity contribution marks a significant milestone in helping reach this fundraising goal.

Community convening aims to guide solutions to inequities in caregiving UMass Chan Medical School, by Susan E.W. Spencer; 3/26/24Jennifer Tjia, MD, MSCE, knows from her experience as a researcher and geriatrician how demanding the role of caregiver can be and how structural barriers impact patient outcomes. She wants to see research that drives solutions to health inequities. The second community convening of the Equity in Caregiving Project, a $3.8 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, which Dr. Tjia, professor of population & quantitative health sciences, co-leads, aims to advance the conversation about what challenges family and clinical caregivers of people with serious illness are experiencing.

Palliative care in the cardiovascular intensive care unit: A systematic review of current literatureCardiovascular Revascularization Medicine, by Agastya D Belur, Aryan Mehta, Mridul Bansal, Patrick M Wieruszewski, Rachna Kataria, Marwan Saad, Annaliese Clancy, Daniel J Levine, Neel R Sodha, Douglas M Burtt, Gregory S Rachu, J Dawn Abbott, Saraschandra Vallabhajosyula; 3/24/24, online ahead of print Results: Of 5711 citations, 30 studies were included. All studies were published in the last seven years and 90 % originated in the United States. Heart failure was the most frequent diagnosis (47 %), and in-hospital mortality was reported in 67 % of studies. There was heterogeneity in the timing, frequency, and background of the care team that determined palliative care consultation. In two randomized trials, there appeared to be improvement in quality of life without an impact on mortality.

Meaningful conversations to have with your loved oneMediaFeed.org, by Merritt Whitley; 3/27/24“One of the most important concepts in the field of grief and loss is that people drift in and out of the awareness of dying,” says Kenneth Doka, a senior consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America, and professor emeritus of gerontology at the graduate school of The College of New Rochelle. “Sometimes they do talk about it, sometimes not. The dying one should control the agenda. Don’t force conversations on them.” When your loved one feels ready to talk, the following suggestions can be comforting ways to begin a conversation: ...

Private equity more common in Massachusetts health care: Steward crisis has state on hunt for possible legislative response 22 News WWLP.com; by Ashley Shook, Alison Kuznitz, Chirs Lisinski; 3/26/24 The pressure points inflicted by private equity ownership in health care extend far beyond Steward Health Care, and lawmakers have a long menu of policy reforms they can consider to erect new guardrails in a changing environment, experts said Monday. Pushed into public-facing action after a long-simmering financial crisis at Steward burst into public view this year, lawmakers convened a public hearing to explore how deeply private equity has taken root in the Bay State’s health care system and what policymakers should do to prevent harm to patient care.