Literature Review

Hospital CEOs: What to expect from CMS next yearBecker's Hospital CFO Report; by Laura Dyrda; 12/13/24Healthcare providers will face more reimbursement challenges next year, S&P Global predicts, especially as demographic shifts increase the number of Medicare beneficiaries in many markets. Factors likely to pressure providers next year include:

2025 Home care trends include tightened EVV oversight, investments in caregiver training McKnights Home Care; by Stephen Vaccaro; 12/19/24 The factors influencing the home care industry as the new year approaches are as diverse and complicated as they are plentiful. Evolving regulations, technological innovations, and the dynamic needs of aging and disabled populations are all driving the developments that will define 2025 and beyond. From enhanced EVV compliance measures to the integration of AI solutions, here are a few of the most significant trends shaping the home care landscape — along with predictions about what they mean for the industry’s future.

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind. ~ Neil Gaiman

[Cure] Top palliative care stories from 2024 Cure; by Alex Biese; 12/28/24 This year, CURE® worked to provide education and insight that underscored the importance of palliative care in cancer treatment. Early integration of palliative care, whether through in-person visits, telehealth or ongoing emotional support, can make a significant difference in a patient's quality of life. Here are some of the top articles on the topic of palliative care from 2024.

Hospice News’ top 10 stories of 2024 Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 12/13/24 Fraud and program integrity concerns dominated the news in 2024, along with large acquisitions, payment rules and regulatory changes. This year saw regulatory evolutions spurred by program integrity concerns, as well as the introduction of landmark legislation, shifts in reimbursement trends and a change in presidential administration with unknown impacts across the care continuum. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ramped up auditing activity in the space while also sunsetting the hospice component of its value-based insurance design (VBID) model demonstration ahead of its initial expiration. Meanwhile, lawmakers unveiled a bill with some of the most significant reforms proposed to date for hospice payment and oversight. Dubbed as the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act, the bill has ignited conversations across the industry about future sustainability, growth and program integrity. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

2024 Review: The best thought leadership of the past year PRovoke Media; by Paul Holmes; 12/27/24 There were some familiar themes, from the impact of artificial intelligence to the changing face of ESG, as well as a focus on geopolitical turmoil and the coming Generation Alpha. ... The content below identifies the most interesting themes of the thought leadership we saw in 2024, and includes 12 surveys conducted by researchers, consulting firms, professional organizations, and agencies.

I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. ~ Former President Jimmy Carter

Big senior living stories of 2024McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 12/23/24Here’s a look at some of the big stories involving senior living providers that captured the attention of McKnight’s Senior Living readers this year.

The top long-term care stories of 2024 McKnights Long-Term Care News; by James M. Berklan; 12/20/24 Workforce issues dominated the long-term care provider landscape in 2024 — but in far more ways than just coping with the finalization of the nation’s first-ever nursing home staffing mandate. As new legal and political winds may eventually push that controversial regulation off providers’ desks anyway, it was clearly apparent this year that McKnight’s Long-Term Care News readers’ interests span a wide array of personnel and workplace issues. Below are the top stories, topics and issues that our readers showed they were most intrigued about when it came to doing their jobs better, and about the sector in which they spend so much daily energy.

Children’s Hospital New Orleans dedicates new ‘Bella’s Room’ ComfortCare Suite NewOrleans.com, New Orleans, LA; by Site Staff; 12/26/24 Children’s Hospital New Orleans recently celebrated the opening of “Bella’s Room,” a ComfortCareSM suite designed to serve as a sanctuary for children in need of end-of-life care and their families. ... “With the generous support of the Bella Bowman Foundation, honoring Bella’s lasting legacy, Bella’s Room will transform the way children and families across Louisiana and the Gulf South experience serious illness and end of life care,” said Lindsey Casey, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Children’s Hospital, said in a release. “This beautiful space will help our team provide family-centered end of life care, while offering a comfortable and serene home-like setting for the entire family to be a part of the care experience.” 

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 Associated Press (AP), Atlanta, GA; by Bill Barrow; 12/29/24 Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. ...

Hospice in Branford receives $25k grant from CT Health Foundation Patch, Branford, CT; by Rich Kirby; 12/27/24 The Connecticut Hospice Inc., the Branford-based nonprofit organization which provides hospice and palliative care to patients suffering from irreversible illness, has received a $25,000 grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation. ... Connecticut Hospice will use the grant money to evaluate the efficacy of a bilingual community health worker in underserved communities to support the work of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience program. ... "We know community health workers are extremely valuable when it comes to improving health outcomes, ... said Connecticut Health Foundation President and CEO Tiffany Donelson in a news release. "Expanding community health worker services in public settings can help the state make even more progress toward eliminating health disparities."

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~ Hal Borland