Literature Review

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. ~ Milton Berle

Who gets to access a “good death"? Adelphi University, New York; by Zainab Toteh Osakew and Jennifer McIntosh; 10/23/24Socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods have fewer home hospice agencies, study shows. ... “We know that poorer neighborhoods have continued to lag behind in utilization of hospice care. For decades, scientists have attributed it to cultural values or preferences about care,” said Zainab Toteh Osakwe ’06, PhD, associate professor in the Adelphi University College of Nursing and Public Health and an expert in home healthcare. ... Dr. Osakwe partnered with a geospatial analyst at the University of North Dakota to uncover patterns in the locations of hospice offices. Drawing on information made publicly available by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, they culled data related to 3,447 hospice providers and 4,584 Medicare-certified hospices nationwide. Next, they geocoded hospice agency addresses to the social vulnerability index (SVI), a measure developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that geographically ranks at-risk communities. ... Dr. Osakwe and her team found that hospice agency offices were far more likely to be clustered in neighborhoods with greater socioeconomic advantage. Predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods also contained significantly fewer hospice agency offices. While the results align with prior studies on hospice supply and community-level wealth, theirs is one of the first to investigate hospice agency availability by neighborhood.

Dombi scholarship established HomeCare, Tampa, FL; 10/21/24The National Alliance for Care at Home and its legacy organization have established a scholarship fund in honor of retiring National Association for Homecare and Hospice (NAHC) President Bill Dombi, leaders announced Monday at the organization’s transitional conference in Tampa, Florida. ... The William A. Dombi Scholarship Fund at the University of Connecticut, Dombi’s alma mater, topped its initial fundraising goal of $50,000 and was on the way to $100,00, said Marcylle Combs, a NAHC board member who organized the gift. NAHC and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) merged this year to create the new Alliance, ... The scholarship announcement followed a moving video send-off to Dombi, who has been with NAHC since 1987, when he came aboard as lead counsel and helmed the landmark lawsuit that reformed the Medicare home health services benefit. (Read his retirement interview with HomeCare here.)

Lawsuit filed against Visiting Nurse Service entities and individual defendant for assault of hospice patient NewRamp; by NewRamp Editorial Staff; 10/22/24 The Law Offices of Robert E. Brown has filed a lawsuit against three Visiting Nurse Service entities and individual defendant Joy Odunze-Matthew following the violent assault of Carolyn Albanese, a terminally ill hospice patient under their care. The complaint alleges gross negligence by VNS and its affiliates for failing to properly vet, train, and supervise their staff, specifically the defendant Odunze-Matthew. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages to address the physical, emotional, and psychological harm suffered by Ms. Albanese and her family. 

Death is no enemy of life; it restores our sense of the value of living. Illness restores the sense of proportion that is lost when we take life for granted. To learn about value and proportion we need to honor illness, and ultimately to honor death. ~ Arthur W. Frank 

Research synthesis related to oncology family caregiver spirituality in palliative care Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Betty R. Ferrell, Tami Borneman, Marianna Koczywas, and Paul Galchutt;  10/21/24 online ahead of print Family caregivers are central to the delivery of serious illness care and also have needs related to their role and experience. One aspect of the family caregiver quality of life (QOL) that has received less attention is caregiver spirituality. The research objectives for this analysis were (1) Describe spirituality in oncology family caregivers. (2) Determine the impact of palliative care interventions on spirituality and related variables in oncology family caregivers. (3) Describe findings from the research literature related to spirituality in family caregivers. The authors include two nurse researchers (BF, TB) and a physician (MK) who conducted these studies and a board-certified chaplain (PG) who contributed his expertise in chaplaincy.  ... The authors' research synthesis and the literature support the importance of additional research and clinical focus in family caregiver spirituality in serious illness care. 

Palliative care access for indigenous populations: Removing barriers and reducing disparities ECRI, Plymouth Meeting, PA; by Eileen Cornish; 10/22/24 ... Indigenous populations across North America face barriers to healthcare due to a combination of historical, social, economic, and systemic factors. Key barriers include historical trauma and distrust, remote or rural geography, economic disparities, cultural differences, systemic racism, and discrimination.  ... For this topic, ECRI librarians identified 35 studies, including six systematic reviews, that discuss barriers to palliative care for Indigenous people across North America. ...  Removing Barriers: Here are several key takeaways from the studies we identified. Other barriers are likely exist; however, these common themes emerged from the studies identified in ECRI’s review.

Kaiser Permanente mental health workers go on strike in Southern California Fox 5 - KUSI, San Diego, CA; by Danielle Dawson; 10/21/24 Thousands of mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente locations across Southern California hit the picket lines on Monday for the first day of an open-ended strike, calling for measures to reduce employee turnover and better patient care. ... The unionized mental health professionals — encompassing therapists, psychologists, social workers and psychiatric nurses — have been demanding Kaiser address issues in their next contract that have contributed to “substandard” care in Southern California. ... Last year, California behavioral health regulators flagged several of these problems when it hit Kaiser with a $50 million fine — the largest-ever penalty issued by the department — for failing to provide timely care to its patients as part of a wider $200 million settlement agreement. “Our agency could lose its Medicare license because we have five days to see our patients and, because our unsustainable caseloads, patient care is being delayed,” Elizabeth Meza, a San Diego-area hospice worker, told KUSI Monday morning. “We are only able to provide the minimum amount of care that they need.”

Southern Tier Health helps HomeCare & Hospice, Total Senior Care on USDA grant Olean Times Herald, Olean, NY; by Kellen M. Quigley; 10/22/24 A collaboration between three local agencies looking out for the health and well-being of their clients is getting a modern technological boost thanks to a federal grant. The Southern Tier Health Care System, Inc. (STHCS) was recently awarded nearly $140,000 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program. This funding is meant to empower rural communities by leveraging advanced technology to connect residents and healthcare providers, overcoming the challenges of distance and low population density. Of the total grant, $114,606.80 was allocated to HomeCare & Hospice and Total Senior Care for state-of-the-art digital communication and remote learning tools, including high-definition displays, advanced cameras and integrated audio systems.

Leveraging sales strategies in hospice payment cap management Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/22/24 Errors or other inconsistencies with the payment cap can have significant consequences for providers, and sales and marketing staff can help hospices achieve a healthy balance. The cap is designed to prevent overuse of hospice, put controls on Medicare spending and foster greater access to care among patients. For Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set the cap at $33,394. In 2025, this will rise to $34,465. If a hospice has a cap liability, they will have to repay that amount to Medicare. In some situations, a hospice might face additional monetary penalties, interest charges or referrals to the U.S. Treasury Department in severe cases.

Enhabit Home Health & Hospice Becomes Age-Friendly Health Systems participant HomeCare, Dallas, TX; 10/21/24 Enhabit Inc., a home health and hospice provider, announced it has been recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) as an Age-Friendly Health Systems participant. The Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of the John A. Hartford Foundation and the IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. The Age-Friendly Health Systems aims to follow a set of evidence-based practices, cause no harm and align with what matters to the older adult and their family caregivers. Age-Friendly Health Systems participants are recognized for aiming to become an Age-Friendly Health System and have submitted examples of how they put four elements of care—the “4Ms”—into practice with older patients. ...

Hockey team helps with Hotcakes for Hospice at Oswego Elks Lodge Oswego County News Now, Oswego, NY; by Lauren Royce; 10/20/24 People poured into the Elks Lodge on West Fifth Street in Oswego Sunday morning, happy to buy a breakfast and enjoy some pancakes, eggs, bacon and other staples with friends and family. It was all for a good cause. The Friends of Hospice in Oswego County (FOHOC) hosted its sixth annual Hotcakes for Hospice breakfast with the help of the SUNY Oswego men's hockey team. For head coach Ed Gosek, it is a way to give back to the community while honoring the memory of his wife, Mary, who died in hospice care in 2017. ... The Lakers were outside holding signs by Bridge Street and inside helping serve food and clean tables for guests. ... Elena Twiss, executive director of FOHOC, said that bringing in the hockey team was a great way to bring the community together, and that the players and coaches have been a valuable resource all six years they've helped out.

Florida health system rolls out virtual nursing tech to 1K rooms Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 10/17/24 Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health is expanding virtual nursing technology to nearly 1,000 patient rooms, representing about half its beds. The four-hospital system is rolling out dual-camera virtual care devices from telehealth company Caregility to scale its virtual nurse offering. The remote fleet management tools come with artificial intelligence capabilities and cloud-based updates. "Our virtual nursing program introduces innovative possibilities in patient care workflows by connecting the care in the complex patient journey," Lee Health Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Higgins, DNP, RN, said in an Oct. 16 statement. "From admissions and discharges to continuous patient monitoring, patients benefit from an additional team member dedicated to their care."