Literature Review

Living your best life means embracing the last years, too UCSF - The University of California - San Francisco; by Suzanne Leigh; 9/9/24 UC San Francisco is working with nonprofits that serve seniors and patients with serious medical conditions to raise awareness about palliative care and advance care planning. The partnerships are the result of a collaboration between the UCSF Division of Palliative Medicine and the San Francisco Palliative Care Work Group (PCWG), which is working to address inequities among communities of color in accessing palliative care and advance care planning.

Why so many patients are confused about CPR and do-not-resuscitate orders STAT; by Lindsey Ulin; 9/11/24 Inherently difficult conversations are made more so by a lack of physician training. When a patient is admitted to the hospital in the U.S., there’s a standard question physicians like me are supposed to ask: “If your heart stops beating, do you want us to do CPR?” On the surface, this may seem like a mechanic asking a customer, “If your car stalls, do you want us to jumpstart the engine?” Who would say no to this, especially in a hospital? The problem is that this exchange, which we call asking about “code status” in medicine, centers around a closed-ended question. Talking to a patient about their preferences for cardiac resuscitation, intubation, and/or other life-sustaining treatments needs to be a complete, often lengthy discussion, not just a box to check. ...

Two decades after 9/11, Tarrant County interfaith group brings women together Fort Worth Report, Fort Worth, TX; by Marissa Greene; 9/10/24 Janice Harris Lord remembers Sept. 11, 2001, crystal clear. ... In late 2001, it struck Harris Lord that there was something she could do: pull women of different faiths together. By January 2002, Harris Lord formed Daughters of Abraham, a discussion group made up of local Muslim, Jewish and Christian women. The group serves as a venue for women to learn about and build friendships with women of different religions. In its 22-year history, the group has grown from 18 women to various regional groups in Fort Worth, Arlington, northeast Tarrant County and Dallas. ... In the group’s two-decade history, the most poignant thing Harris Lord learned was the tradition that Jewish and Muslim families undergo when preparing a deceased loved one for burial. Muslim and Jewish families participate in a tradition called ghusl in Arabic or tahara in Hebrew, which involves washing and purifying a body before burial. It is considered one of the greatest good deeds someone can do for another in the faiths. When Harris Lord’s husband tragically died ..., she knew she wanted to honor him in that way. “(The hospice nurse) gave me some soap and water, and we shaved him, and I washed his hair and got it combed right, like he wanted it,” Harris Lord said. “It was beautiful. I think it helped me more with my grieving than anything, because I knew I had done the very last thing I could do for him.” 

Make it a September to remember. ~ Anonymous

Leading the Way: Gilchrist and Franklin Hospice forces in landmark integration Franklin Hospice, Chambersburg, PA; by Karen M. Giffin; 9/9/24 Franklin Hospice and Gilchrist ... have announced an affiliation agreement. This partnership will unite two of Maryland’s oldest and most experienced nonprofit organizations, together with nearly 70 years of service to their communities. As the healthcare landscape continues to transform nationwide, this type of affiliation of two synergistic nonprofit organizations with similar missions, visions, and values will position both organizations for continued growth, innovation and financial strength. ... This strategic affiliation will strengthen their ability to offer compassionate care to more patients and families throughout Central and Southern Maryland, as well as Washington and Frederick Counties and South-Central Pennsylvania. Both organizations will retain their name and branding while offering a unified approach to care. 

National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation Fierce Pharma - Special Report: The Fierce 50 of 2024 - Innovation Honorees; by Fraiser Kansteiner; distributed 9/10/24 With an aging population and shifting healthcare environment, providing proper, personalized care for the U.S.’ most vulnerable patients can be a challenge.That’s why Tom Koutsoumpas, one of the masterminds behind the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), has been working to continually improve hospice and palliative care across the nation for decades. ... The goal, he explained in an interview with Fierce, was to "become the national voice for the future of hospice, palliative care, and advanced illness care." Through its efforts, NPHI seeks to work in tandem with its network of nonprofit community programs to help them innovate, thrive into the future and continue to evolve in the ever-changing U.S. healthcare system, Koutsoumpas said. While local hospice and palliative care groups exist to tackle many of these same goals, “programs in the community have no scale,” Koutsoumpas explained. “They have no opportunity to work from scale to address cost issues, rising costs, changes that occur.” In turn, NPHI was founded to help bring those programs together while allowing them to retain their identities as discrete, local providers. Editor's note: NPHI is a sponsor for our newsletter. 

Medicare administrative contractor news includes a data breach and potential consolidation HFMA, Downers Grove, IL; by Nick Hut; 9/9/24 Recent happenings involving Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) include a notice of a data breach and a request for feedback on possible consolidation. CMS sent out word that nearly 950,000 Medicare beneficiaries whose claims go through Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation (WPS) are being informed that their protected health information or other personally identifiable information may have been compromised due to a security vulnerability in third-party software. The breach also could have affected those with other insurance if their information was collected to support CMS’s audits of healthcare providers, according to a news release. Belying its name, WPS handles Medicare Parts A and B claims spanning Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Nebraska (not Wisconsin). 

CMS to expand ‘enhanced oversight’ to combat hospice fraud in 4 states Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/10/24 The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding its enhanced oversight for new hospices in fraud-ridden states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. The agency in July 2023 first announced a “provisional period of enhanced oversight” for new hospices in those states. A key component of the enhanced oversight includes a medical review of claims before a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) will pay them. “To combat fraud, waste, and abuse under the hospice benefit, CMS will expand prepayment medical review this September in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas,” the agency indicated in a statement. “To help reduce burden on compliant providers, initial review volumes will be low and adjusted based on results. If you’re noncompliant, we may implement extended review or take additional administrative actions.” 

Leadership in the age of AI: At the crossroads of humanity and technology Forbes; by Dr. Adil Dalal, DBA; 9/9/24 It has only been 200 years since the First Industrial Revolution and the mass adoption of what we now call technology... The Second Industrial Revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, marked by great progress in mass production, ... emphasizing the importance of machines over humans and managers over employees. ... Today, the world stands on the precipice of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with artificial intelligence, which is not just reshaping industries but also redefining the very essence of leadership and decision-making. ...  A technology-driven leader [TDL] who prioritizes novelty over humanity can pose significant risks, potentially leading to societal downfall. ... A human-centric leader [HCL] prioritizes the well-being, growth and empowerment of people, steering humanity toward greatness. ... So is there an ideal Technology Age leader who can lead humanity through this historical moment? Yes! ... They must embody and demonstrate the following three qualities:

Heart to Heart Hospice expanding services into Oklahoma PR Newswire; by Kim Dellinger; 9/10/24 Heart to Heart Hospice, one of the country's largest private providers of hospice care, is adding a new location in Durant, Okla., expanding its service offerings into the state for the first time. The new Durant site will serve Southeast Oklahoma, which includes the counties of Atoka, Bryan, Choctaw, Coal, Hughes, Johnston, Marshall, McCurtain, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, and Pushmataha. "It's exciting to be able to offer our care services in Oklahoma, which happens to be my home state," said Kelly Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Heart to Heart Hospice, who is from Sallisaw. Heart to Heart Hospice, based in Plano, Texas, has been serving patients with life-limiting illnesses, as well as their loved ones, since 2003. The company currently provides a broad range of hospice services across 63 locations in Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Mercy acquires Ascension hospital Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 9/10/24 St. Louis-based Mercy has acquired Ascension's Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, Kan. The acquisition includes the hospital, its locations and related physician practices, but excludes Ascension Living Via Christi Village facilities and operations. The deal officially closed Sept. 1. Mercy, a 45-hospital system, now has three hospitals in Kansas: Mercy Hospital Pittsburg, Mercy Hospital Columbus and Mercy Specialty Hospital-Southeast Kansas in Galena. It also operates two primary care clinics in Pittsburg. "Whenever Mercy joins a new community, we want to hear from that community about what we can do to improve care and access for patients," Jeremy Drinkwitz, president of Mercy Joplin communities, said in a news release. "We want to ensure we are providing the right care where it's needed so patients can stay close to home. We'll be looking for the best ways to grow the already great services in place." 

Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation announces $500,000 in funding for nine projects to improve serious illness and end of life care Globe Newswire; by Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation; 9/10/24 The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation ... announced nine grants to support innovative, early-stage interventions that address the serious illness and end of life needs of marginalized populations. The $500,000 in funding, part of a collaborative effort with The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, will advance nursing-driven initiatives that improve care for diverse populations and expand access to high-quality end of life services. ... This year’s grants demonstrate a commitment to the design, development, and delivery of better and more equitable care. The 2024 HSEI grant recipients are: