Literature Review



Hospice ‘pausing’ Martin-Linsin Residence while expanding home-care model

09/05/24 at 02:40 AM

Hospice ‘pausing’ Martin-Linsin Residence while expanding home-care model OrleansHub.com, Orleans County, NY; by Tom Rivers; 9/3/24 The Martin-Linsin Residence has temporarily closed or is on “pause” following a thorough analysis that showed “significant financial losses due to the increasing operational costs” at the residence, according to a statement this evening from Niagara Hospice, which is running Hospice of Orleans. The eight-unit residence opened in 2012 following a $2.3 million capital campaign. Martin-Linsin used to have a waiting list, but was down to one resident last week. No new residents had been admitted for about three weeks. The clinical staff also was laid off last week after the death of the remaining resident at Martin-Linsin, a Hospice employee said. Niagara Hospice, in its statement, said it is dedicated to caring for the local community, and hospice care “continues to be delivered throughout Orleans County without interruption.”

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OhioHealth and Compassus finalize partnership for home health and hospice

09/05/24 at 02:30 AM

OhioHealth and Compassus finalize partnership for home health and hospice PR Newswire, Columbus, OH and Brentwood, TN; by Compassus / OhioHealth; 9/4/24 Compassus, a leading national provider of integrated home-based care services, and OhioHealth, a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable healthcare outreach of the United Methodist Church, are pleased to announce the finalization of their partnership for home health and hospice services to be called OhioHealth at Home in partnership with Compassus. Under this partnership, Compassus has acquired ownership interest in three hospice locations and four home health locations that were formerly led by OhioHealth. Compassus will manage the operations of these agencies, leveraging its extensive experience in home-based care, while OhioHealth will continue to play a key role in delivering high-quality care in Ohio. OhioHealth's Athens hospice services and the Kobacker House in Columbus, Ohio, are excluded from the partnership. Editor's note: 

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Hospice of Hope names new executive director

09/05/24 at 02:20 AM

Hospice of Hope names new executive director The Highland County Press, Hillsboro, OH; by Hospice of Hope Press Release; 9/3/24 Hospice of Hope has recently announced the appointment of Derek (Shawn) Flaugher as the organization’s new Executive Director. Flaugher will succeed Anthony (Tony) Trovato, who is set to retire at the end of September 2024. Flaugher obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Morehead State University and pursued a master’s degree in accounting at Clemson University. A retired Army National Guard Veteran with a combat tour in Afghanistan, Flaugher has dedicated 31 years to Hospice of Hope, progressing through roles including Staff Accountant, Controller and Director of Business Operations. Outgoing Executive Director Tony Trovato expressed his confidence in Flaugher, stating, "I am pleased to pass on the leadership to someone as committed and accomplished as Shawn. His wealth of experience and deep understanding of the healthcare landscape will be invaluable in his new capacity."  

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Hospice executives: Value-based care, regulation will shape hospices’ future

09/05/24 at 02:10 AM

Hospice executives: Value-based care, regulation will shape hospices’ futureHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/3/24Disruptive reimbursement and regulatory challenges are top of mind for today’s hospice c-suite executives, who recently sat down with Hospice News to discuss what they see as the largest hurdles to sustainable end-of-life care delivery. Reimbursement pressures and changes among the most significant concerns for today’s hospices, according to Kristen Yntema, president and CEO of AuthoraCare Collective. The North Carolina-based nonprofit provides hospice and palliative care, among other services.

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Sharp HospiceCare’s 21st annual benefit regatta raises nearly $700,000 to support new hospice home in Poway

09/05/24 at 02:00 AM

Sharp HospiceCare’s 21st annual benefit regatta raises nearly $700,000 to support new hospice home in Poway The Coronado Times, Coronado, CO; by Dani Schwartz; 9/3/24 Sharp HospiceCare’s 21st Annual Benefit Dinner and Regatta brought the San Diego community together in a remarkable display of generosity last weekend, raising a record-breaking total of nearly $700,000 to support the construction of a new hospice home in Poway. ... The funds raised will significantly contribute to the completion of Moore MountainView Hospice Home in Poway, a facility that will provide a comforting, home-like environment for patients with life-limiting illnesses. This new residence is scheduled to open in Spring 2025 and will join Sharp’s existing hospice homes in La Mesa, Del Cerro and Bonita.

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Seven-year-old finishes 145-mile charity challenge

09/04/24 at 03:15 AM

Seven-year-old finishes 145-mile charity challenge BBC News, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom; by Brian Farmer; 9/2/24 A seven-year-old boy has raised more than £600 for charity after walking, cycling and scooting 145 miles over four months. Isaac Yates, from King's Cliffe, Northamptonshire, got into the habit of exercising on 1 May and completed his 145-mile (233km) challenge, in aid of the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice in Peterborough, on 1 September. He has helped walk family dogs Poppy and Summer, ridden his bike, and scooted his scooter until the mileage totted up to his 145 target. The youngster added to the fun by logging his trips on an online Lord of the Rings game - which enabled him to take a virtual 145-mile journey through writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle Earth with two Hobbits.Editor's Note: Pair this with today's article, Crisis in care for dying people says Marie Curie as survey shows suffering. 

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Hospice workers help patients with last wishes

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Hospice workers help patients with last wishes[St. Joseph, MO] News-Press Now; by Charles Christian; 9/1/24While expressing last wishes is not always the first priority for hospice patients, caregivers say it can be a helpful and meaningful step in the grief process. Registered nurse Kathy Lewis, a hospice care manager at Freudenthal Home-Based Healthcare, said that although asking about last wishes is part of the intake process for many hospice organizations, it is not always something that patients and families share right away.

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Crisis in care for dying people says Marie Curie as survey shows suffering

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Crisis in care for dying people says Marie Curie as survey shows suffering Jersey Evening Post, UK News, United Kingdom; by UK News; 9/3/24 A third of dying people in England and Wales were severely or overwhelmingly affected by pain in the last week of life, according to a major survey said to show how “patchy and inconsistent” care for this group has become. End-of-life charity Marie Curie said its study of 1,179 bereaved people means it is the largest nationally representative post-bereavement survey in the UK in almost 10 years. Almost half of survey respondents (49%) said they were unhappy with at least one aspect of the care the dying person received and, of those, one in eight made a formal complaint. The research, in collaboration with King’s College London (KCL), Hull York Medical School and the University of Cambridge, also found that one in five dying people had no contact with their GP in the last three months of life. 

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Why one health system thinks its new PBM can disrupt the market

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Why one health system thinks its new PBM can disrupt the marketModern Healthcare; by Lauren Berryman; 8/23/24The University of North Carolina-affiliated health system announced a plan this month to launch UNC Health Pharmacy Solutions, a "transparent" PBM for employers seeking an alternative to CVS Health subsidiary CVS Caremark, Cigna division Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group unit OptumRx, which dominate the market... “Our costs were skyrocketing,” DeFalco said. UNC Health has since in-sourced key PBM functions and customized its formulary to focus on lower net cost drugs. UNC Health Pharmacy Solutions is similar to others that market themselves as transparent. UNC Health will charge clients administrative fees and pass through all rebates to plan sponsors. The health system has saved 32% on employee pharmacy costs and expects to deliver similar results to employers in North Carolina and South Carolina, DeFalco said. The health system may consider partnering with businesses in bordering states down the line, she said... The landscape comprises around 70 players, but CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx have a combined market share of about 80%, and the top six PBMs control 90%. Larger PBMs generally can use scale to extract better rebates from drugmakers, which at face value could look attractive to benefits brokers even though it may not mean lower overall savings.

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Hospice leaders: Culture the key to sustaining the workforce

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Hospice leaders: Culture the key to sustaining the workforceHospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/30/24In a time of workforce shortages, hospices are seeking the “secret sauce” that will help keep employees on board and bring new people into their fold. To find the right mix, hospice providers that have achieved national recognition for employer best practices point to a particular secret ingredient — a supportive culture with open lines of communication, a career path with room to grow and competitive compensation. For the California-based YoloCares, culture is critical, according to the nonprofit’s CEO Craig Dresang.Notable mentions: YoloCares, Vitas, Jennifer Blades of Haven Hospice.

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In hospice, Lehigh Valley man doesn’t let terminal cancer stop him from becoming ordained

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

In hospice, Lehigh Valley man doesn’t let terminal cancer stop him from becoming ordained[PA] The Morning Call; by Anthony Salamone; 9/1/24Diocese of Allentown Bishop Alfred A. Schlert places his hands on Von George's hands during an ordination service Aug. 10 at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena in Allentown for George to become a lay permanent deacon. George, of South Whitehall Township, became a deacon despite learning about one year ago that he has pancreatic cancer.Publisher's note: Accessing full article may require subscription.

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Doctors use problematic race-based algorithms to guide care every day. Why are they so hard to change?

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Doctors use problematic race-based algorithms to guide care every day. Why are they so hard to change?Stat email and article; by Katie Palmer, Usha Lee McFarling; 9/3/24Doctors use clinical algorithms every day to make decisions about the care they provide to patients. This math determines things like our surgical risk or likelihood of disease using factors such as blood pressure, age, weight, surgical history, and, often, our race. But one of these is not quite like the others — for years, clinicians have pushed back against the use of race in clinical algorithms. Publisher's note: Interesting article, although accessing full article may require subscription.

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Hospice workers help patients with last wishes

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Hospice workers help patients with last wishes St. Joseph News-Press, MO; by Charles Christian; 9/1/24 While expressing last wishes is not always the first priority for hospice patients, caregivers say it can be a helpful and meaningful step in the grief process. Registered nurse Kathy Lewis, a hospice care manager at Freudenthal Home-Based Healthcare, said that although asking about last wishes is part of the intake process for many hospice organizations, it is not always something that patients and families share right away. "I typically don't ask about last wishes during an admission," Lewis said. "But once I get to know them, and they feel comfortable with me ... that's when they tend to disclose things like that, because it is a very personal thing." Once disclosed, social workers, nurses, chaplains and other members of a treatment team do what they can to fulfill these wishes. Licensed social worker Jenny Dryburgh said that for bigger wishes, creativity becomes a key factor. ...

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Hospice & Palliative Care Today exceeds over half a million source-connections!

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Hospice & Palliative Care Today exceeds 500,000 stories read!Announcement; 9/3/24Thank you to our 1750+ subscribers across 49 states for reading over 500,000 stories posted so far this year!

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The art of asking: How effective questioning transforms leadership

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

The art Of asking: How effective questioning transforms leadershipForbes; by Keli Frazier-Cox; 8/29/24As a leader, it can be tempting to fall into the trap of thinking you have all the answers. After all, successful problem-solving and making quick decisions were a big part of getting to where you are in the first place—right? But that’s not the whole story. Seeking input from people around you is important no matter what your position. This is especially true as we rise in seniority and the problems we face become more complex. Asking questions is a crucial but often overlooked leadership skill that moves us into a space of co-creation—finding the best solution, not just your solution. Engaging your teams, peers and other colleagues builds trust, loyalty and enthusiasm, helping guide everyone toward mutual success.

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Today's Encouragement: If you always do what you always did ...

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got. ~ Jackie "Moms" Mabley

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Indoor hospice concert attracts nearly 2,000 people at fieldhouse

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Indoor hospice concert attracts nearly 2,000 people at fieldhouse The Republic, Columbus, IN; by Brian Blair; 9/1/24 The Indianapolis-based Woomblies Rock Orchestra led off with The Who’s classic “Love Reign O’er Me” before an audience estimated at nearly 2,000 people at Circle K Fieldhouse at NexusPark at 2224 25th St. in Columbus. ... Stephanie Cain, Our Hospice of South Central Indiana president, looked at the latest crowd halfway through the night of three pop-rock acts and smiled. “I feel like my heart is totally overflowing,” she said. Others felt the same vibe. Attendee Sheila Coy knows hospice’s work, currently with nearly 300 patients with life-limiting illnesses, firsthand.

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How to get people to do what you want and still like you in 3 steps, from a leadership expert

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

How to get people to do what you want and still like you in 3 steps, from a leadership expert CNBS - Make It - Leadership; by Tom Huddleston, Jr.; 9/2/24 One of the biggest challenges for any leader is figuring out how to hold people accountable for their mistakes without creating bad blood. In those situations, playing the blame game is always a losing strategy, according to leadership expert and bestselling author Michael Timms. The secret to calling out poor performance while maintaining a positive relationship with employees is to own up to your own mistakes first so you can inspire others to do the same, Timms said in a TED Talk in January. It’s a strategy called “modeling accountability.” Timms ... noted that he and other leaders often fall into the same trap: “blaming other people for a problem without considering my part in it.” ″[This is] something I teach management teams: You can’t inspire accountability in others until you model it yourself,” he said. 

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Patients are everyday heroes

09/04/24 at 03:00 AM

Patients are everyday heroes The Andalusia Star News, Andalusia, AL; by Vickie C. Waster; 9/2/24 One of my favorite songs is by Mariah Carey. The communication of the chorus speaks to what we in hospice and other areas of healthcare experience every day. This song always invokes empathy in my heart, and I believe many of you can truly resonate with the lyrics, as we share a common experience in our roles in healthcare. ... The heroes we encounter are our patients, families, and their caregivers. They show heroism in their resilience, their ability to find hope in difficult circumstances, and their unwavering support for each other. As hospice professionals, we acknowledge that we are entrusted to provide medical, spiritual, and emotional support to those in our care. We do this with a deep sense of humility and humbleness, always mindful of the respect our heroes deserve.  “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite overwhelming obstacles.” Christopher Reeve

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Hospice & Community Care Labor Day Auction raises record $1.1 million

09/04/24 at 02:00 AM

Hospice & Community Care Labor Day Auction raises record $1.1 million NBC WGAL-8, Quarryville, PA; by Anne Shannon; 9/2/24 The 40th Hospice & Community Care Labor Day Auction raised a record-breaking $1.1 million during its two-day event in Lancaster County. The money helps provide services for those facing end-of-life decisions and their families. More than 400 volunteers help make it happen ... 

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BrightSpring Health Services announces definitive agreement to acquire Haven Hospice, expanding hospice services into Florida

09/04/24 at 02:00 AM

BrightSpring Health Services announces definitive agreement to acquire Haven Hospice, expanding hospice services into Florida Business Insider, Louisville, KY; by Globe Newswire Press Release; 9/3/24BrightSpring Health Service ... announced that it completed the acquisition of the assets of North Central Florida Hospice, Inc. and Haven Medical Group, LLC (collectively “Haven Hospice”), a Florida-based company holding a Certificate of Need (CON) for comprehensive hospice care services in 18 counties in north central Florida, effective September 1, 2024. “We are excited to welcome Haven Hospice into BrightSpring, expanding our existing hospice services into the CON state of Florida,” said BrightSpring’s President and CEO Jon Rousseau.  

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Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice announces new name

09/03/24 at 03:10 AM

Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice announces new name HomeCare, Richmond, VA; 8/29/24 The Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice programs, which serves the greater Richmond area, announced a new name: Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice by Compassus. The name change reflects a joint venture partnership between Bon Secours Mercy Health, a Catholic health system in the U.S., and Compassus, a national provider of integrated home-based health care services, which was finalized earlier this year.

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Healthcare faces deficit of 100,000 workers by 2028

09/03/24 at 03:05 AM

Healthcare faces deficit of 100,000 workers by 2028Becker's Hospital Review; by Molly Gamble; 8/29/24A nationwide shortage of 100,000 healthcare workers is anticipated by 2028, with some states facing projected surpluses or severe deficits between future supply and demand. The finding comes from Mercer, which examined projected changes to the U.S. healthcare labor market by 2028 for states and metro and micro statistical areas. If current U.S. workforce trends continue, the healthcare workforce is projected to reach 18.6 million by 2028, an increase of over 1.5 million from 2023. However, with demand expected to rise to 18.7 million, this still leaves a shortfall of more than 100,000 workers within five years. While this gap may not seem critical in absolute terms, it adds significant strain to a healthcare system already burdened by geographic and demographic disparities in access to care.Publisher's note: This finding is particularly important for hospices already facing workforce shortages and challenges finding staff committed to the hospice philosophy of care.

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State seeks input on Columbia Gorge hospital, Gentiva hospice care

09/03/24 at 03:00 AM

State seeks input on Columbia Gorge hospital, Gentiva hospice care The Lund Report, Oregon and SW Washington; by Nick Budnick; 8/29/24 State officials are checking in on two health care acquisitions that have occurred since August of 2022, the absorption of Mid-Columbia Medical Center into California-based Adventist Health as well as a private equity firm's acquisition of Kindred Hospice. Now the state wants to hear how the renamed entities are doing: Adventist Health Columbia Gorge and Kindred Hospice Care. “OHA wants to understand how ownership changes may have affected health care services at AHCG and Gentiva hospice agencies,” according to a state announcement. “We’d like to hear from patients, health care providers, employees, and community members who have interacted with AHCG or Gentiva in the past year.”

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It could happen to you — how to prepare for and mitigate the fallout from a cyberattack

09/03/24 at 03:00 AM

It could happen to you — how to prepare for and mitigate the fallout from a cyberattackMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto;8/28/24Everyone thinks they know about cybersecurity, but thinking about the effects a cyberattack could have on an organization should be enough to lose sleep over, according to risk management experts. ... Cybersecurity, at its core, is about confidentiality, integrity and availability, according to John P. DiMaggio, co-founder and CEO of Blue Orange Compliance, a risk assessment company. Including senior living in the definition of healthcare, he said that healthcare organizations are targets of cyber criminals because of their relatively weak defenses, the value of the data necessary for operations, and the numerous interfaces and sharing of information that occurs among providers. ... Reasonable security practices — considered the minimum — include risk analysis and management, access control measures, training, incident response planning, physical controls, technical safeguards, third party/vendor management, backup and disaster recovery and patch management. But DiMaggio recommended going above that minimum threshold by using recognized security practices to mitigate penalties and ensure regulatory compliance. Those practices, he said, include email and endpoint protection, access management, data loss prevention, asset and network management, vulnerability management, incident response, medical device security and cybersecurity policies.

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