Literature Review

Tapestry Hospice settles healthcare kickback claims for $1.4 million United States Attorney's Office - Northern District of Georgia; Press Release; 6/20/24 Tapestry Hospice of Northwest Georgia, LLC, and its owners and managers, David Lovell, MD, Stephanie Harbour, Ben Harbour, and Andrew Nall (collectively “Tapestry”), agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by entering into kickback arrangements with medical directors in exchange for referrals of hospice patients to Tapestry. “By entering into kickback arrangements, health care providers can cause doctors to make medical decisions that are motivated by financial gain, rather than the patient’s best interest,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office is committed to ensuring the accountability of health care providers who put their own financial needs ahead of their patients.” “The False Claims Act settlement in this case will hopefully be a deterrent to those who selfishly evade our federal healthcare programs for their own benefit,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The message is clear, the FBI will not tolerate companies operating corporate-wide schemes to illegally line their pockets.” 

ASTHO and NAMD call on Congress to fully fund Medicaid and CHIP in U.S. territories ASTHO - Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; by Jane Esworthy and Stephanie Rhodes; 6/20/24 In a joint letter to Congress, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) urged Congress to fully fund Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) in the U.S. territories. ASTHO and NAMD request that Congress lift the annual Section 1108(g) allotment cap for all territories and authorize a permanent 83% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Puerto Rico. ... “ASTHO recognizes the importance of permanent, sustainable, and equitable Medicaid financing for all U.S. territories,” says Joseph Kanter, MD, MPH, ASTHO CEO. ... “Unlike the states, the U.S. territories face an annual cap on their Medicaid funding,” says Kate McEvoy, Executive Director of NAMD. “This has impaired the territories’ capacity to provide needed health care to Medicaid-eligible U.S. citizens and nationals. It has also held the territories back from making the structural investments in care delivery and value-based payment reform, workforce, IT systems, and program integrity that are crucial to high performing and innovative Medicaid programs.”

Circle of Life Hospice opens guest house ABC KOLO 8 NewsNow, Reno, Nevada; by Emily Benito; 6/19/24The Circle of Life Hospice Foundation has just opened their first hospice care guest house for those that cannot afford room or board or end of life care. President of The Circle of Life Hospice Foundation Michelle Cagle says that if they had 10 to 15 beds in the house, they could help around 271 patients a year. The guest house currently has three beds for patients but with more land to build on, there are plans to build a second guest house on the property. “Whether they are homeless or just elderly or their wife can’t take care of them or they’re just not able to afford it or they don’t have any family or children, that’s what we do and opened this house to care for those people.” 

Hospice of Marion County trains first responders to care for dementia patients Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/18/24 Florida-based Hospice of Marion County, an affiliate of Empath Health, is training first responders in its community on how to treat dementia patients. For several years, the nonprofit hospice has been educating family caregivers and others in their community about the experiences of dementia patients and how to better interact with them. More recently, Hospice of Marion County [Ocala, Florida] has been expanding that training to include local law enforcement and fire departments, as well as medical students and staff at assisted living facilities, among others. The training uses a series of tools to simulate symptoms of dementia, related to visual, tactile, auditory senses, their ability to process information and perform certain tasks. The education helps first responders address the unique challenges associated with caring for dementia patients, according to Dr. Mery Lossada, chief medical officer of Hospice of Marion County.Editor's Note: Bravo, Hospice of Marion County!

‘I tried to get into their shoes and their culture’. Care worker experiences in cultural end-of-life care: Interpretative phenomenological analysis Journal of Clinical Nursing / Early View; by Elizabeth Lambert RN, BN (Hons), Jo Gibson RN, BN, PhD, MAdvNsgPrac, Kasia Bail RN, BN(Hons), GCHE, PhD Aim: What are care workers' lived experiences caring for people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds during end-of-life care?What does this paper contribute to the wider global community? This study highlights the importance of understanding care workers’ experiences in providing culturally appropriate end-of-life care.

Dying of heart failure: how do we improve the experience? The Medical Journal of Australia - MJA; by Dominica Zentner, Vithoosharan Sivanathan, Jennifer Philip and Natasha Smallwood; published online 6/17/24 ... Despite the improvements afforded by multiple pharmacological, surgical and interventional developments in heart failure, the goal of therapy remains delayed disease progression for many. Cognisant of this reality, recent heart failure guidelines all highlight the important role of palliative care. ... The MJA recently published an article regarding the imperative of reframing palliative care. ... We suggest that ...

AAHPM CMO Joe Rotella: Hospice does not exist to save money Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/17/24Dr. Joe Rotella, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), calls on hospices to maintain their core principles amid a churning sea of regulatory and economic changes. Rotella began his medical career as a primary care physician in a small, rural town in central New Hampshire, where he stayed for 12 years [followed by serving Hospice & Palliative Care of Louisville, KY/Hosparus as Chief Medical director for 15 years]. ... Now, Rotella will soon retire from AAHPM. Hospice News sat down with Rotella to discuss the ways hospice and palliative care have changed during his tenure in the space, as well as the forces shaping the field’s future. ...

How to choose the right hospice care - Brain & Life Magazine Brain & Life; by Hallie Levine; June/July 2024 Hospice care is designed to help patients die with dignity and provide support to their families. These tips can help ensure it does. ... [Case study examples follow.] In hospice, “the focus shifts from treating the disease to managing symptoms and maintaining quality of life,” says James Gordon, MD, FAAN, a neurologist and retired hospice and palliative care expert at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Patients and their families often get to a point where they ask themselves if the cure is causing more suffering than it's worth,” Dr. Gordon says. “If they are close to the end of life, it's often time for hospice.”Editor's Note: We chose this article because its source, Brain & Life Magazine. This can be an excellent disease-specific resource for your serious illness, palliative, hospice, and bereavement team members. "Brain & Life is powered by more than 40,000 neurologists worldwide who are committed to keeping you and your family better informed." Visit its "Disorders A-Z: Neurologic Disorders Resource Center (brainandlife.org)." 

Design, creation, and 13-month performance of a novel, web-based activity for education in primary cardiology palliative care Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Jill M Steiner, Caroline L Doherty, Jill A Patton, Jadry Gruen, Sarah Godfrey, John Mulrow, Richard A Josephson, Sarah J Goodlin; 6/5/24 online ahead of print Cardiovascular disease (CVD) clinicians who care for seriously ill patients frequently report that they do not feel confident nor adequately prepared to manage patients' palliative care (PC) needs. With the goal, therefore, of increasing PC knowledge and skills amongst interprofessional clinicians providing CVD care, the ACC's PC Workgroup designed, developed, and implemented a comprehensive PC online educational activity. This paper describes the process and 13-month performance of this free, online activity for clinicians across disciplines and levels of training, "Palliative Care for the Cardiovascular Clinician" (PCCVC).Editor's Note: Reiterating, this "free, online activity [is] for clinicians across disciplines and levels of training." The trajectories for cardiovascular diseases can elicit enormous anxiety--due to their roller-coaster changes that can result in sudden death--in contrast to the more predictable trajectories for cancer. Whether you use this resource or another, educate your interdisciplinary clinical managers and team members to the all-important disease and care factors for cardiology palliative care, relevant to the scope of professionals' different roles. 

What does death look like for those experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada?

Rural pharmacy owners say it's getting harder to stay open Times West Virginian; by Devi Shastri; 6/5/24 Rural pharmacies can be a touchstone for their communities. The staff knows everyone’s names and drugs, answers questions about residents’ mail-order prescriptions or can spot the signs of serious illness. But their business models face unrelenting pressures to the point that sometimes they have to close. An AP analysis of data from 49 states and the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs shows that several largely rural states have some of the lowest number of pharmacies per ZIP code. Editor's Note: This trend for closures in rural areas is rampant for hospitals, emergency departments, physicians, and more. Click here for a letter from NHPCO and numerous hospice providers to Congress, Jan. 5, 2024: Protect rural and frontier American's access to hospice and palliative care.

They sacrificed to care for family and ended up on the street Wisconsin Public Radio; by Kat McGowan; 5/29/24 ... A son or sibling or niece gives up their own apartment or full-time job to look after a relative who needs help. They share expenses, maybe living off of a benefits check. But when that family member passes away or moves to a nursing home, the social security or housing subsidy stops coming. The caregiver is in mourning, out of a job and out of a place to live. “These were folks who had left behind something to go care for mom, and then the bottom falls out,” says Margot Kushel, a homelessness researcher and professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco. Her team documented this pattern in their intensive surveys and in-depth interviews of older homeless Californians. ... Kushel envisions one brighter possibility. Given the extreme shortage of capable home caregivers, both in California and nationwide, people who have played that role for family could be recruited to do the same job for others, helping to build this essential workforce. “If you’re caregiving for 15 months for your mom, for instance you probably have transferrable skills,” she says.Editor's Note: Pair this with recent articles we posted on 5/30/24, "The real cost of cancer: 49% of patients carry $5K+ in medical debt" and "56 percent willing to dip into retirement savings to be family caregiver: survey."

‘We don’t talk about death’: Winston-Salem journalist seeks to help people understand dying, deathbed visions Fox 8 WGHP - High Point, NC; by Bob Buckley; 5/29/24 There may not be anything that fascinates people more than death. It may be the thing many people avoid confronting the most. “In our culture, we’re pretty separated from death. And I don’t know the figures, but the vast majority … take place in hospitals. We don’t talk about death a lot in our culture,” said Phoebe Zerwick, a journalist based in Winston-Salem who recently wrote about deathbed visions for the New York Times Magazine. ... Zerwick became aware of the work of Dr. Christopher Kerr. ... “The biggest difference between hallucinations and these experiences is how the person is made to feel,” Dr. Kerr said. “Most hallucinations leave the person distressed and agitated and would be further confused. These experiences bring comfort. They bring meaning. They’re drawn from life. They really validate the life.” ... “I think the moral of the story is to be present and to be present with people when they are terminally ill. Be present when they’re dying,” Zerwick said.