Literature Review

Iowa Finance Authority okays more than $500,000 for North Iowa homeless assistance [$66k to Cedar Valley Hospice] KIMT3 News, Des Moines, IO; by Mike Bunge; 1/9/24 Over $500,000 in grants from the Iowa Finance Authority is going to homeless assistance programs that cover North Iowa. $18,189 will go to Community Kitchen of North Iowa, Inc. in Cerro Gordo County.  Cedar Valley Hospice covering Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, Fayette, Floyd, Grundy, Howard, Mitchell, and Winneshiek counties will receive $66,565.  $474,108 will go to Primary Health Care covering [28 counties] ...

Rural families have ‘critical’ need for more hospice, respite care Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/6/25 Economic and financial headwinds have increasingly posed significant challenges for rural-based hospice providers, with some shuttering their programs in recent years. ... Hospices in rural regions have particularly been hard hit by these labor pressures amid rising demand for their services, with recent years bringing program closures across the country. ... Having a hospice offer services wherever a patient lives was the top priority cited by 400 rural-based caregiver respondents in a recent research study from the Alliance’s Diversity Advisory Council and Transcend Strategy Group. However, roughly 40% of the caregiver respondents were not able to name a nearby hospice provider. ... The lack of hospice availability has left gaps in supportive services that address terminally ill patients’ full range of physical, emotional and spiritual needs.This has also worsened disparities among rural family caregivers.Notable mention: Dr. Steve Landers, CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance)

Navigating Aging: The LGBTQ+ community relives old traumas as they face aging on their own Northern Kentucky Tribune; by Judith Graham; 1/5/25 Bill Hall, 71, has been fighting for his life for 38 years. These days, he’s feeling worn out. Hall contracted HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, in 1986. ... This past year, Hall has been hospitalized five times with dangerous infections and life-threatening internal bleeding. But that’s only part of what Hall, a gay man, has dealt with. ... By 2030, the number of LGBTQ+ seniors is expected to double. Many won’t have partners and most won’t have children or grandchildren to help care for them, AARP research indicates. They face a daunting array of problems, including higher-than-usual rates of anxiety and depression, chronic stress, disability, and chronic illnesses such as heart disease, according to numerous research studies. High rates of smoking, alcohol use, and drug use — all ways people try to cope with stress — contribute to poor health. Keep in mind, this generation grew up at a time when every state outlawed same-sex relations and when the American Psychiatric Association identified homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder. Many were rejected by their families and their churches when they came out. Then, they endured the horrifying impact of the AIDS crisis.

[China] Family members' experiences of surrogate decision-making in hospice care: A systematic review of qualitative studiesInternational Journal of Nursing Studies; Ting Yu, Yijing Li, Ziyi Hu, Shanshan Liu, Cong Wang, Qian Chen, Yan Jiang; 12/24Determining whether patients receive hospice care at end of life is complex for family members. This process begins with the coexistence of rational and emotional motives for decision-making, involves preparation for decision-making through the acquisition of knowledge and experience about hospice care, and culminates in reflection on the entire decision-making process. These findings underscore the importance of providing sufficient informational and emotional support to family decision-makers, which can improve decision-making and promote more compassionate end-of-life care. Future research should focus on developing effective strategies to strengthen these support systems.

AMA’s first chief health equity officer to depart at year’s end American Medical Association (AMA); by Staff News Writer; 12/30/24 Under Dr. Aletha Maybank’s direction and guidance, the AMA has become a relevant national voice on equity in medicine and an important ally to organizations that have long been committed to this work. ... [She] will depart the organization at the end of 2024 following a successful five-year and a half year tenure ... “Dr. Maybank has been a true champion and advocate for health equity both inside the AMA and in shaping our health system. She created a strong, strategic foundation for this work to continue over the long term,” AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, said. ... During Dr. Maybank’s tenure, the AMA has provided a platform for the organization to engage in more open and honest conversations about its own past failings and exclusionary practices that have contributed to some of the inequities that persist in medicine today and has expanded education opportunities for physicians, residents and students in numerous ways, including: [Click on the title's link to read more.]

Increasing awareness of hospice services among Latinos on the border YouTube - Borderzine Reporting across fronteras; features Hospice El Paso; 12/25/24 El Paso's Latino Community is seeing a rise in the use of hospice care ... Hospice in Mexico is a place and so a lot of Hispanics--true Mexicans--feel that you're going to take a loved one out of their home when it comes to hospice care. ... Latino families make up a growing portion of hospice users, reflecting national efforts in bilingual outreach and cultural sensitivity programs I had heard. The term "hospice"--I didn't know I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know what it involved but after my dad was enrolled in hospice ... I realized [that it] provided emotional and medical support ... [and] comfort that respects their cultural values. We were very fortunate that the individuals that came in that met with us beforehand and after were bilingual. I noticed that they spoke in English and in Spanish so that they would look between myself, my mom my sister to make sure we were nodding, agreeing, listening, hearing. I think that made a difference. It was very comforting. My dad at one point even said, "They gave me a bath but they didn't get the bed wet." That was our big joke and the fact that he was very comfortable. As more Hispanic families turn to hospice they're finding it offers not just medical care, but a way to honor their loved ones with dignity respect and familiar comforts in their final days.Editor's note: For data on the Hispanic population in the areas you serve, click here for the 

For young adults, caregiving isn't just hard. It can shape you for life. National Public Radio - CAI - Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands; by Kat McGown; 12/23/24 ... There are days when Jordyn Glick, 27, can't eat or drink at all. She gets so tired and weak she can barely stand up. She has gastroparesis, where food stalls out in her stomach and doesn't get digested. It comes with unpredictable bouts of nausea, periods of agony in her guts, and malnutrition. ... Dakota Heath, her 26-year-old boyfriend of four years, is her watchman, "always picking up on the small things," he says. He's on alert for her next flareup, the kind that can leave her bedridden for a week. ... Young caregivers have always been there, doing all the same things that adults do — ... About one-quarter of all family caregivers are between 18 and 36, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving. One survey suggests that almost half of them are men. They're more likely to be Latino or Black; a survey in 2018 found that only 17% were white. They've just been invisible. "They fall into every potential crack that exists," says Melinda Kavanaugh, a professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee who is one of the few researchers who study this population. In terms of resources, "Nothing is targeted for a 22-year-old. Nothing."

House of Goshen makes history as Chicago’s first black-owned independent inpatient hospice house G20 News Today, Flossmoor, IL; 12/21/24 House of Goshen, a state-of-the-art inpatient hospice facility and the first Black-owned independent hospice center in the Chicago Southland area, is now officially accepting patients. Located at 19810 Governors Highway in Flossmoor, the center represents a pivotal advancement in equitable, compassionate end-of-life care in Chicagoland, the South Suburbs and beyond. The 14,000-square-foot facility offers 14 private suites designed to provide comfort, dignity, and peace for patients and their families. ... “Our goal is to create a sanctuary where every patient and family member feels supported, seen, and cared for,” said Sade Bello, co-founder of House of Goshen. “Being the first Black-owned hospice center in the region comes with immense pride and responsibility. We are committed to setting a standard of care that reflects the diversity and humanity of the communities we serve.”

Mom, 26, dies days after choosing to enter hospice following 13 years of living with kidney failure (exclusive) People; by Zoey Lyttle; 12/18/24 Though she left behind a 4-year-old daughter, Sara Long told PEOPLE her feelings about death were "more certain" than they'd ever been when she started end-of-life care. “I think a lot of people spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to have a good life. And don't get me wrong, I did that too,” Sara Long, 26, told PEOPLE over the phone just shy of a week before she died at the hospice facility into which she had just recently moved. ... Long said she’s spent “the last two or three years” deliberating about her idea of a “good death.” She decided that it wasn’t just about how she would experience these last expected few weeks of her life in hospice. What Long really wanted was to be surrounded by her most precious loved ones — including her husband Justin, 32, and their 4-year-old daughter Riley Jean — but she didn't want them to watch her die while intubated and attached to hospital equipment as she was half of her life. “I just feel like if I pushed it any harder, then I was going to get to a place where it was going to be outside of my control,” said the mom of one. “I was going to wind up dying in a hospital alone, afraid, full of tubes, scared. My daughter wouldn't be able to be part of the process, and it would just be really lonely, and that's really not the goal.” Detached from the familiar yet foreign medical equipment, Long told PEOPLE she was freed from fear knowing she would only survive another couple of weeks in hospice. (She died with a week less than anticipated.) Editor's note: This another follow-up post to this profound young woman's story that we post on 

VITAS Healthcare unveils inpatient hospice unit at Lee Memorial Hospital South Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report, fort Myers, FL; by cfelixcpa; 12/16/24 Residents of Lee County now have access to dedicated end-of-life care at the new VITAS Healthcare Inpatient Hospice Unit at Lee Memorial Hospital, offering expert, patient-centered hospice services in the comfort of a homelike setting. This inpatient unit (IPU) is the only hospital-based hospice facility in the county and is the first VITAS IPU in Lee County and second in Southwest Florida. It is expected to serve more than 400 patients annually. ... The VITAS hospice unit at Lee Memorial features eight private patient rooms with internet access, flatscreen TVs, private bathrooms and overnight accommodations for loved ones. A shared family room provides space for visiting guests, and children’s activities keep little ones occupied.

Hospice utilization rebounds to pre-pandemic levels, but fraud casts a shadow Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/17/24 The nation’s hospice utilization rate among Medicare decedents has once again surpassed 50%, for the first time since the pandemic. However, fraud issues in the space create questions around the quality of care patients are receiving. Hospice utilization reached 51.7% in 2023, up more than two percentage points from the prior year, according to recent data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). This is the highest rate since 2019. MedPAC observed increases in utilization across the board, even when stratified into subgroups by age, sex, race and rural or urban location. ... Despite these positive trends, an influx of new hospices continued in states considered hotbeds for Medicare fraud, including Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. Many of these new additions came in areas where additional hospices were likely not necessary based on the needs of the patient population. Georgia also saw a large spate of new providers emerge in 2023.

Health gap at end of life is now wider in US than any other country Science Alert - Health; by Carly Cassella; 12/16/24 A data-crunching survey covering 183 member nations of the World Health Organization has now confirmed what some scientists feared: while years are being added to most people's lives, healthy life is not being added to most people's year. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that people around the world in 2019 were living 9.6 years of life burdened by disability or disease – an increase of 13 percent from 2000. In that same time frame, global life expectancy has increased 6.5 years, and yet health-adjusted life expectancy has only increased 5.4 years. In the US, the gap between lifespan and 'healthspan' is growing particularly wide. Between 2000 and 2019, life expectancy in the US increased from 79.2 to 80.7 years for women, and from 74.1 to 76.3 years for men. When adjusting for healthy years of added life, however, the span only increased by 0.6 years among men. And among women, while health-adjusted life expectancy fluctuated slightly over time, in 2019 it matched the figure seen in 2000. The expanding gap means if an American woman lived to the expected 80.7 years of age, the last 12.4 years of her life would on average be impacted by disease or disability.

You heard that correctly: Scammers are committing hospice fraud Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Advice; by Kira Krown, Consumer Education Specialist; 12/13/24 Did someone reach out and offer free, in-home perks like cooking and cleaning in exchange for your Medicare number? Don’t give it. That could be a scammer trying to commit hospice fraud.Scammers are targeting older adults — with calls, texts, emails, fake ads, and even door-to-door visits — claiming they’ll set you up with services like free cooking, cleaning, and home health care. What they likely won’t tell you is how: They want to commit fraud by signing you up for Medicare hospice — that’s right, hospice — care. Then, they can bill Medicare for all kinds of services in your name. Here’s what to know: ..Editor's note: Share this crucial information information from the Federal Trade Commission with communities you serve, your employees, and your volunteers.