Literature Review

White House cuts $12B in health funds: 5 updates Becker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley and Kristin Kuchno; 3/26/25 HHS has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in grants to state health departments that supported efforts to track infectious diseases, expand mental health services and modernize outdated systems, according to The New York Times. Late March 25, state health departments started receiving notices that $11.4 billion in grants from the CDC and roughly $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were being canceled immediately. “No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said, according to the Times. [Continue reading ...]

Ohio reported its first measles case in 2025. Here’s what you need to know about this highly contagious virus. Signal Cleveland, Cleveland, OH; by Sue Zake and Reegan Davis Saunders; 3/25/25 An unvaccinated adult in Ashtabula contracted the first case of measles in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The individual had contact with someone who recently traveled internationally and was confirmed to have contracted the highly contagious respiratory virus. ... As of March 20, the CDC has reported 378 confirmed cases in the U.S.  — 95% of those who became ill were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. Twenty-seven percent of children under 5 years of age who contracted measles have been hospitalized since Jan. 1. Here’s more information to help you understand the disease and protect yourself and your family [and prfoessionals]. [Continue reading ...]

Utah funeral home is first in state to offer "human composting" as a green alternative to traditional burials Salt Lake City Weekly, Salt Lake City, UT; by Aimee L. Cook; 3/19/25 ... Jason and Shayneh Starks, who opened [Starks Funeral Parlor in Millcreek] in 2005, offer their clients an innovative and environmentally conscious option—natural organic reduction (NOR), often called human composting. This process transforms the deceased into nutrient-rich soil over a period of 8 to 12 weeks. While the concept may sound unconventional to some, it's gaining traction with families in Utah and beyond, ... "We're seeing a lot of interest from environmentally conscious individuals who want a natural, meaningful way to return to the earth," observed Shayneh Starks, who has worked in funeral services since 1995. Natural organic reduction has already been legalized in states like Washington, Oregon and California, but Utah has yet to officially approve this process.  Currently, Starks Funeral Parlor assists families who wish to choose this option by transferring remains out of state to Seattle, ensuring that those who value NOR have access to it.

Hastening death by stopping eating and drinking: Hope Wechkin, Thaddeus Pope, and Josh Briscoe GeriPal Podcasts; by Hope Wechkin, Thaddeus Pope, and Josh Briscoe Eric and Alex have featured discussions about complex bioethical concepts around caring for people at the end of life, including voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED), and multiple episodes about the ethical issues surrounding medical aid in dying (MAID). Recently, discussion has emerged about how these issues intertwine in caring for patients with advancing dementia who have stated that they would not want to continue living in that condition: for those with an advanced directive to stop eating and drinking, how do we balance caring for their rational past self and their experiential current self? Should these patients qualify for medical aid in dying medications? And is there a middle path to provide some degree of comfort while also hastening the end of life?

Medicaid’s role in health and in the health care landscape: LDI expert insights and key takeaways from select publications Penn LDI - Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Philadelphia, PA; by Julia Hinckley, JD; 3/17/25... Medicaid accounts for one-fifth of U.S. health care spending and covers more than a quarter of Americans. LDI researchers have examined the services it provides in supporting aging adults, people with disabilities, and children, as well as its role in health crises such as chronic disease and suicide. ... Below are select key findings from recent peer-reviewed research, along with expert insights for policymakers considering changes to Medicaid funding in the federal budget.

Publisher's Dinner: Leaders of home care firm, hospital systems gather for dialogue on improving patient care Cincinnati Business Courier; by Trinity In Home Care; 3/14/25 The Cincinnati Business Courier in late February brought together the leadership of a leading Southwest Ohio home care agency with leaders of Greater Cincinnati’s hospital and hospice systems. The goal was to connect leaders of two essential aspects of the region’s health care system – inpatient hospital care and home care – to see how they could complement and support each other in delivering patient care and growing as organizations. [Click on the title's link for quotes from various leaders from this Cincinnati area.]

Flu season lingering despite springlike weather in Indiana NBC WTHR 13, Indianapolis, IN; by Dustin Grove; 3/14/25 With warmer weather moving into central Indiana, you'd think flu season would be over by now, but it's still hanging on. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 33 million cases of flu nationwide, with 430,000 people hospitalized. So far, 19,000 have died. "(I think) it is more severe than it has been in the past few years. I think that with those numbers ... it really tells a story and that, especially with the 19,000 deaths, we're talking about a serious illness this year," said Dr. Darlene Lawrence. "COVID is waning, folks are having vaccine wariness." ... Even with spring weather arriving and the thought that flu season is waning, it's still not too late to get vaccinated. ... Flu is particularly dangerous for the elderly, people with chronic conditions and children, she said. ... Patients can talk to their doctor or pharmacist to help find the best vaccine for them. 

J-Sei Home closes after 30 years, leaving Bay Area Japanese seniors in need KQED, San Francisco, CA; by Cecilia Lei; 3/10/25 ... For decades, Bay Area Japanese American families have sought culturally sensitive senior care facilities like J-Sei Home for aging loved ones. Community members said that about a decade ago, there were approximately 10 Japanese senior care homes in the region. Today, that number has declined by about half. The most recent closure came in January, when the last residents of J-Sei Home moved out, and the facility permanently closed its doors after 30 years of operation. A majority of the displaced residents were Japanese Americans in their 90s and had cognitive impairment. ... They had tender caregivers who spoke Japanese. They ate familiar comfort foods like miso soup and pickled vegetables, and they participated in daily activities such as drum circles and singing Japanese songs. ...

Assessing pain, anxiety and other symptoms of nursing home residents unable to speak for themselves Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, IN; by Kathleen T. Unroe, MD, MHA; 3/10/25 Revamped tool reliably addresses physical and emotional distress, well-being and end-of-life symptoms. As many as half of nursing home residents are cognitively impaired and may be unable to communicate symptoms such as pain or anxiety to the staff and clinicians caring for them. Therefore, information needed for the evaluation of symptoms and subsequent treatment decisions typically does not reliably exist in nursing home electronic health records (EHRs). A new paper reports on the novel adaptation of a commonly used symptom assessment instrument to more comprehensively acquire this difficult-to-obtain data with the ultimate goal of enabling knowledge-based expansion of palliative care services in nursing homes to address residents’ symptoms. 

The Medical Minute: Measles cases rising in the US, what you can do PennState, Hershey, PA; 3/6/25 A case of measles in a child was confirmed in Montgomery County on March 2 ─ the first reported case in the state in 2025. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 164 measles cases in nine states. Texas alone has seen at least 140 cases since late January, including one unvaccinated child who died. Measles is a preventable, highly contagious, airborne virus that can cause serious health complications, including death, especially in children under 5, said Dr. George McSherry, division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. “Measles is a very serious illness. It’s one of the most infectious of the infectious diseases,” McSherry said. “If you put a person with measles in a room with 100 unimmunized people, 90 will get it.” Click on the title's link for more important information. 

Qualitative analysis through the lens of minority nurses American Nurse; by Sonya Moore, PhD, RN, CRNA; Carolyn Still, PhD, RN; and Siobhan Aaron, PhD, RN; 3/4/25 Many argue that experiences of discrimination, racism, and microaggression (intentional or unintentional) serve as key barriers to the recruitment and retention of diverse nurses. Iheduru-Anderson, who interviewed 30 Black nurses, noted that despite an increase in the number of Black nurses in the U.S. workforce over time, they remain significantly underrepresented in leadership and faculty positions. The study identified several themes that contribute to lack of advancement, including maintaining White comfort, distrust, lack of role models and representation, expectations about leadership roles, and the ineffectiveness of advanced degrees in securing advancement. 

Breaking bad news: Guidance on disclosing a dementia diagnosis Medscape; by Megan Brooks; 3/3/25 As biomarker testing for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) evolves, timely and compassionate disclosure of a diagnosis is more complex than ever. Yet, clinicians may struggle with how — or in some cases whether — to disclose that a patient has mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. A recent perspective offers a practical roadmap to help clinicians navigate these challenging conversations. The authors from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, noted that disclosure of a dementia diagnosis “is particularly nuanced and requires a conscientious approach. Clinicians must assess patients’ understanding and appreciation of symptoms, goals for the evaluation, and desire for information.” 

WVU nursing faculty aim to enhance rural home care for chronically ill through NIH award WVU Today - West Virginia University, Morgantown, WC; Press Release; 2/26/25 Three West Virginia University nursing faculty know firsthand the difficulties faced by family caregivers and their chronically ill loved ones. With a $2.7 million award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Nursing Research that is one of the largest ever for the WVU School of Nursing, the faculty researchers aim to support these families while increasing access to care in the rural reaches of the Mountain State by testing an integrated, nurse-led intervention for family home care management of end-stage heart failure and palliative care. ... Through their lived experiences, as well as their previous studies using nursing science to develop and test nurse-led interventions, the three said they hope to improve family caregivers’ and their loved ones’ overall health and well-being, including reducing depression and anxiety, and monitoring and managing end-of-life symptoms.