Literature Review

The state of paid sick leave: 6 notes Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/9/24 Paid sick leave has expanded across the U.S. as more states pass laws related to the issue. Here are six notes about the efforts: ... [Click on the title's link for details.]

Investing in employee engagement can add a competitive advantageHomeCare; by Jeffrey Knapp; 5/9/24You cannot pay people enough to care. But it is possible to attract and retain great talent and bring out the best in them by fully engaging employees in a shared purpose, giving them a sense that their work is worthwhile and that they are making a difference in the world. That is the culture effect on health care staffing. ... For leaders who want either to start building or to invest more in a culture infrastructure, do not forget these essential steps: 

What nurses really need is better staffing: The common strategies to raise nurse morale need an updatePenn LDI - Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; by Karen Lasater, PhD, RN, and Jane Muir, PhD, APRN; 5/10/24Pizza. Coloring books. Goody bags. They could be activities at a 5-year-old’s birthday party. But they’re not: These are many employers’ attempts to lift the morale of nurses on the frontlines of chronically understaffed organizations. What nurses really want are better working conditions so they can deliver the best care possible to their patients. As researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, we asked thousands of nurses why they are leaving their profession. Their answers are straightforward — short staffing is so rampant that the public’s health care is at risk. The playbook of corporate health care asks nurses to do much with little, but nurses aren’t willing to skimp on quality and safety. There isn’t a nursing shortage — it’s nurses’ refusal to be part of a system that puts profits before safety.

Hudson Valley Hospice celebrates nurses everywhere for their life-changing work Townsquare Hudson Valley; 5/7/24 Hudson Valley Hospice is celebrating its nurses in all of their roles! From LPNs to registered nurses, nurse case managers to triage nurses, on-call nurses to nurse practitioners, they make a difference each moment of every day in their patients and their loved ones' lives. Hudson Valley Hospice is proud to call many of these heroes their own, with three of them being nominated for Hudson Valley Magazine’s 2024 Excellence in Nursing Awards: ... To Hudson Valley Hospice’s extraordinary nurses and nurses everywhere, thank you and Happy Nurses Month!Editor's Note: Hudson Valley Hospice effectively used the national nurses celebration to thank all nurses (their organizations and others), honor their persons receiving nursing excellence awards, promote community awareness about their hospice services, and recruit nurses for open roles. Bravo to you for this great communication!

Caring for the Caregiver: A Guide for Home Care Providers Forbes; by Joan Ekobena; 5/8/24This article proposes that nurturing the psychological and physical well-being of caregivers [employees] is essential. It’s not just a matter of ethical responsibility but a fundamental factor for maintaining quality care, promoting continuity of care and boosting employee retention. This can create a positive ripple effect, which can not only increase customer satisfaction but also boost business revenue. ... A recent decision by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) underscores the increasing awareness of the need to invest in caregiver wellness. Guides are listed as "Strategies for Supporting Caregiver Wellness and Mindset": ... [Note: "Caregiver" denotes employees who provide home care, not the family "caregiver" in the home.] 

HCA accused of withholding pay of 1,000 workersBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/6/24 HCA Healthcare faces a lawsuit alleging its Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health illegally kept pay from at least 1,000 employees, the Citizen Times reported May 6. Sharon McRee — who said she worked as a nonexempt, hourly respiratory therapist at Mission from July 2002 through its 2019 acquisition by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA before leaving in July 2022 — alleges she and approximately 1,000 or more employees "clocked in as required and performed the principal activities of their jobs," but their employer "generally did not pay them for all of their time worked," according to the lawsuit, which was accessed by Becker's.

Early-career physicians working temp roles to 'test drive' practice settings, survey finds Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 5/3/24Physicians and advanced practice providers are opting for the flexibility of temporary, locum tenens work in seek of improved job conditions and to relieve burnout, according to an April 23 survey conducted by AMN Healthcare. AMN, the largest provider of healthcare interim leadership and executive search services in the U.S., asked physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who recently have worked locum tenens why they do so. The number one reason, according to 86% of respondents, was a better work schedule, followed closely by addressing feelings of burnout (80%).

Home-based pediatric hospice and palliative care provider visits: Effects on healthcare utilization The Journal of Pediatrics; by Steven M. Smith, MD; Daniel H. Grossoehme, DMin; Kate Cicozi, MD; Audrey Hiltunen, MD; Catherine Roth, MPH, CCRP; Gwendolyn Richner, BA; Stephani S. Kim, PhD, MPH; Nguyen K. Tram, PhD; Sarah Friebert, MD; May 2024 journal issue Objective: This hypothesis-generating study sought to assess the impact of home-based hospice and palliative care (HBHPC) provider home visits (HV) on healthcare use.  Conclusion: HBHPC provider HVs were associated with fewer inpatient admissions, hospital days, and intensive care unit days, and increased clinically relevant phone calls and phone calls before emergency department visit. These findings indicate that HBHPC HV may contribute to decreased inpatient use and increased use of the HBHPC team.

Workers at two Essentia Health facilities file for union representation Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA); by Sam Fettig and Lauren Bloomquist; 5/2/24 Registered nurses at Essentia Miller Hill Surgery Center and nurses and other healthcare workers at Essentia Solvay Hospice House announced this week that they have filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association ... because they want a voice in their workplace to improve both working conditions and how care is provided to their patients. ... At Essentia Solvay Hospice House, workers across the board, including Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Nursing Assistants, Administrative Assistants, Environmental Services workers, and Cooks, filed for a union election.

Highlighting Nurses Week: Tidewell Foundation raising the next generation of hospice nurses Observer; by Tidewell Foundation; 5/2/24 ... Serving Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties [Florida], the Tidewell Foundation provides the philanthropic support needed to ensure all who need the world-class care of Tidewell Hospice ... funds the only accredited non-profit Nurse Residency program in the United States. Tidewell began its Nurse Residency Program in 2018 to combat the nursing shortage in our region. Now, 6 years later, it is the first hospice to be accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), joining a network of 264 nurse residency programs across the nation.

Elara Caring, cited in death of visiting nurse Joyce Grayson, vows to contest violation McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/3/24 The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited home health, hospice and personal care provider Elara Caring for failing to provide adequate safeguards to protect visiting nurse Joyce Grayson from workplace violence. Grayson, a licensed practical nurse, was killed last Oct. 28 while providing a home health visit for a client living in a halfway house in Willimantic, CT.  The DOL disclosed this week that its OSHA division cited New England Home Care, where Grayson worked, and Jordan Health Care Inc., which both do business as Elara Caring, with a “Willful-Serious” citation. Elara Caring faces up to $163,627 in penalties resulting from the citation. ...

Curricular reform in serious illness communication and palliative care: Using medical students' voices to guide change  Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges; by Jennifer A Reidy, Kate Brizzi, Stephanie H Chan, Hollis Day, Scott K Epstein, Melissa Fischer, Priya S Garg, Anna Gosline, Carolina Jaramillo, Emma Livne, Suzanne Mitchell, Sarah Morgan, Molly W Olmsted, Patricia Stebbins, Isabella Stumpf, Tamara Vesel, Irene M Yeh, Megan E Young, Roberta E Goldman; 5/1/24 Purpose: To gather and leverage the voices of students to drive creation of required, integrated palliative care curricula within undergraduate medical education in Massachusetts, which is lacking in a majority of U.S. medical schools. Conclusions: This study confirms long-standing themes on students' experiences with SIC and palliative care topics, including feeling inadequately prepared to care for seriously ill patients as future physicians. Our study collected students' perspectives as actionable data to develop recommendations for curricular change.

Doing the right thing for hospice patients Journal of Emergency Mediscal Services; by Abe Tolkoff, EMT, Daniel Tauber, NRP, and Amelia E. Breyre, MD, NRP; 5/2/24 Here is a novel solution in practice at the Yale New Haven Hospital Center for EMS; a paramedic hospice rotation. After being dispatched to a lift assist call, two novice EMTs proceeded to the address without lights or sirens. They grabbed their gear bag and walked up the stairs to the home. Knocking on the door, they announced “EMS!” and heard a frantic “Come in!” followed by, “he has a DNR.” ...