Literature Review

Negotiations end between Local 17 Nurses and Providence St. Patrick Hospital The Fairfield Sun Times - Missoula, MT, by Ian Alvano; 4/9/24 After a standstill of contract negotiations, a new contract has been ratified between the Local 17 Nurse Union and Providence St. Patrick Hospital. The nurses were looking for safe staffing ratios and competitive pay, in a new contract.  Some of the demands were met and some weren't, said Local 17 co-president, Kate Marmorato, regarding the new ratified contract between the nurses and the hospital. 

Fraudsters sentenced in scheme that distributed 7,600 phony nursing diplomas McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 4/8/24Three individuals were sentenced for their role in distributing fraudulent diplomas and transcripts to thousands of nursing students in Florida, New York and New Jersey, the US Attorney’s Office disclosed last week. The registrar of Palm Beach School of Nursing in Lake Worth, FL, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $861,672. The owner and operator of Success Nursing Review in Brooklyn, NY, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, fined $20,000 and ordered to forfeit $4,698,828.

Why difficult conversations matter: How delivering bad news with clarity and empathy impacts both provider and patient Cedars Sinai, by Cassie Tomlin; 4/8/24Good physicians rely on a battery of hard-won skills to treat serious illness—they observe, predict, test, prescribe and diagnose. But many physicians haven’t been taught how to have productive, mutually beneficial conversations—such as sharing a life-changing diagnosis or informing patients about disease trajectory and symptoms, prognosis and end-of-life care. High-impact communication tools can be learned at any point in a physician’s career, says Jessica Besbris, MD, director of Neuropalliative Care and the Neurology Supportive Care Medicine Program at Cedars-Sinai. Here, Besbris shares why such careful conversations matter for everyone involved, and ways physicians can improve how they discuss serious illness.

EverHeart Hospice shares career paths Daily Advocate; 4/9/24 EverHeart Hospice was honored to have the opportunity again this year to share the wide variety of career paths within their organization at the annual Impact Stem2D Conference. The event is a one-day interactive event offered to empower young women in Darke County Schools and aims to encourage them to explore careers in STEM. ... Team members from EverHeart Hospice ... explained to the group what hospice is and the types of careers available within the organization: ... nurses and aides, ... HR, business development, finance, IT, bereavement, social work and music therapy to make the organization successful.

New hospice physician requirements sow claims submission confusionMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 4/8/24As hospice providers prepare for new physician certification rules going into effect next month, many are still seeking clarification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on how the new rules will affect claims processes, experts said in a recent webinar. “The new requirement is effective May 1, 2024,” Katie Wehri, director of regulatory affairs for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, said during the webinar Thursday. “We know that is right around the corner, and we have some concerns about that date, frankly, because of some of the inconsistent instructions that we have seen from CMS.”

A day in the life: Hospice nurseDaily Nurse - The Pulse of Nursing; blog by Renee Hewitt; 4/8/24 Supporting someone with a life-limiting diagnosis or talking about death can be difficult for many people, but not for a hospice nurse. What’s it like to care for patients and their families in the end-of-life process? Maryette Williamson, RN, BSN, knows firsthand from working as a BAYADA Hospice Nurse in Fayetteville, North Carolina. We asked her about her work. What follows is our interview ... [From Maryette] ... "There was a learning curve from long-term care to hospice. The most significant difference in hospice is our focus on quality of life rather than a cure. That was the most important change for me."Editor's Note: Consider linking to this resource with your nurse recruitment tools. Hospice executives, this nurse's common transition when moving from long-term care to hospice. Ensure solid orientation/onboarding/precepting training, time, resources, support, and accountability for new hospice employees. Do not assume that they will automatically translate their years of practice into hospice principles and best practices. 

Improved onboarding process could boost worker retentionMcKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steel Gaivin; 4/8/24As long-term care providers navigate post-pandemic workforce challenges, they also need to improve the onboarding process, according to the results of a new survey by Viventium. ... The study detailed in the company’s 2024 Caregiver Onboarding Experience Report solicited responses from 175 administrators and caregivers in skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health, home care and hospice care in November and December. The survey, Viventium said, found a “shockingly low bar for what passes as a ‘good’ onboarding experience, with strong indications that raising that bar could correlate to higher retention rates.”Editor's Note: See the article in today's newsletter, "A day in the life: Hospice nurse" for the importance of onboarding hospice nurses to to differences between long-term care and hospice care.

Optimizing RN responsibilities ‘more essential’ than staffing hours: study McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Josh Henreckson; 4/2/24 ... [New] analysis suggests that optimizing the role of registered nurses would be an even more effective way of increasing quality of care. Care quality would strongly benefit from an industry-wide focus on the responsibilities of RNs, the study’s authors said. Specifically, leaders should more actively differentiate RNs from licensed practical nurses, use a nursing practice model framework to maximize the role of RNs and provide RNs with more education in leadership and geriatric care.

Jamestown Regional Medical Center employees give over $36K to medical center’s mission The Jamestown Sun; 4/4/24 Jamestown Regional Medical Center employees came together this year to raise over $36,000 through the annual Employee Giving Campaign. The funds raised go directly to the JRMC Foundation, which benefits the community through new equipment, staff training and patient comfort items. onations support cancer care, hospice, equipment and technology, infant loss and bereavement, Family BirthPlace, the Employee Support Fund, Kala's Korner and the Greater JRMC Fund ...

Hospice update: March goes out like a lion Morgan Lewis - Health Law Scan, by Howard J. Young; 4/2/24 The old adage—March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb—didn’t quite hold true for the hospice sector, which experienced a late-month flurry of activity. The government gave the hospice sector a lot to consider, from MedPAC’s suggested freeze on hospice rates to CMS’s 2025 Proposed Hospice Rule (public comments due May 28, 2024) that, if finalized as is, would include a 2.6% payment bump. CMS’s Proposed Hospice Rule lays the groundwork for the long-anticipated Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) quality measures data collection instrument, which will be used to collect data at various points during the hospice stay, not just at admission and discharge.  

RNs are moving away from home health and hospice, federal survey reveals McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 4/2/24 Though the number of registered nurses continues to grow, fewer are working in home healthcare and hospice compared to years past, according to the latest national sample survey collected by the Health Resources & Services Administration. In 2018, there were 179,509 RNs working in home health and hospice, representing about 6% of the nursing workforce, according to an earlier national survey. HRSA’s latest count estimated that there were 173,808 RNs in home health and hospice in 2022, or only 5% of the workforce. 

Fostering respect and appreciation seen as keys to retaining direct care workersMcKnights Online Forum, by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 3/27/24 Expressions of appreciation and respect can go a long way in addressing senior living’s direct care workforce crisis, according to a panel of direct workers and employers who addressed what makes employees want to stay — or go. ... Nate Hamme, president and executive director of the Ceca Foundation, ... said that the most important part of employee recognition is listening to people. ... He added that there is a science to recognition backed by research into what motivates people and implementing programs around that. ... Recognition programs, Hamme added, should focus on IMPACT: inclusive, mission-aligned, public, authentic, consistent and timely. 

[Maine] Senate backs safe staffing bill with aim to increase patient safety, decrease nurse burnout Main Morning Star, by Lauren McCauley; 3/27/24 If passed, Maine would be the second state in the country to institute nurse-to-patient ratios. ... Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland), who sponsored the bill, shared with the chamber her experience as a nurse and how the stress of being understaffed can contribute to burnout and what she described as “moral distress.” ... Brenner said the bill accomplishes two goals: increasing patient safety and increasing nurse retention.