Literature Review

Maybe we should select leaders based on their characterForbes; by Joyce E. A. Russell; 10/1/24When we hire leaders for our organizations and communities, shouldn’t we pick them based on not only their expertise and ability to do the job, but also their character? Over two decades ago, prominent leadership researchers Kouzes and Posner published a book called Credibility. In their research, they noted that across the globe credibility was the most highly rated and important characteristic of leaders. They stated that, “most of us admire leaders who are honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent.” They followed that up with another book with even more evidence called The Truth about Leadership, where they noted that credibility is the foundation of leadership for organizations across the world, and this is based on international data across multiple generations.

BREAKING NEWS 10/1/2024, 12:30pm - Medicare Program; FY 2025 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, Hospice Conditions of Participation Updates, and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements; Correction Federal Register - The Daily Journal of the United States Government; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services  (CMS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); 10/1/24 This document corrects technical and typographical errors in the final rule that appeared in the August 6, 2024 Federal Register titled “Medicare Program; FY 2025 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, Hospice Conditions of Participation Updates, and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements”.I. Background: In FR Doc. 2024-16910 of August 6, 2024 (89 FR 64202), there were a number of technical and typographical errors that are identified and corrected in this correcting document. The provisions in this correction document are effective as if they had been included in the final rule that appeared in the August 6, 2024 Federal Register . Accordingly, the corrections are effective October 1, 2024.II. Summary of Errors: ...Given these errors, we are republishing the FY 2025 Hospice Wage Index file accordingly on the CMS website at: https://www.cms.gov/​medicare/​payment/​fee-for-service-providers/​hospice/​hospice-wage-index effective October 1, 2024.

CIOs must understand change management theories, frameworks and practices Health IT News; by Bill Siwicki; 9/27/24 [Part 2 of 2] Change management is a very important subject today in health IT as more and more new and amazing technologies make their way into the delivery of healthcare. (Hello, artificial intelligence.) Robert Slepin knows quite a bit about change management. He is an emeritus CIO advisor at EHR kingpin Epic. There, he constantly is helping CIOs across the country change their health IT setups. ... Question: What would you say are the important components of a change management initiative? What must CIOs be doing? Answer: There are several key areas to consider, starting with:

Awards and Recognitions: September 2024 We congratulate these honorees and celebrate their contributions to our collective hospice and palliative care mission, vision, and compassionate care throughout our world. Do you know any of these leaders? We encourage you to forward this to them or to find another way to celebrate their success. 

Alliance sees Hospice CARE Act as opportunity to advance hospice benefit discussionNHCPO / National Alliance for Care at Home; Press Release; 9/26/24 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), a new national organization formed by the integration of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) recognizes the introduction of the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (CARE) Act, by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3).  The Alliance shares Rep. Blumenauer’s desire to update the Medicare hospice benefit to address the evolving needs of our country’s aging population while ensuring the sustainability and integrity of the hospice program. As a long-standing champion of hospice care, Rep. Blumenauer has consistently demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that hospice services remain accessible, compassionate, and of the highest quality for patients and their families. The Alliance appreciates Rep. Blumenauer’s commitment to involving a diverse group of stakeholders in developing this legislation and will continue to work closely with congressional leaders on the finer points of the proposed bill to ensure that the final legislation supports the needs of patients, families, and providers alike. 

Employee engagement can define senior living’s value proposition: panel McKnights Senior Living, Washington, DC; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 9/26/24 The senior living industry knew it had workforce challenges at least 15 years before COVID-19 hit, but it didn’t do enough about them. Today, the sector has the opportunity to be proactive and build a workforce to meet the rapidly increasing demand for senior living and care services by investing in workers and improving employee engagement. ... [Senior living leaders described the] pivotal role that cultivating a satisfied, engaged workforce plays in organizational success as well as the ability to significantly enhance operational efficiency, resident satisfaction and the bottom line through culture. Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies invest resources in employee engagement, according to Todd Kiziminski, vice president of talent acquisition at Trilogy Health Services, who said they recognize the link between engagement strategies and the bottom line.

5 signs that quickly identify someone with good leadership skills Inc., by Marcel Schwantes; 9/25/24 Not every person in charge of another person, team, or company is aware of which behaviors motivates and inspires others. Do you agree with this statement? For any human relationship to thrive, it has to be founded on trust. ... Great Place To Work -- the global research consultancy that partners with Fortune to conduct the annual study of those best companies -- has confirmed that trust is the human behavior you cannot afford not to have. It found that 92 percent of employees believe that their managers are people they can trust. ... Not every person in charge of another person, team, or company is aware of which behaviors produce the kind of trust that motivates and inspires others. For those who do, it is a continuous journey of personal development. In their journey, they'll most likely find that trust is only present when certain behaviors are displayed daily. Here are five that I have identified as leading to trust:

Pay cuts, layoffs hit the C-suite Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 9/25/24 Health systems are increasingly trimming executive positions and pay to stabilize their financial footing amid rising operational costs, workforce shortages and inflationary pressures. Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health will see three top leaders depart, effective Oct. 23, including Chief Quality Officer Doug Salvador, MD, Chief Information and Digital Officer Kevin Conway and Chief Human Resources Officer Kristin Morales-Lemieux. ... Similarly, Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan has cut 20% of its executive roles as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at reducing overhead costs and directing more resources to patient care. The restructuring has led to the departure of key figures, including Crista Durand, who served as president of Newport (R.I.) Hospital since 2014. ... Corvallis, Ore.-based Samaritan Health Services recently laid off 1% of its workforce and temporarily reduced executive pay to counteract financial losses. ... For hospital executives across the country, these cuts serve as a stark reminder that restructuring may be inevitable to maintain operational viability. As the healthcare landscape evolves, systems will continue to seek ways to reduce overhead, streamline decision-making, and focus on financial sustainability.

Bereaved mum shares 'what not to say' in new book BBC News; by Roger Johnson and Jonny Humphries; 9/24/24 A bereaved mother has written a book exploring the sensitive topic of how to speak to a parent struck by the loss of a child. Singer and entertainer Kiki Deville, from Earby, said she felt as if she would "never experience joy again" after losing her four-week-old son Dexter in 2007. Dexter died from the rare genetic condition Zellweger Syndrome and spent his last days in Chorley children's hospice Derian House, of which Ms. Deville is now a patron.  Her work there, including countless conversations with other parents, informed her book 'What Not To Say: A Practical Guide to Supporting Bereaved Parents'. Ms. Deville said 17 years after the loss of Dexter, she still remembers the first time someone made the well-meaning but painful comment: "At least he was just a baby." "Now that infers were he older, his death would have mattered more," she told the BBC.  From speaking to other mothers, Ms. Deville also gave examples such as "at least you have other children" and "they're in a better place" as things not to say. She said: "It's really important to recognise that nobody says anything out of malice, I don't think anybody sets out to hurt."Editor's note, calling all non-clinical hospice and palliative care leaders: Your interactions with bereaved parents speak volumes. Do you convey cheap platitudes or wise empathy? Incorporate these human vulnerabilities into your leadership skills. Open yourself to the pain of experiencing the pain and joys of your organization's palliative/hospice pediatric families. Invest a day of shadowing with a pediatric interdisciplinary team member. Be willing to go there. Be willing to be there: physically, mentally,  emotionally, and spiritually (without imposing your own onto others).

New data explores trust gap between execs and employees HR Daily Advisor; by Lin Grensing-Pophal; 9/19/24Creating a harmonious workplace where trust flourishes between employers and employees is crucial for aligning incentives and driving employee engagement. Unfortunately, that trust is often hard to find in the business world. ... Consider, for example, these data points from the PwC survey:

Suffering revisited: Tenets of intensive caring Psychiatric Times; by Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD, FRCPC Patients approaching death experience many losses, including losing a sense of self. This is perhaps one of the most substantive existential challenges dying patients face, as they find the essence of who they are—along with who they were or who they want to be—under assault. This notion of disintegration or fractured sense of personhood often lies at the heart of human suffering, which Eric Cassell, MD, MACP, defined as a person’s severe distress at a threat to their personal integrity. Although suffering can often lead to feelings of hopelessness and therapeutic nihilism for patients and health care professionals, it is important for those of us who care for the dying to understand the nature of suffering and how to be most responsive and therapeutically effective. [This author's Tenets of Intensive Caring include the following:]

NHPCO and the National Alliance for Care at Home celebrate healthcare leader and volunteer award honorees at final NHPCO Conference NHPCO Press Release; by Elyssa Katz; 9/19/24This week, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the new National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) honored standout members of the hospice and palliative care community during the 2024 NHPCO Annual Leadership Conference in Denver, Colorado. [Click on the title's link for the full list and its descriptions.]

National Alliance for Care at Home CEO Dr. Steven Landers: Build a better future for hospice, home health Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/16/24 Spreading the home-based care community’s message is about more than health care, it also speaks to the priorities and values of society at large, according to Dr. Steven Landers, the newly appointed CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home (NACH). The alliance last month announced that it had tapped Landers as its top executive. NACH is the newly combined organization formed by the June merger of National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).  Landers on Monday outlined a vision for the alliance at legacy NHPCO’s Annual Leadership Conference in Denver. “The story of this work needs to be told louder, more clearly, with the best possible data, with the strongest team, the best resources, because it’s easy to get drowned out. It’s easy to get drowned out in a world where there’s so many people competing for federal dollars, for attention. I think we’ve got a chance with this alliance,” Landers said at the conference. “This isn’t just about health care. It’s about our society. It’s about our compassion, our love for one another, connectedness. It’s a deep and important cause.”