Literature Review

Valley Health's 'hospice in hospital' program expands to another hospital Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 11/19/24 Hospice in the Hospital, a collaboration between Winchester, Va.-based Valley Health and Winchester-based Blue Ridge Hospice, has expanded to Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, Va. The Hospice in the Hospital program provides hospice care services to hospitalized patients who meet general inpatient hospice criteria, according to a Nov. 18 news release. The patients receive emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual care from a team of social workers, music therapists, chaplains and volunteers. The program originated at Winchester Medical Center in 2020 and expanded to two additional Valley Health hospitals earlier this year. With its launch at Warren Memorial, all of Valley Health System's hospitals in Virginia now incorporate the Hospice in the Hospital program. 

EverHeart Hospice celebrates expanded care center Daily Advocate, Greenville, OH; 11/15/24 EverHeart Hospice is thrilled to announce the grand opening of their newly expanded Care Center, coinciding with the celebration of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. This significant milestone marks a new chapter in our commitment to providing compassionate care to patients and families experiencing life-limiting illnesses. The grand opening event ... was a resounding success, bringing together community members, healthcare professionals, and local dignitaries. Attendees had the opportunity to tour the new space, which featured enhanced patient rooms, advanced medical equipment, and comfortable family areas designed to create a serene and supportive environment, and to learn more about collaborative healthcare services. These events aim to educate the public about the comprehensive services offered by EverHeart Hospice and the positive impact they have on patients’ lives.

Aroostook Hospice Foundation achieves $150,000 matching grant campaign goal The County, Presque Isle, ME; 11/13/24 The Aroostook Hospice Foundation is thrilled to announce the success of its recent Matching Grant Campaign, which raised an astounding $150,000 for the Aroostook House of Comfort. This achievement was made possible through the community’s generosity and a $75,000 match pledged by an anonymous donor. Launched in June, the campaign quickly gained momentum, with individuals and organizations coming together to meet the matching goal. These funds will directly support the Foundation’s mission to provide compassionate, inpatient hospice care when patient needs exceed what home hospice care can offer. Established in 2009 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aroostook Hospice Foundation was created to establish and sustain an inpatient hospice facility for the region. After years of dedicated fundraising and  community support, the Aroostook House of Comfort opened its doors in 2018, becoming one of only four inpatient hospice facilities in Maine. Since then, it has delivered quality end-of-life care to approximately 1,000 individuals and their caregivers in partnership with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice, a Medicare-certified hospice provider. Together, they ensure patients receive comfort, dignity and compassionate support on one’s journey through  hospice, serving both the patient and their caregivers.  

Creating death box eases stress, brings 'peace of mind' to those left behind BradfordToday.ca, Canada; by Andrew Philips; 10/26/24 Creating a death box might sound like sort of a morbid thing to do, but it’s vitally important. That’s according to Tammy Vaters, supportive care coordinator at Hospice Huronia-Tomkins House, ... who leads upcoming workshops on creating a death box or a “legacy box or final wishes box” for those uncomfortable with the more succinct terminology ["death box"]. ... Besides end-of-life wishes, Vaters says the box can include photos that someone would like displayed at a celebration of life or similar offering along with personalized letters to family and friends and personal mementos that have special meaning. “It gives you more opportunities of expressing how you feel about somebody,” she says, noting the boxes should also contain usernames and passwords that may aid one's loved ones after death. “They can be more thoughtful and personal.” Vaters, who is a specialist in thanatology (the study of death, dying and bereavement), says people will often use another term for death. 

CCH, foundation working together again to look at possibility of reopening Hospice House Gillette News Record, Gillette, WY; by News Record Staff; 10/24/24 Campbell County Health and the Northeast Wyoming Community Health Foundation are back at the table again to explore the feasibility of reopening the Close to Home Hospice House. According to press releases sent out Wednesday from both groups, this initiative aims to enhance inpatient hospice services by reopening a home that facilitates end-of-life support, providing a compassionate space for individuals to receive care with dignity. “We are considering this in partnership with a third-party operator,  which will be discussed and decided upon collaboratively,” the press releases read. “Our primary focus is the well-being of our community, and we are committed to transparency as we engage in these preliminary discussions." 

Everyday moments of grace: Hospice patient’s art brings joy PeaceHealth; 10/22/24 A hospice patient’s room becomes an art studio to create expressions of her life she loves to share with others. A stay at hospice did not stop Sherry McCalden from doing what she loves - creating art and sharing it with others. ... McCalden is a lifelong artist. Her love of painting started in high school. She's been creating works of art ever since. From landscapes to animals to flowers, she paints what inspires her and what she loves. Not much stops her from painting, including Parkinson's disease. For a few months, she was at the PeaceHealth Richard Nau Hospice House in Longview, Washington before her health stabilized and she was relocated to another facility. She transformed her room at Hospice House into an art studio filled with her paintings. A visit brought joy to both visitors and staff.

3 strategies for hospice GIP compliance Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/21/24 Utilization of the general inpatient level of care (GIP) is frequently the subject of audits by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), and avoiding or responding to that scrutiny requires strict compliance to a complex web of rules. Audits are becoming more frequent in the hospice space, and GIP is an increasing focus, including ​for the most common types — Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) and Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE). In a survey earlier this year, more than half of hospice providers reported having undergone multiple types of audits within a six-month period. ... In addition to these routine MAC audits, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (GIP) has been performing a national audit of GIP utilization, as well as an additional investigation into management of the associated payment cap. The inpatient cap limits the number of days of inpatient care for which Medicare will pay to 20% of a hospice’s total Medicare patient care days, according to OIG. If GIP billing exceeds that metric, the hospice must refund those payments to Medicare.

Heartless activist who took selfie with woman’s dying father in hospice shows no emotion upon learning of her fate following sick harassment campaign What'sNew2Day; written by "Jack," with another author listed "Bethan Sexton for Dailymail.com"; 10/5/24 An activist who snuck into a hospice and took a selfie with a woman’s dying father because he opposed her support for LGBTQ rights showed no emotion as he was sentenced for his sickening campaign of harassment. Bubba Pollock, 35, was sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty to criminally harassing Britt Leroux, 38. Pollock, from London, Ontario, openly protested the drag queen stories and was seen on video promising to pay people up to $500 to sabotage events. He had a fierce debate with Leroux, which culminated in him driving 120 miles to the Windsor hospice where Leroux’s father, Andre Leroux, was receiving palliative care and taking the photograph in an attempt to mock his victim.

Longview hospice adds handmade quilt donations under new management The Daily News; by Minka Atkinson; 9/27/24 At PeaceHealth Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver, patients receive handmade quilts to drape their beds that are then donated to their family as a memento after their passing. PeaceHealth is now looking to bring this tradition to Richard Nau Hospice House, which it took over in November. “It gives the home, cozy feeling to those patients,” Hospice Volunteer Program supervisor Jennifer Linde said. The quilts are sourced through donations from local community groups, like the Kalama Quilters and Calvary Community Church, Linde said. Individual quilters are also welcome to contribute. ...

Woman explains viral video of brother with hospice nurses before he died ABC News - GMA; Shafiq Najib; 9/20/24 Marcella Brown's little brother, Omar Mamoe, died of appendix cancer at 34. A woman explained the story behind the viral video of her brother going on a walk and having fun with the nurses during his final days in hospice before his death. In an Instagram video shared by Marcella Brown of Austin, Texas, recently, her late brother Omar Mamoe can be seen sitting in a wheelchair as he was about to exit his room accompanied by the nurses who entertained him by rapping to a song, "It Was a Good Day," by Ice Cube. The clip, which has garnered over 5 million views, was taken eight days before Mamoe died, showing how he kept his spirits high and brought smiles to those around him. Speaking to "Good Morning America," Brown said she shared the video last month because she was feeling sad at the time, thinking about her late brother. "The video came up, and it just made me feel happy, and it just reminded me that towards the end of his life, like there were these little moments that were good," she said. [Click on the title's link to view the video and read more.]Editor's note: Omar's care was provided by Hospice Austin's Christopher House. Click here (and scroll down) for a different, beautiful video story about Omar and his family. 

Church group fashions 'dignity quilts' for palliative care unitCanada - Local Journalism Initiative; by Wayne Doyle; 5/22/24It’s such a simple thing. But the volume of respect it signifies is unimaginable. The impact it has on surviving family members, equally so. It’s called ‘code dove’ and it’s a special paging phrase; ... staff and residents join the family of the deceased as they gather at the front entrance to say goodbye as the resident leaves the home for the last time. “When our residents are leaving, they exit through the front lobby, the same way they came in,” said Peggy Sauve, assistant director of resident care at the IOOF on Brooks Street in Barrie. “It’s all about respect for the individual and their family. “We hold flameless candles, play their favourite music and take one last chance to say goodbye,” she added. ... As the resident leaves the home for the last time, their body is covered with a dignity quilt, designed and handmade by members of the Elmvale Presbyterian Church Craft group.

Life support decisions are usually made within 72 hours. Is that too soon? Advisory Board; by Daily Briefing; 5/21/24After a patient suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is on a ventilator, when is the right time to withdraw life support? A new study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma suggests that doctors and patient family members should wait a bit longer than usual. ... The researchers found that the majority of patients whose life support wasn't withdrawn ended up dying in the hospital anyways within about six days. However, 42% of patients who continued life support recovered enough within the following year to have some level of independence, and a few even returned to their former lives.