Literature Review

Community turns out for boy in hospice's 10th birthday Cecil Whig, Cambridge, MD; 8/23/24 On Aug. 19, Jeremiah Shaw had a 10th birthday bash for the ages. The town of Cambridge turned out in droves to make sure this boy felt appreciated with a parade down Foxtail Drive. There were bikers, school buses, fire trucks and tractor trailers. The whole point was to ride by and put a smile on Shaw’s face. Shaw has struggled with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a neurodegenerative disease that causes him to have seizures. His mother, Maschell Hines, said he has been recently put in to hospice care and that this could be his last fall season.

Hospice student volunteers gain insight into dementia Ahwatukee Foothills News; by Lin Sue Flood; 8/23/24 Once a week, graduate nursing student Merle Tamondong pauses her busy college life to visit Micheline Schulte. They color together, play Micheline’s favorite songs and chat in French, her native language. “When I come here, the only time I’m on my phone is when I’m playing some music, which Micheline likes when we are coloring,” Merle said. “I feel very lucky.” Merle is part of Hospice of the Valley’s College Partners Program, an innovative collaboration with Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona State University and other schools to provide socialization to people living with dementia and a much-needed break to family caregivers. Hospice of the Valley’s dementia and volunteer departments spearheaded this intergenerational program to help inspire careers in dementia care. ... To date, 106 students have been trained and paired with 123 patients since College Partners launched in 2021 with a grant from Community Care Corps. 

Norway Savings Bank donates $5,000 to Hospice of Southern Maine Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME; by BDN Community; 8/19/24 ... Norway Savings Bank is proud to be a longtime, major donor to Hospice of Southern Maine and its compassionate work, including a $5,000 contribution this month and over $180,000 in donations since 2018. “The work of the Hospice of Southern Maine staff and the dignity and comfort they provide to those they encounter commands respect and admiration,” said Dan Walsh, president and CEO of Norway Savings Bank. ... “These gifts are reflections of compassion and caring, which are the very things that center all our actions and decisions at Hospice of Southern Maine,” said Daryl Cady, CEO.

The Hastings Center awarded $1.5 million by PCORI to study organizational trustworthiness and community-engaged research  EurekAlert! AAAS; Susan Gilbert, The Hastings Center; 8/13/24 A research team at The Hastings Center has been approved for $1.5 million in funding by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study organizational trustworthiness as it relates to community-engaged research. Led by Virginia A. Brown, PhD, a research scholar at The Hastings Center, the study will be the first to investigate the role of organizational trustworthiness in shaping research engagement processes and outcomes. 

Stay ahead of Medicare fraudsters ... Watch out for Medicare fraudsters The Times of Noblesville, Indiana; Information provided by the U.S. Department of HEalth & Human Services 8/16/24 (Family Features) ... Watch Out for Medicare Hospice Fraud: Beware of scammers offering older Americans in-home perks, like free cooking, cleaning and home health services, while they are unknowingly being signed up for hospice services. The scammers then unlawfully bill Medicare for these services in your name. Remember this advice to avoid hospice scams: [practical tips for the public] ... Report Medicare Fraud ...Editor's Note: This information for the public--provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services--provides an important resource for your community outreach, marketing, and admissions employees.

‘The Last Ecstatic Days’ one day screening strives to teach the world how to die without fear Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME; by BDN Community; 8/13/24 Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County invites Greater Waldo County to a single night screening on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. Post-screening, there will be a Community Conversation with Hospice and Palliative Care Physician Aditi Sethi, MD and Director of the Center for Conscious Living & Dying/Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County’s Flic Shooter. Sethi, MD’s end-of-life palliative work is featured in the film. “The Last Ecstatic Days” focuses on a young man with terminal brain cancer (Ethan Sisser) as he sits alone in his hospital room. When Sisser starts live-streaming his death journey on social media, thousands of people around the world join to celebrate his courage. Still, he envisions more–to teach the world how to die without fear. To do that, Sisser needs to film his actual death. What unfolds next is a rarely-glimpsed perspective of how a community of strangers helps a young man die with grace.Editor's Note:  This movie has been featured on PBS. The Boston Globe describes, "... courageous end-of-life chronicle, which overflows with compassion." The Louisiana Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization shared this as a viewing and discussion at their July 2024 conference. For the trailor and more information, click here. 

Military veterans honored during special ceremony at Sarasota adult day center Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL; by Noelle Fox; 7/29/24 Twenty military veterans were honored recently at a special pinning event and remembrance ceremony at Town Square Sarasota jointly hosted by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and Empath Tidewell Hospice. The veterans honored were all members of Town Square Sarasota, an adult day center, and some of the members honored had fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The event was part of the Tidewell Honors Veterans Program. ... Since opening in early 2022, Town Square Sarasota has partnered with Empath Tidewell Hospital to host four special pinning ceremonies honoring its veteran members. Town Square Sarasota also has integrated aspects into its location and programming to recognize and welcome veterans.

Real vs. fake news: Myths vs. facts about hospice care The Journal; by Danielle Ruble, Chief Clinical Officer of Hospice of the Panhandle and Panhandle Palliative Services; 7/28/24 Writing an article naturally causes me to pause and reflect not only on my time working in the hospice realm, but also my “why.” Why was I originally drawn to this field of nursing, and why do I stay? My “why” is simple – mission-driven care. More specifically – mission-driven care centered around patient choice. Yes, it’s true, no one chooses to be terminally ill, but the type of care available is a choice. ... According to the Oxford Dictionary, a myth is a “widely held but false belief or idea” and hospice care is often associated with myths and misconceptions. Here are five myths that we frequently hear.

Hospice driving 'die-alogue' series sparks end-of-life conversations OrilliaMatters; by Giesele Winton Sarvis; 7/21/24 Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was the inspiration for Driving Die-alogues created by Hospice Huronia [Ontario, Canada]. Debbie Kesheshian, executive director of Hospice Huronia, and Tammy Vater, the supportive care coordinator, were trying to think of a way to normalize conversation around the often taboo subject of death and dying. They decided to follow Seinfeld's model with his show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, where Seinfeld picks up a fellow comedian and they have a chat while going for coffee. "Tammy and I thought let’s go for a drive and have a conversation that is just normal and human. Her and I ask a question and we go back and forward with open dialogue," says Kesheshian. A year later, the duo have created approximately 30 short videos posted on YouTube and the Hospice website and they plan on creating more.

Hospice gets huge response as it finds Tad a new home Beatrice Daily Sun; by Christina Lyons; 7/17/24 When the Cottonwood Hospice team wrote a Facebook post about a patient’s dog that needed to be rehomed, they were not expecting the overwhelming response they received. Owner Anni Paulmeyer said Katie Genrich, a hospice nurse, had come to her with concern for a patient who needed to rehome a dog because of declining health. ... Genrich said her patient had found the white Swiss shepherd when he was a year to 2 years of age. He named him Tad because he always said “the dog was a tad much when he was younger.” The patient cared for Tad for about nine years, but due to declining health and the need to move to a nursing facility, wanted to rehome Tad. Paulmeyer wrote a Facebook post and asked people to share the post. “A day or so later the post had been shared 2,800 times. ..."

Lewiston community honors shooting and hospice victims with butterfly release celebration CBS WGME TV13, Lewston, Maine; by Aysia Reed; 7/13/24 Hundreds of butterflies took flight in Lewiston on Saturday for the 15th annual Butterfly Release Celebration hosted by Andwell Health Partners.  Hundreds of names were read off Saturday at the Geiger Elementary School in Lewiston to honor those who have died in hospice. And this year the names of Lewiston mass shooting victims were honored too. The event is put on by Andwell Health Partners, a Maine healthcare nonprofit providing services for hospice patients and their families. Once names were read, one thousand monarch butterflies were released- a symbol of transformation and hope.Editor's Note: On October 25, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine, 18 individuals died and and 13 others were injured by a shooter at a bowling alley and restaurant.   

CMS: GUIDE Model Participants and Infographic CMS.gov and various press releases; retrieved from the internet 7/10/24 The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model is a voluntary nationwide model test that aims to support people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. The model began on July 1, 2024, and will run for eight years. Editor's Note: Multiple press releases are populating across the internet. We share this list of links to information, participants, and sample press releases from well-known participants. 

'I'm as happy as I've been in my life,' says aid worker Simon Boas as he faces deathBBC News; 7/4/24 In September 2023, Simon Boas was diagnosed with throat cancer. Aged just 46, he was told the disease was terminal, and that it would ultimately take his life. Over the following year, he knitted together his reflections on life into a book - A Beginner's Guide to Dying. The book is set to hit the shelves in October. It will be a posthumous publication. In what he expects to be one of his final interviews, Simon spoke to Emma Barnett on the Today Programme, offering his reflections on life and death as he moved into hospice care. "My pain is under control and I'm terribly happy - it sounds weird to say, but I'm as happy as I've ever been in my life.I used to think I'd rather be hit by the proverbial bus, but having a couple of months knowing this is coming has really helped me both do the boring 'death-min', but also get my thoughts and prepare myself, and feel so accepting of what's to come.It's been such a great bonus, actually. The book is called A Beginner's Guide to Dying, but really what I'm trying to convey is how enjoying life to the full kind of prepares you for this. ... I spent my life as an aid worker - quite a lot with the UN - and I've lived in places where death is something that not just exists in the background, but is imminently possible."Editor's Note: Click on the title's link to continue reading this inspirational story. Simon's book--to be published posthumously--is available for pre-orders on Amazon.com in Audible formats with Simon as the narrator.