Literature Review

COLUMN: March is National Social Workers Month The Andalusia Star News; by Vicki C. Wacaster; 3/16/24 In recognition of National Social Workers Month in March 2024, we wish to honor and recognize the vital gifts of dedication, love, professionalism, time, talent, and care Hospice Social Workers provide. ... Hospice social workers often perform the following tasks:

Healthcare workers' mental well-being among ECRI's top patient safety concerns Becker's Behavioral Health, by Rylee Wilson; 3/14/24 The mental and physical well-being of the workforce is one of the ECRI's top 10 patient safety concerns for 2024.  The nonprofit organization published its annual list detailing the biggest threats to patient safety March 12. "Rampant physical and emotional exhaustion" has led some healthcare workers to leave the workforce, creating stress on those who remain and possibly threatening patient care, according to ECRI's report. 

A death doula keeps legacies alive in rural OregonJefferson Public Radio, by Justin HIgginbottom; 3/13/24 print and audioRudd is an end-of-life doula, sometimes called a death doula, specializing in rural care. In that role she provides non-medical support to those in their last stage of life. ... She helps with practical things like funeral arrangements, helping someone donate their body, or planning for what happens to their property after death. She’s been helping one 83-year-old client with that recently. 

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center recognizes Certified Nurses DayRWJ Barnabas Health Blog; 3/11/24In honor of Certified Nurses Day, March 19, 2024, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) acknowledges the 500 members of our Magnet-recognized nursing staff who have achieved and maintained national board certification during 2023 in their nursing specialty. Editor's Note: Congratulations to these certified nurses and to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center for honoring them in such visible, meaningful way! For your organization, though time is short, what can you doto honor your certified nurses?

10 urgent patient safety challenges in 2024 Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Ashleigh Hollowell; 3/11/24While employment for new clinicians was positive in the last year with 96% of new nurses finding work, the issue is transitioning those clinicians from education into bedside and hospital practice, which is the most pressing safety challenge of 2024, according to the ECRI's annual report on patient safety. ... Here are the 10 most urgent patient safety challenges facing providers in 2024 ...

Scary ‘state’: Two-thirds of nursing home operators fear closure without staffing relief McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Josh Henreckson; 3/6/24Of nearly 450 nursing home providers surveyed, two-thirds are concerned that escalating workforce challenges may force them to close their facility. More than 70% of nursing homes reported staffing levels lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with fully 99% saying they are hiring for open positions.

The question of palliative care sustainabilityPalliative Care News, by Holly Vossel; 3/5/24A wide variety of palliative care services have cropped up nationwide in recent years, but not all have remained viable. The forces driving some community-based palliative programs to shutter are two-pronged, related to financial and operational sustainability, according to Renee McInnes, CEO of NVNA & Hospice. Reimbursement and staffing challenges are the most significant factors. 

Why I chose palliative care: A nurse's personal journey to providing comfort careAnschutz, by Lauren Carter; 3/5/24My interest in palliative care started with my grandma’s use of hospice services seventeen years ago. She suffered with multiple sclerosis for over forty years. ... What may have been a terrible experience for most people was actually made very positive for me. ... Unfortunately, I had another opportunity fifteen years later, to once again be there for my family in this way. ... It takes empathy and specialized training to assist in end-of-life care. It may be something that we are called to. I care deeply about these patients and their families. I am able to have difficult conversations when necessary. I try to create space for family members to talk about who the person in the hospital bed is, when that person can no longer talk for themselves. ...

The current state of community-based palliative careHospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/4/24“Palliative care” is becoming a buzz word in health care, even if many people don’t understand the loosely defined term. However, wide variation exists in how different providers deliver these services in the absence of a standardized, national definition or a more concrete regulatory structure that includes quality measures, Logan Hoover, vice president of policy and public relations for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), said at the Hospice News Palliative Care Conference in Tampa, Florida.

Home care nurse strike ends without deal Northwest Labor Press, by Mallory Gruben; 3/1/24Usually, PeaceHealth jointly bargains with the home health unit and a unit of about 1,500 hospital nurses, and all nurses are paid the same. But for this round of negotiations, PeaceHealth demanded that bargaining happen separately. Hospital nurses reached an agreement in August that raises wages 20.5% over four years. PeaceHealth’s latest offer to the home health nurses is a 14.75% raise over four years. [Erin] Grace [a nurse,] says without an equal contract for equal work, PeaceHealth will have difficulty attracting and retaining home care nurses. According to ONA, the unit has already lost a quarter of its members, and more say they plan to leave if a contract isn’t reached soon. 

APRNs, home health / personal care aides top healthcare careers in 2024 McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 2/28/24Advanced practice registered nurses and home health and personal care aides lead the list of top healthcare careers in 2024, according to a study from digital healthcare platform Tebra. The researchers compared 46 healthcare industry jobs by median pay, 10-year outlook and expected job growth, employment per 10,000 workers and web search volume, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. ... Among all healthcare occupations included in the study, ones in home care had the highest employment rate. 

Untangling the history, causes behind the precipitous home health aide utilization drop Home Health Care News, by Patrick Filbin; 2/28/24In the last home health proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency in charge of reimbursement rates sent out a request for information on home health aide utilization. Specifically, the agency wondered why Medicare-covered home health aide visits and utilization had fallen off a cliff over the last few decades. According to the Center for Medicare Advocacy, home health aide visits declined by 90% from 1998 to 2019. 

House set to vote on bill that could give dramatic boost to nurse-aide training efforts McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Josh Henreckson; 2/28/24 A bill that could reshape how new workers enter the long-term care workforce is scheduled for a vote in the US House of Representatives this week, according to a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). If passed, HR 6585 — referred to as the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act — would make work training programs of as short as eight weeks with a minimum of 150 hours of training eligible for the federal aid through the Pell Grant program. Previously, grants were available only to programs with a minimum of 15 weeks and 600 hours of training.