Literature Review

Caring for a dying spouse at the end of life

Hospice of Savannah awarded grant for safety improvements NBC WSAV Savannah News, Savannah, GA; by Eric Dorsch; 1/27/25 Hospice of Savannah Inc. (HSI) has announced it has been awarded a grant for repairs and home modifications. HSI will receive $1,999,111 in Older Adults Home Modification Program grant funding to complete safety and functional home modifications and limited repairs in the primary residences of two hundred eligible homeowners and renters over age 62 with low income. The work aims to improve general safety, increase accessibility, reduce falls, and improve residents’ functional abilities in the home for their safe and successful aging in place. 

Abigail E. Keller Foundation's Teddy bear drive brings Valentine's cheer to young patients CBS Austin, TX; by We Are Austin; 1/23/25 Valentine's Day is getting a little sweeter for children spending the holiday in the hospital, thanks to the Abigail E. Keller Foundation's annual teddy bear drive. Now in its sixth year, the initiative aims to spread love and comfort through cuddly companions. Melissa Keller, co-founder and president of the foundation, said the drive [describes,] "Abby passed away in February of 2019, ... Abby was full of life and joy, and she brought so much life and joy to everyone that she met. We decided on that first anniversary, we were going to collect teddy bears and take them to the hospital. And we did." ... Keller says "We support medically fragile children and their families throughout their journey and at end of life, we, support our foundation, supports them in, a couple of ways. We we help them through financial assistance. We do care baskets for families going into hospice. We do birthday boxes for children in hospice."

Transforming care: Spencer Health Solutions and Pharmerica partner to simplify medication management and improve lives The MarCom Journal, Morrisville, NC; by Leigh White, PharMerica and Daphne Earley, Spencer Health Solutions; 1/21/25In a move set to redefine how medication is managed, Spencer Health Solutions (SHS), a leader in innovative healthcare technology, and PharMerica, one of the nation’s largest and most trusted long-term care pharmacy services provider, are joining forces. This transformative partnership aims to make managing medications easier and more reliable for individuals with complex medication needs, senior living communities, and payers nationwide. ... Spencer Health Solutions (SHS) is dedicated to transforming medication management through innovative healthcare technology. ... PharMerica ... serves the long-term care, senior living, hospital, home infusion, hospice, behavioral, specialty and oncology pharmacy markets. 

DeKalb library to host memorial pillow workshops Jan. 25 Shaw Local News Network, Dekalb, IL; by Kate Santillan; 1/19/25 The DeKalb Public Library will partner with Northern Illinois Hospice to host two workshop sessions for patrons to create pillows out of a loved one’s shirt. ... Participants can create up to two pillows out of a T-shirt or button-down shirt. Seamsters will be available to assist. Attendees should not bring jackets, thick fabrics or denim. Bereavement support and information will be provided.Editor's note: Do you know that healing grief actually begins with "accepting realities" and its later, ongoing "Task of Mourning" is to develop "enduring connections" or "continuing bonds" with the person or thing that has been lost? [J. William Worden, Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy; 5 editions since 1982] Similar memorials have been created by other hospices using the deceased person's clothing (ie., teddy bears, etc.). This simple, practical method can be adapted easily, with years of meaningful connection and generations of storytelling ahead.

Sovereign Hospice empowering young adults to understand hospice Fox-40; Press Release by Sovereing Hospice; 1/20/25 Sovereign Hospice ... in Aubrey, Texas, is shedding light on the essential role young adults play in understanding and supporting hospice and palliative care services. Through their latest blog, “Spreading Insight: What Young Adults Should Know About Hospice & Palliative Care,” the organization aims to debunk myths, explain key differences between hospice and palliative care, and emphasize why early awareness is critical for families navigating complex health journeys. Many young adults assume caregiving responsibilities earlier than expected, often balancing personal and professional commitments. Studies show that nearly 1 in 4 adults aged 18–34 provide care for a loved one, underscoring the need for awareness about hospice and palliative care. 

Woman reveals terminally ill mom asked for just 'one thing' before passing Newsweek; by Jack Beresford; 1/17/25 A terminally ill woman asked for "one thing" from her adult daughter before she died: to let her be her mom one last time. ... "I had a torn meniscus in my knee that I had been putting off, hoping it would improve, but it was only getting worse," Johnson said.  ... [The mom] told her daughter: "I'm going downhill, and I know the end is coming, and if you don't hurry up and take care of this knee, then I'm gonna miss taking care of you in your recovery." ... "She didn't want me going through it without her," Johnson said. "She had already gone on hospice, and all treatments for her cancer had stopped. So, I called my orthopedic surgeon and told him I was ready to get it fixed. I was scheduled just a few days later." [Johnson's mom] cooked and cleaned despite being in a considerable amount of pain herself. She even slept in a chair by her daughter's bedside. That was her way of showing she cared.

Effective solutions for caregivers of older adults: A review of systematic reviewsJournal of Applied Gerontology; Molly McHugh, Ellen Munsterman, Hannah Cho; 1/25This umbrella review aims to describe caregiver interventions tested across populations of informal caregivers of older adults and to examine the effect of caregiver interventions on depression, burden, and quality of life across intervention types and care-recipient populations. Most commonly, interventions focused on improving outcomes for caregivers of older adults with dementia. Among the included reviews, caregiver depression was most likely to be reduced by caregiver interventions, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) were most effective. The use of information and communication technologies to deliver caregiver interventions is increasingly common. Standardization of intervention classifications and transparent reports of intervention delivery details will strengthen research in this field.

New Hampshire woman’s father dies in hospice care when California fires broke out CBS News WBZ, Boston, MA / YouTube; 1/15/25 Just two hours before the fire evacuation--Merle Fetter--Barbara's husband of 64 years died in Royal Oaks Hospice Care, with Barbara holding his hand until the end . … As the fire moved through Altadena towards Monrovia Barbara was forced to leave Merrill's body, unable to be evacuated. ... [Daughter in New Hampshire:]  “I didn't know where my mother was. I didn't know what happened to my father's body.” Barbara's daughter—Joy—thousands thousands of miles away in New Hampshire couldn't fly to Los Angeles until Friday. When she finally landed she received a reassuring call from Royal Oaks her mom was OK and her father's remains taken to the coroner's office. Staff feel like residents here are their family.

My husband almost died. When I asked his doctor for help, I was appalled by the insensitive response. HuffPost; by Carrie Severson; 1/13/25 ... The physician’s assistant came in and looked at Gavin [the author's husband]. As soon as she took her seat, I told her I wanted to schedule him for a feeding tube, expecting her complete understanding and compassion. Instead, she laughed. “I recommended a consult for a feeding tube last week, and you declined it,” she said sharply. “Now I have to start over from scratch and reach back out to the GI team to see how we can get him in.” My mouth dropped open. I stared at her, bewildered. “I wasn’t ready last week. I’m ready now,” Gavin mumbled, barely audible. “What did he say?” the physician’s assistant snarled. I very calmly repeated what Gavin said, my heart breaking for him and rage racing through my body. “Well, you certainly have made my job harder. And now I’ll have to see what I can do for you. You’ll hear from me about your next steps, and you better follow them. It might be too late because of your attitude,” she barked. I leaned in, looked at her straight on, meeting her nasty tone, and said, “No. Your attitude has made this harder. And it’s very much not appreciated right now. He’s in pain, and your job is to help us. In fact, you took an oath to do no harm, and what you’re doing in this room is harmful.” ...

The anonymous advantage: How anonymous patient surveys can improve healthcare outcomes Forbes; by Lauren Parr; 1/9/24 When it comes to improving patient care, feedback is the compass that guides healthcare providers in the right direction. But here’s the catch, traditional feedback often fails to capture honest patient opinions due to fear of judgment, privacy concerns and other potential repercussions. This is where anonymous surveys prove to be valuable. Studies have demonstrated that anonymous surveys yield more candid responses, leading to a deeper understanding of patient experiences. This increased transparency fosters trust between patients and healthcare providers, enabling a more collaborative approach to care. Free from fear of judgment or consequences, patients can provide honest feedback, highlighting strengths and identifying areas for improvement. This ultimately leads to better healthcare outcomes.

UnitedHealthcare taught us ways to deny claims: Former employee NBC News Channel 8, Tampa, FL; by Damita Menezes; 12/30/24A former UnitedHealthcare claims representative says employees were systematically trained to deny medical claims and rush distressed customers off phone lines, revealing internal practices at the nation’s largest health insurer amid growing scrutiny of the industry. Natalie Collins, who worked for UnitedHealthcare for nine months, said Saturday on “NewsNation Prime” that staff received “so many different ways to deny” claims during their two to three months of training, with supervisors often standing behind representatives instructing them on denial methods. “We weren’t given proper instruction to actually pay the claim, and there wasn’t enough monies in certain files in certain companies to pay medical claims,” Collins said. “We would have to just get the client off the phone as fast as we could.” Collins described crying at her desk while handling calls from desperate patients, as supervisors laughed.

Muslim community-engaged research highlights Muslim Americans' end-of-life-healthcare gaps and needs WisconsinMuslimJournal.org; by Sandra Whitehead; 12/20/24 Few Muslim Americans use hospice care, despite its posited benefits. A multi-sectoral team of academicians and community leaders in southeastern Wisconsin decided to find out why. ... Muslims are one of the fastest-growing religious communities in the United States, numbering between 3 to 5 million, with projections it will double by 2050. “With an aging Muslim population, there is a growing need for specialized healthcare services like hospice and palliative care,” the team’s research explains. ... Through a qualitative descriptive study with a Muslim patient and 10 family caregivers, the research team identified their perceptions of hospice care, ethical concerns and experiences. Among their varied perceptions, many saw it as useful only in the last hours of life. Participants also had ethical concerns about the use of sedative medication and with cessation of feeding terminally ill patients. Some had concerns about how hospice care might lead to unnecessary interventions or even hasten death. ...  The team is developing an informational resource, Islamic Bioethical Considerations for the End of Life: A Guide for Muslim Americans, to help Muslims who struggle when thinking about death and dying.