Literature Review

National Alliance for Care at Home and Transcend Strategy Group publish Rural American Hospice Insights Report National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 12/19/24The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) and Transcend Strategy Group published the results of new research exploring perceptions of hospice care among rural and small-town communities. This survey of 400 people is part of the Alliance’s commitment to health equity and to breaking down barriers to accessing hospice and home care through knowledge sharing, data collection, and collaborative discussion. Along with key research findings, the Rural American Hospice Insights report offers recommendations for hospice providers to help increase understanding of hospice care and help overcome barriers to access. Key findings and recommendations include:

15 most, least charitable states Becker's Hospital Review; by Andrew Cass; 12/6/24 Wyoming is the most charitable state, with residents spending an average of 33 hours per year volunteering and donating nearly 4% of their adjusted gross income, according to WalletHub.   WalletHub analyzed the 50 states by comparing them across 17 key indicators of charitable behavior, such as the volunteer rate and share of income donated. ... Most charitable: 1. Wyoming 2. Utah 3. Minnesota 4. Maine 5. Delaware 6. Maryland 7. Oregon 8. Colorado 9. Pennsylvania 10. Nebraska 11. Virginia 12. Illinois 13. New York 14. Iowa 15. North Dakota Least charitable: 1. New Mexico 2. Arizona 3. Nevada 4. Rhode Island 5. Mississippi 6. Louisiana 7. West Virginia 8. Florida 9. Alabama 10. Hawaii 11. California 12. Oklahoma 13. South Carolina 14. Tennessee 15. Wisconsin

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave & Job Protection - Final Legislative Report University of Washington, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance; Lead investigator Heather D. Hill, MPP, PhD, with Tom Lindman, MPP, Diane Rucavado, MPA, and Elizabeth Ford, JD; 12/1/24 This research was funded by ESSB 5187. Additional support for data access and analyses for this research came from the UW Data Collaborative funded by the UW Population Health Initiative, UW’s Student Technology Fee program, the UW’s Provost’s office, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development research infrastructure grant, P2C HD042828 to the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors.

Pennsylvania LPNs will now be able to make death pronouncements Tri-State Alert; 11/4/24 A bill sponsored by Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-27) was signed into law this week to enable licensed practical nurses (LPNs) working in a hospice setting to make death pronouncements. “I am grateful for the governor’s support of this important legislation,” Culver said. “LPNs are with patients and their families until the moment of death, providing essential care during emotional times. Allowing LPNs to make death pronouncements, which was previously only a function of doctors, RNs, physician assistants, and coroners, can alleviate wait times that grieving families often experience.” The bill was amended in the House of Representatives to also provide needed clarification on the waiver of birth and death certificate fees for members of the armed services, veterans, and their families. The law now outlines specifically whose documents qualify for the waiver, as well as applicants and scenarios for which the fee may be waived.