Literature Review

Clinician- and patient-directed communication strategies for patients with cancer at high mortality risk JAMA Network Open - Oncology; by Samuel U. Takvorian, MD, MSHP; Peter Gabriel, MD, MSE; E. Paul Wileyto, PhD; Daniel Blumenthal, BA; Sharon Tejada, MS; Alicia B. W. Clifton, MDP; David A. Asch, MD, MBA; Alison M. Buttenheim, PhD, MBA; Katharine A. Rendle, PhD, MSW, MPH; Rachel C. Shelton, ScD, MPH; Krisda H. Chaiyachati, MD, MPH, MSHP; Oluwadamilola M. Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS; Susan Ware, BS; Lynn M. Schuchter, MD; Pallavi Kumar, MD, MPH; Tasnim Salam, MBE, MPH; Adina Lieberman, MPH; Daniel Ragusano, MPH; Anna-Marika Bauer, MRA; Callie A. Scott, MSc; Lawrence N. Shulman, MD; Robert Schnoll, PhD; Rinad S. Beidas, PhD; Justin E. Bekelman, MD; Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP; 7/1/24 Serious illness conversations (SICs) that elicit patients’ values, goals, and care preferences reduce anxiety and depression and improve quality of life, but occur infrequently for patients with cancer. Behavioral economic implementation strategies (nudges) directed at clinicians and/or patients may increase SIC completion. ... In this cluster randomized trial, nudges combining clinician peer comparisons with patient priming questionnaires were associated with a marginal increase in documented SICs compared with an active control. Combining clinician- and patient-directed nudges may help to promote SICs in routine cancer care.

[Global Partners in Care] 25 Years of Compassion and Impact eHospice; 7/9/24 In 2024, Global Partners in Care (GPIC) celebrates its 25th anniversary. Over the past 25 years, GPIC has been dedicated to enhancing access to compassionate care for individuals and families across the globe who face serious illness, death and grief. This silver anniversary is a significant milestone in the history of the organization. Not only does it provide an occasion to reflect on the impact the organization has made, but it also provides an opportunity to consider numerous future possibilities. 

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. 

Supporting the grieving child and family: Clinical reportAmerican Academy of Pediatrics; by David J. Schonfeld, MD, FAAP; Thomas Demaria, PhD; Arwa Nasir, MBBS, MSc, MPH, FAAP; Sairam Kumar, MD, FAAP; Committee on Pyschosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health; Council on Children and Disasters; 6/17/24At some point in their childhood, the majority of children will experience the death of a close family member or friend. Approximately 1 in 20 children in the United States experiences the death of a parent by the age of 16. ... The death of someone close to a child often has a profound and lifelong effect on the child and results in a range of both short- and long-term reactions. ... This clinical report offers practical suggestions on how to talk with grieving children to help them better understand what has happened and its implications. An understanding of guilt, shame, and other common reactions as well as an appreciation of the role of secondary losses and the unique challenges facing children in communities characterized by chronic trauma and cumulative loss will help the [healthcare professional] to address factors that may impair children’s adjustment and to identify complicated mourning and situations when professional counseling is indicated. Advice on how to support children’s participation in funerals and other memorial services and to anticipate and address grief triggers and anniversary reactions is provided. ...Editor's Note: This significant article can be downloaded and shared with your organization's clinicians. For additional, ongoing resources, explore the National Alliance for Children's Grief. If your hospice provides specialized children's grief services, are they listed on the NACG's "Find a Support Center or Camp Near You" search engine? Click here to add or update your listing.

Study finds new program streamlined hospice transitions from the emergency department Medical Xpress; by Brigham and Women's Hospital; 7/8/24 For patients who are in the final stages of both gradual and sudden terminal illnesses, hospice care can provide safe, comfortable, and dignified care at the end of life. However, many patients, especially those with complex diseases and treatments, may end up in an emergency department (ED) and either die there or die shortly after being admitted into inpatient care at a hospital, despite their goals of care being better aligned with hospice care.

Dwayne Johnson sings Moana song for a 4-year-old girl in home hospice care: 'It's my honor' People; by Tommy McArdle; 4/2/24 Dwayne Johnson said the Make-a-Wish Foundation connected him with the family of a young girl who "watches 'Moana' every day, all day." Dwayne made a special video for a major Moana fan.  On July 1, the actor, 52, shared a video on Instagram in which he said the Make-a-Wish Foundation had reached out to him with an urgent request to send a message to a 4-year-old girl named Lily Guerrero, who Johnson said is currently on home hospice care. "A 'rush' wish means what the implication sounds like, which is time is just not on our side when it comes to this particular wish," Johnson said in the video. "This rush wish is that Lily is on home hospice now and she watches Moana every day, all day, her dad said. Her wish is to have Dwayne Johnson sing 'You're Welcome' to her and have it recorded so she can listen to it over and over and over and over." [Click on the title's link to view the article and its video of Dwayne Johnson telling the public about Lily and singing to her.]

Hospices’ 2024 Public Policy Priorities Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/27/24 A group of hospice leaders recently participated in Hospice Action Week, a lobbying event held last week by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Hospice Action Network. In their meetings with legislators, providers made known their policy priorities. A key goal of these discussions was to establish open lines of communication with congressional offices to foster continued advocacy on hospice issues, according to NHPCO COO and interim CEO Ben Marcantonio. [Key issues include:]

Diagnosis for 6.26.24: Checking the pulse of Florida health care news and policy [Certificate of Need] Florida Politics, scroll down to "Death and Dying"; 6/26/24 Florida health care regulators this week announced they tentatively denied 21 Certificate of Need (CON) applications for new hospice programs and approved 9 others. Heavily populated Broward and Hillsborough counties drew the most interest, with seven providers wanting to establish new hospice programs in each area. [For details, click on the title's link and scroll down to "Death and Dying."]

6 guidelines from ASCO on AI, cancer care Becker's Hospital Review; by Ashleigh Hollowell; 6/25/24 Leaders at the American Society of Clinical Oncology published a formal document June 25 that outlines what the group deems as the most appropriate use of artificial intelligence when it comes to clinical oncology care. ... When considering AI technology for oncological care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology says clinicians should keep the following principles in mind to guide their use: 

Empowering ‘deeply undervalued’ caregivers would improve ‘lifeline for older adults’ McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 6/28/24 Direct care workers and family caregivers remain “deeply undervalued” and often overlooked despite calls for investment in the care economy, according to the authors of a new report. “These caregivers provide a lifeline for older adults, people with disabilities, and people living with chronic conditions,” PHI and the National Alliance for Caregiving said in an issue brief released Wednesday. “Empowering them in their roles will help to ensure high quality, responsive care to meet the needs and preferences of millions of Americans now and in the future.” The organizations called on providers, Congress, the Department of Labor, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, states, managed care plans and advocates to invest in the “essential partnership” between direct care workers and family caregivers. The new brief includes insights from a variety of stakeholders ...  The result is a list of recommendations that prioritize improvements to direct care jobs.Editor's Note: Our sponsor, Composing Life Out of Loss, equips hospice and palliative care organizations with caregiver education and support video libraries to strengthen relationships between the direct care professional and the family caregiver, with timely information for the entire family. Contents are written to CMS CoPs, CAHPS, and contemporary grief research; English and Spanish.

A little help from your friends... Jennifer Hale, MSN, RN, CHPN, CPHQA little help from your friends is a memorial fund set up for Jennifer Hale's family. If interested, you can read more about it and donate here. Donations accepted 6/30/24 - 7/15/24. ... We recently announced Jennifer Hale unexpectedly died Friday, 6/21/24. Vice President of Quality and Standards at Compassus, former Vice President Clinical Services at Optum Palliative Care and Hospice, and former Executive Director of the Georgia Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, Jennifer was widely known, respected, and loved in the hospice community. We share our condolences with her family, friends, and colleagues. Her obituary is posted here.

Dwayne Johnson sings Moana song for a 4-year-old girl in home hospice care: 'It's my honor' People; by Tommy McArdle; 4/2/24 Dwayne Johnson said the Make-a-Wish Foundation connected him with the family of a young girl who "watches 'Moana' every day, all day." Dwayne made a special video for a major Moana fan.  On July 1, the actor, 52, shared a video on Instagram in which he said the Make-a-Wish Foundation had reached out to him with an urgent request to send a message to a 4-year-old girl named Lily Guerrero, who Johnson said is currently on home hospice care. "A 'rush' wish means what the implication sounds like, which is time is just not on our side when it comes to this particular wish," Johnson said in the video. "This rush wish is that Lily is on home hospice now and she watches Moana every day, all day, her dad said. Her wish is to have Dwayne Johnson sing 'You're Welcome' to her and have it recorded so she can listen to it over and over and over and over." [Click on the title's link to view the article and its video of Dwayne Johnson telling the public about Lily and singing to her.]

NAHC-NHPCO Alliance Transition Board met for 1st time last weekNAHC press release; 7/1/24Today, July 1, 2024, is the first day of the NAHC-NHPCO Alliance. While the two organizations will continue to operate separately in some areas until the end of the year, they are now governed by a single body, the Transition Board, which held its inaugural meeting last week. “This is an important step in the process of transitioning from our fiduciary duties as governing bodies of NAHC and NHPCO respectively, to a singular focus on our duties of care, obedience and loyalty to what is now the merged entity,” said Alliance Transition Board Chair Ken Albert. “From July 1 on, we are NAHC-NHPCO Alliance (soon to be named)..." Until the Alliance hires a new CEO, Bill Dombi and Ben Marcantonio will be acting as co-CEOs of the organization, and will be closely consulting with each other on all important matters. Below is a full list of attendees at the Transition Board meeting.