Literature Review

Hope in oncology: Where art and science collide Medscape; by Sharon Worcester, MA; 6/12/24 Carlos, a 21-year-old, laid in a hospital bed, barely clinging to life. Following a stem cell transplant for leukemia, Carlos had developed a life-threatening case of graft-vs-host disease. But Carlos' mother had faith. "I have hope things will get better," she said, via interpreter, to Richard Leiter, MD, a palliative care doctor in training at that time. "I hope they will," Leiter told her. "I should have stopped there," said Leiter, recounting an early-career lesson on hope during the ASCO Voices session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2024 annual meeting. "But in my eagerness to show my attending and myself that I could handle this conversation, I kept going, mistakenly." ... Carlos' mother looked Leiter in the eye. "You want him to die," she said. ...Editor's Note: Click on the title's link to continue reading this insightful reflection and discussion about the importance of "hope." Engage your oncology/palliative/hospice chaplains (hopefully CPE trained and Board Certified) with your medical team members to explore this core belief in "hope." Alert: AI referrals for palliative and hospice care are increasing exponentially. Clinicians must be sensitive to the human dimensions and dynamics of "hope" (which shift and change), and not be driven just by technological data.

NPHI: Increase scrutiny of PE hospice transactions Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/11/24 Federal regulators should increase scrutiny of private equity activity in the hospice space, according to the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). NPHI is a membership organization comprising more than 100 nonprofit, community-integrated hospice and palliative care providers from 38 states and the District of Columbia. The organization recently submitted comments in response to a Request for Information from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

Stepped palliative care for patients with advanced lung cancer: A randomized clinical trialJAMA; by Jennifer S. Temel, MD, Vicki A. Jackson, MPH, MD, Areej El-Jawahri, MD, Simone P. Rinaldi, MSN, ANP-BC, ACHPN, Laura A. Petrillo, MD, Pallavi Kumar, MD, Kathryn A. McGrath, MD, Thomas W. LeBlanc, MD, Arif H. Kamal, MD, Christopher A. Jones, MD, Dustin J. Rabideau, PhD, Nora Horick, MS, Kedie Pintro, MS, Emily R. Gallagher Medeiros, RN, Kathryn E. Post, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, Joseph A. Greer, PhD; 6/24A stepped-care model, with palliative care visits occurring only at key points in patients’ cancer trajectories and using a decrement in QOL to trigger more intensive palliative care exposure, resulted in fewer palliative care visits without diminishing the benefits for patients’ QOL. While stepped palliative care was associated with fewer days in hospice, it is a more scalable way to deliver early palliative care to enhance patient-reported outcomes.Publisher's note: This article was reference earlier this week in Palliative care for cancer patients is found to be as effective given virtually as in person.

National Nurses Honor Guard CoalitionJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Betty Ferrell; 6/24As hospice and palliative care nurses, we are very familiar with the importance of rituals at the end of life or after death, which helps us to honor this sacred time. We know that funeral or memorial services offer a time to honor lives and to provide comfort to families. But how often do we pause to honor our own nursing colleagues for their lives of service?I recently learned of an incredible organization, the National Nurses Honor Guard Coalition, which is doing just this—honoring nurses through participation in their funeral services to celebrate these lives well lived and lives dedicated to our profession. ... Hearing about the Honor Guard Coalition brought tears to my eyes to think about this incredible tribute to nurses.Publisher's Note: Thanks for writing about this important group Betty! I also recently learned about the National (and state-specific) Nurses Honor Guard Coalition at the Nebraska Hospice & Palliative Care Association annual conference. A great group with a fantastic mission. 

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne: Crack down on hospice fraud Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/12/24 Rep. Beth Van Duyne, (R-Texas) has emerged as one of Washington’s most vocal advocates for hospice providers in Congress. ... Van Duyne was among a group of lawmakers that wrote to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks LaSure last month requesting updates on the agency’s battles against fraudulent providers, as well as a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on quality issues in the hospice space. Hospice News spoke with Rep. Van Duyne in Washington D.C. on congressional efforts to root out fraud and where they should go next. 

Empath Health expands leadership teamSarasota Herald-Tribune (FL); 6/10/24Empath Health, of Lakewood Ranch, has promoted Tarrah Lowry and Bivek Pathak to its executive leadership team. Lowry has been appointed chief operating officer and interim president of Trustbridge. Pathak will assume the role of chief information and digital strategy officer. Empath Health now serves one in five hospice patients in Florida, reinforcing its position as a leading provider of comprehensive health services in the state. Empath Health’s network of hospice programs includes Tidewell Hospice, in Sarasota, Empath Hospice, Hospice by the Sea, Hospice of Marion County, Hospice of Palm Beach County, Suncoast Hospice and Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough.

Top News Stories of the Month May 2024 - TCN Podcast TCN Talks - Teleios Collaborative Network; Mark Cohen, Cordt Kassner and Joy Berger; 6/13/24In this week’s podcast, Mark Cohen, Cordt Kassner, and Joy Berger discuss the top news stories in the Hospice community for the month of May.  Additionally, they take you behind the scenes of how newsletters like Hospice News Today was assembled each day and how Hospice & Palliative Care Today is produced for your leadership to use, each day.

Surprise D-Day veteran honored on anniversaryDaily Independent; by Lin Sue Flood; 6/6/24At the tender age of 18, Surprise [AZ] resident Ned Kent joined the Army. That was January 1940 — just four months into World War II — and he served faithfully through July 1945, virtually the end of the war. A hard worker, Kent rose to the rank of technical sergeant and fought on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. He and his troop won a Bronze Star for their heroic actions storming Normandy while under German bombardment on D-Day 80 years ago. ... But those five years of service were difficult to talk about. It took Kent decades to open up about what he experienced, including the horrors witnessed while liberating a concentration camp. One of the people he shared openly with was Hospice of the Valley social worker Roberta Fellows. Once she learned about his time in the service, she was determined to give him some much-needed recognition for all he endured. She called upon a veteran volunteer with Hospice of the Valley’s Saluting Our Veteran’s program. ... The humble centenarian was beside himself, surrounded by son-in-law Sam, a Vietnam-era veteran, and Debi, who brought a surprise gift: 11 of his medals framed in a shadow box.

Joel Mekler - Medicare Moments: Watch out for these latest scams New Castle News; by Joel Mekler; 6/3/24 ... Across the country, many unscrupulous hospice providers are recruiting and enrolling nonterminally ill patients for end-of-life care they do not need and then billing Medicare for services and items they may never receive. They trick beneficiaries into signing up for hospice by offering freebies, such as additional groceries, nurse visits, durable medical equipment, bus coupons, and more once they enroll. They also make false claims, such as saying “Medicare now covers cooking and cleaning services”. Or they tell beneficiaries they qualify due to age, saying “You’re now old enough to qualify for hospice!” Another tactic is giving money, with some recruiters telling beneficiaries, “You can earn $400/month if you agree to enroll in our program.” ... Tips [to consumers] to avoid hospice fraud:

Hospice of Santa Barbara celebrates 50 years with its Legacy of Compassion Campaign and a strong commitment to the futureSanta Barbara Independent; by Hospice of Santa Barbara; 6/3/24 When Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) officially opened its doors in 1974, it was at the forefront of a visionary movement. Only one other hospice existed in the United States at the time and a local group of Santa Barbara leaders committed to meeting the needs of people and families struggling with life-threatening illness or grieving the death of a loved one. Over the past 50 years, HSB has served tens of thousands of people. ... During this time, HSB has repeatedly adapted and grown to meet the changing needs of our community including the many community crises and disasters our community has faced. ... [As] HSB looks to their next 50 years, they see a changing landscape that greatly impacts their mission.Editor's Note: Congratulations Hospice of Santa Barbara! Thank you for pioneering our hospice movement 50 years ago and for continuing to grow and evolve your services through ongoing changes. The "one other hospice" that existed in the U.S. is Connecticut Hospice, which also continues to lead the way. Congratulations and thanks to you, too!

National aging framework outlines governmentwide initiatives promoting home-based careMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 6/3/24The Department of Health and Human Services released a new framework for its National Plan on Aging on Thursday. The framework aims to guide a multifaceted, governmentwide approach to help caregivers and home- and community-based service providers enable older adults to age comfortably in place.

Hawaiʻi is the first state to provide palliative care coverage EIN Presswire; by Governor Josh Green, MD; 6/4/24 Governor Josh Green, M.D., and the Department of Human Services (DHS) Med-QUEST Division are pleased to announce that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a new State Plan Amendment (SPA) to cover community palliative care services through Medicaid, making Hawaiʻi the first state in the nation to do so.  ... “After several years of hard work and collaboration with many community members and experts in the field, I am proud to announce that Med-QUEST is the first Medicaid program in the country to get this benefit approved,” said Governor Green. “This will greatly improve the quality of life and health outcomes for thousands of people who face serious medical conditions in our state. Hawaiʻi continues to lead the nation in innovations in health and health care.”