Literature Review

How can you spot bad leadership quickly? Look for 6 warning signs Inc.; by Marcel Schwantes; 9/16/24 Back in my HR days many moons ago, I hired a candidate for a senior management position. During his first week on the job, I stopped by his office to greet him. I overheard him on the phone with a vendor, and his behavior was in stark contrast to the person we had hired. I felt embarrassed by his conduct. Over time, there was a high turnover in his department. I have witnessed numerous counterproductive behaviors in middle and upper management. Here are six toxic traits that I have identified, which are detrimental to leading effectively.  ... 

From profit to purpose: Adapting leadership in the nonprofit sector Forbes; by Peter Sanchez; 9/16/24 Some leadership traits are universal: empathy, integrity, positivity and clear communication. Others are specific to certain kinds of businesses. In my journey from large for-profit companies and tech startups to the nonprofit sector, I have had to adapt my leadership approach in some fundamental ways. Here are a few tips for anyone making this transition. 

YoloCares: Ten years in ... and we're just getting startedThe Davis Enterprise [CA]; by Craig Dresang; 9/14/24A longtime colleague who runs a large healthcare organization in the Washington, D.C., area recently asked me, “What is the most valuable thing you’ve fostered in your organization?” Needing no time to think, I immediately responded: Culture and stick-to-itiveness... I will share the guiding principles that helped shape the last ten years and will light the path for the next decade:

Bayada, HomeWell leaders share strategies for recognizing and retaining office staff Home Health Care News; by Audrie Martin; 9/13/24 Office staff have the highest client satisfaction scores among home health care provider employees. They also have the lowest administrative salaries. These salaries can impact job satisfaction and cause employees to seek employment elsewhere, according to the 2024 Activated Insights Benchmarking Report. Some organizations are turning to recognition to combat this trend. “Employee recognition is no longer a ‘nice to do,’” Michelle Cone, senior vice president of training and brand programs at HomeWell Care Services, told Home Health Care News. “Recognizing employees should be considered table stakes in this post-pandemic landscape. With a focus on employee retention, engagement, and overall satisfaction and its direct correlation to top-quality care, recognition to support retention and drive satisfaction is vital.” ... [Jeff Knapp, Chief People Officer of Bayada told HHCN,] “For office staff, excellence awards are one favorite. Employees are nominated and selected yearly and celebrated at our annual gathering. Categories include clinical leadership, client services leadership and enterprise support. We also give years of service awards to recognize employee loyalty and commitment.”

Destin welcomes its first inpatient hospice care center: Vitas suites destination health and rehabilitation South Florida Hospital News, Destin, FL; by cfelixcpa; 9/13/24 Patients nearing the end of life who reside in Okaloosa and Walton counties now have access to inpatient hospice care at the VITAS Suites at Destination Health and Rehabilitation in Destin, Florida. This is the first and only inpatient unit for hospice patients in the two-county region. The nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care celebrated the grand opening of the new suites and is now accepting hospice-eligible patient referrals. ... “The new suites help VITAS further serve the greater community of Pensacola, filling a vital need for acute symptom management for end-of-life patients in the area,” said VITAS General Manager Chasity Tedford. 

Ribbon cutting for Tapestry Hospice & Palliative Care FetchYourNews.com; by Ellie Trammell; 9/12/24 Happy ribbon cutting day to Tapestry Hospice & Palliative Care at their new office in Blue Ridge, Georgia, serving patients in Fannin, Union, Gilmer and Pickens counties. 

Hospices improving on public measures Home Health Line - decisionhealth; by DecisionHealth Staff; 9/12/24 Hospice providers are seeing continued improvement on key measures in the Hospice Item Set, according to the latest refresh of Care Compare data on Aug. 28, 2024. [Subscription required] Editor's note: Use this summary information to check your own CMS Hospice Compare Scores at Find Healthcare Providers: Compare Care Near You | Medicare. Select Provider Type "Hospice Care." Type your location or "Name of Agency" and "Search." Select your hospice. For the Hospice Item Set (HIS), scroll down to "Quality" - "Quality of patient care." For your CAHPS data, scroll down to "Family caregiver experience."

Marshall medical students volunteer for Day of Service CBS WOWK-13 News, Huntington, WV; by Jessica Patterson; 9/11/24 On a day of reflecting and honoring lives lost to a horrific tragedy, people across the country are commemorating the services and sacrifices people made on Sept. 11, 2001, by volunteering in their communities. According to AmeriCorps, America’s National Day of Service and Remembrance is designed to honor and commemorate the heroes of 9/11 including armed forces, first responders, volunteers and countless others, for their acts of service during the terror attacks and in the aftermath. In Huntington, some college students are stepping up to do their part in the local community. Residents from the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine General Surgery Program spent the day volunteering at a local hospice house. The Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice Facility welcomed all the students’ hard work helping to prepare the grounds and gardens for the end of summer. “They are here today to help beautify and plant flowers here at our inpatient unit, the Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House, which is part of Hospice of Huntington,” said Melanie Hall, Hospice of Huntington president and CEO.

Agrace grants local 1990 Brewers bat boy a final baseball wish Agrace; 9/12/24 In 1990, Will Natz was 10 years old and about to have his dream come true—he was going to be a Milwaukee Brewers bat boy. As he waited in the County Stadium dugout, he heard Bob Uecker announce his name. ... Natz treasured the cassette tape that held a recording of that moment. ... [Due] to his progressing illness and the need for supplemental oxygen, Natz—a lifelong baseball fan—doubted he would get to another Brewers game in person. That was until his Agrace Hospice Care social worker, Kristin Kalpinski and nurse Jill Cooley saw a chance to make his wish come true with assistance from Agrace’s Wish program. Through the Wish program, Kalpinski, Cooley and staff from the Agrace Foundation contacted the Brewers Community Foundation, American Family Field and other community partners. A donor gave Natz and his family four wheelchair-accessible seats for a Brewers game, plus tickets for Kalpinski and Cooley to go along to support Will’s care needs. Just a few days later, Natz was on his way to a game.

Half of home care workers have seen, experienced workplace violence, report findsMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 9/10/24The majority of home care workers have had a brush with workplace violence or harassment, so addressing these dangers can yield significant positive impacts for providers and their staff. That’s according to a new report on home care workplace safety by Transcend Strategy Group. More than 50% of home-based care workers have witnessed or experienced at least one incident of workplace violence or harassment, the report found. About 1 in 5 reported having seen at least seven instances of violence or harassment while on the job. Certified nursing assistants, registered nurses and physician assistants were the most likely groups to be subject to workplace dangers.

Leading the Way: Gilchrist and Franklin Hospice forces in landmark integration Franklin Hospice, Chambersburg, PA; by Karen M. Giffin; 9/9/24 Franklin Hospice and Gilchrist ... have announced an affiliation agreement. This partnership will unite two of Maryland’s oldest and most experienced nonprofit organizations, together with nearly 70 years of service to their communities. As the healthcare landscape continues to transform nationwide, this type of affiliation of two synergistic nonprofit organizations with similar missions, visions, and values will position both organizations for continued growth, innovation and financial strength. ... This strategic affiliation will strengthen their ability to offer compassionate care to more patients and families throughout Central and Southern Maryland, as well as Washington and Frederick Counties and South-Central Pennsylvania. Both organizations will retain their name and branding while offering a unified approach to care. 

National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation Fierce Pharma - Special Report: The Fierce 50 of 2024 - Innovation Honorees; by Fraiser Kansteiner; distributed 9/10/24 With an aging population and shifting healthcare environment, providing proper, personalized care for the U.S.’ most vulnerable patients can be a challenge.That’s why Tom Koutsoumpas, one of the masterminds behind the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), has been working to continually improve hospice and palliative care across the nation for decades. ... The goal, he explained in an interview with Fierce, was to "become the national voice for the future of hospice, palliative care, and advanced illness care." Through its efforts, NPHI seeks to work in tandem with its network of nonprofit community programs to help them innovate, thrive into the future and continue to evolve in the ever-changing U.S. healthcare system, Koutsoumpas said. While local hospice and palliative care groups exist to tackle many of these same goals, “programs in the community have no scale,” Koutsoumpas explained. “They have no opportunity to work from scale to address cost issues, rising costs, changes that occur.” In turn, NPHI was founded to help bring those programs together while allowing them to retain their identities as discrete, local providers. Editor's note: NPHI is a sponsor for our newsletter. 

Blue Ridge Hospice expanding mission to serve people better, sooner The Winchester Star, Winchester, VA; by Brian Brehm; 9/9/24 “We’re calling this a year of transformation,” said Jason Parsons, who was named CEO of the Winchester-based nonprofit in December. “Blue Ridge has been around for 43 years and this year, 2024, we’re transforming ourselves into Blue Ridge Care, which includes Blue Ridge Hospice, Blue Ridge Independence at Home — which is our PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) program — Blue Ridge Palliative Care Services and our eight thrift shops.” It’s a sweeping change for an organization that most people only associate with end-of-life care. Parsons ... said Blue Ridge Care will continue to provide graceful exits for patients in the final chapter of their lives, but it will also expand its focus to improve the quality of life for seniors who still have a lot of stories to tell.