Literature Review

89-year-old SoCal hospice patient wished he could skydive again, so his care team made it happen ABC-7 Los Angeles, CA; by Leticia Juarez; 9/27/24 Gary Patmor has lived a life of adventure and at 89 years old, the retired aerospace engineer is showing age doesn't mean adventures have to end. So he chose to go skydiving. "Oh, it is just fun exciting," he said. While he is a man of few words, Patmor is a man with plenty of stories he could tell. He's logged more than 1,300 jumps out of civilian, military, antique and experimental aircrafts. ... He survived 38 malfunctioning parachutes and he even doubled for Steve McQueen on film.  ... His backstory has been an incredible journey he has shared with others. "He was actually also the first person to mount a Sony camera and jump out of a plane," said Jocelyn Brito, a social worker for Suncrest Hospice in Riverside where Patmor is now a patient. ... "One of the things that he wanted to do was he wanted to skydive again," said Jessica Fields with Suncrest Hospice. "So we had to make sure that we got the doctor clearance, of course, and then the skydiving company to be able to consent to that before we offered it." On Friday afternoon, Patmor boarded a plane at Sky Dive Elsinore, making him the  oldest skydiver of the day. At 13,000 feet, he took a leap, strapped to an instructor and made his descent to the ground where his wife and Suncrest Hospice staff members cheered him on.

Hospices delve into PACE, dementia care amid calls for change Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/25/24 ... Some hospices have dug deeper into the PACE program landscape as an avenue to reach patients further upstream and improve utilization and access. These programs can help hospices provide better coordinated care and help patients and their families navigate a fragmented health care system and complex web of community resources, according to Liz Fowler, president and CEO of Bluegrass Care Navigators. The Lexington, Kentucky-based hospice provider launched a PACE program in 2022. These programs are an opportunity for hospices to evolve end-of-life care models that better address social determinants of health, particularly among some of the most underserved patient populations within their service regions, Fowler stated. “PACE programs are more upstream and will hopefully allow us to care for more individuals earlier on and make connections with more diverse communities earlier as well when they see us as a trusted health care provider,” Fowler said. “The big thing with PACE programs is that they are for individuals with very high needs of complex care, and we readily address all their health care needs but also things like food, isolation and loneliness. ...”

Sarah Bush Lincoln's Hospice Binga raises record amount for endowment Effingham Daily News & SBL Hospice press release; 9/24/24 Sarah Bush Lincoln’s Hospice Binga event raised a record amount on September 3, netting more than $33,000 to support the Willow Breeze Hospice House Endowment. Since opening in January, Willow Breeze offers a beautiful home-like atmosphere where skilled care is provided to people in East Central and Southern Illinois to stay during their final days while also offering amenities for their families who visit. Earnings from the endowment help those with limited resources pay for their stay. Most insurances will cover hospice care, but not room and board. 

Employee engagement can define senior living’s value proposition: panel McKnights Senior Living, Washington, DC; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 9/26/24 The senior living industry knew it had workforce challenges at least 15 years before COVID-19 hit, but it didn’t do enough about them. Today, the sector has the opportunity to be proactive and build a workforce to meet the rapidly increasing demand for senior living and care services by investing in workers and improving employee engagement. ... [Senior living leaders described the] pivotal role that cultivating a satisfied, engaged workforce plays in organizational success as well as the ability to significantly enhance operational efficiency, resident satisfaction and the bottom line through culture. Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies invest resources in employee engagement, according to Todd Kiziminski, vice president of talent acquisition at Trilogy Health Services, who said they recognize the link between engagement strategies and the bottom line.

5 signs that quickly identify someone with good leadership skills Inc., by Marcel Schwantes; 9/25/24 Not every person in charge of another person, team, or company is aware of which behaviors motivates and inspires others. Do you agree with this statement? For any human relationship to thrive, it has to be founded on trust. ... Great Place To Work -- the global research consultancy that partners with Fortune to conduct the annual study of those best companies -- has confirmed that trust is the human behavior you cannot afford not to have. It found that 92 percent of employees believe that their managers are people they can trust. ... Not every person in charge of another person, team, or company is aware of which behaviors produce the kind of trust that motivates and inspires others. For those who do, it is a continuous journey of personal development. In their journey, they'll most likely find that trust is only present when certain behaviors are displayed daily. Here are five that I have identified as leading to trust:

Filling trailers, homes & hearts Tracy Area Headlight Herald, Tracy, MN; 9/25/24 The Hospice of Murray County Rummage Sale takes place every fall at the Murray County Fairgrounds in Slayton. But in no other year has the event meant as much to people organizers will never meet. And for one former Tracy resident, it provided a chance to make an even bigger difference than she already does in her hometown of Mankato. Two trailers full of all kinds of furniture — from chairs, tables and couches, to beds and lamps — were driven from the fairgrounds to Mankato on Saturday for an organization called A Fresh Start, a program started during COVID that supports those impacted by the homeless. Editor's note: What a beautiful, thoughtful community partnership.

James City County couple who started pediatric hospice nonprofit glad for its expansion Daily Press; James City, VA; by Alison Johnson; 9/25/24 Every year on July 3, Allen and Joan Hogge take out old photo albums to look at pictures of a little boy who barely reached age 8. The James City County couple remembers happy moments on the birthday of their only son, Marcus, who died of a progressive neurological disease. ... They think about how he loved sneaking up on people, giving them a gentle pinch and running off giggling as a toddler. ... Marc’s short life with his parents and two younger sisters led the Hogges to found a pediatric home health and hospice nonprofit, Edmarc, that has grown steadily over the past 46 years to provide free services to families across Hampton Roads. Recently, the nonprofit opened a new Williamsburg office to reach residents of the city and surrounding counties, including James City, Gloucester, Mathews, Charles City and New Kent.  ... “This expansion means so much to us,” Allen Hogge said. “We understand all too well how lonely and difficult and exhausting it can be to have a child with a serious illness." ... Named for Marc and the late Rev. Edward “Ed” Page, the pastor at the Hogges’ former church in Suffolk, Edmarc in 1978 became the nation’s first hospice and palliative care program designed for children. 

Twenty years of yachts and care The Montecito Journal; by Sigrid Toye; 9/24/24 ... The Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) members once again gathered to host their annual Charity Regatta benefiting VNA Health and its mission of caring with compassion. Although always a huge event in the Santa Barbara community, this year’s Charity Regatta marks its 20th anniversary! For two decades this annual benefit has raised over $2.5 million in support of VNA Health and its services for our families, friends and neighbors. Dependent on the generosity of our community, VNA Health is an organization that provides a safe harbor for those in need regardless of resources or insurance. ... VNA is the only medically-certified nonprofit provider of home-health care, palliative care, and hospice care in Santa Barbara. The organization also owns and operates Serenity House, the largest nonprofit inpatient hospice facility in California known as a place to transition at the end of life with dignity and comfort. Editor's note: A photo shows that this event raised $220,387.

Top 5 regrets people have on their deathbeds: What they can teach us about living healthy, fulfilled lives, from an internal medicine doctor NBC-6 South Florida; by Alex Koller, CNBC; 9/23/24 To live a meaningful, fulfilling life, you have to accept that it'll eventually come to an end, says Shoshana Ungerleider. Over the years of caring for ill hospital patients, Ungerleider — a doctor who specializes in internal medicine — has observed regrets among people near the end of their lives, she tells CNBC Make It. Here are five regrets she says people often express:

Hospice provider relocates to Bethlehem [PA] Lehigh Valley Business; by Stacy Wescoe; 9/23/24 Advantage, a provider of contract therapy, home health, and hospice services in Pennsylvania has opened a new office in Bethlehem on the Holy Family Manor campus. The existing Advantage campuses of Emmaus and Old Forge will be relocated to the Advantage Home Health and Hospice Bethlehem office.  Clinical, social, and bereavement services will remain uninterrupted, the company said in a press release, and it will continue to serve all the same areas. 

Financial pressures shut down 2 hospice agencies Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/20/24 A hospital-based hospice program in Kansas is closing its doors, as is the Visiting Nurses Association of Philadelphia. Holton Community Hospital (HCH) will shut down its home health and hospice department effective December 31st. A range of issues contributed to the decision to end the program, including reimbursement pressures on its home health business and the ascendance of Medicare Advantage, which often pays at a lower rate than traditional Medicare. The Holton, Kansas-based hospital also cited increased competition in its local community as a reason for the closure. ... The organization is working with other local providers to ensure continuity of care for its home health and hospice patients. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, the Visiting Nurses Association of Philadelphia is also closing. The 138-year-old institution will cease operations on Oct. 28. It is a provider of hospice, home health and palliative care services.Editor's note: For more information about the VNA in Philadelphia, see the article we posted on 9/18/24, After 138 years, the Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia will shut down all health care services next month.

Ascension posts $1.8B annual loss; liquidity 'remains strong,' CFO says Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 9/18/24 St.Louis-based Ascension reported a $79 million operating loss (-0.3% margin) for the 10 months ending April 30, a substantial improvement on the $1.2 billion operating loss in the previous 10-month period. The results include $402 million in one-time, non-cash write-downs and non-recurring losses. In May and June 2024, operations were hampered by the May ransomware attack, resulting in reduced revenues from the associated business interruption along with costs incurred to address the issues and other business-related expenses. Despite this incident, Ascension drove a $1.2 billion operational improvement year over year for the 10 months ending April 30. The 136-hospital system's economic improvement plans focused on volume growth, rates and pricing, and cost levers. 

Swimming with dolphins or a gondola ride in Italy: Hospice VR program offers respite to dying patients The Hamilton Spectator; by Celeste Percy-Beauregar; 9/19/24Paramedic Andrew Wood asks a patient receiving end-of-life care at Hankinson House hospice in Brantford: “What would you like to do?” Whether it’s a concert, kayaking or skydiving that they have in mind, he can make it happen right then and there, with virtual-reality (VR) headsets. Since many of the patients have limited energy and are confined to their beds, VR offers a brief escape, an opportunity to try something new or return somewhere special, like a childhood home — one of Wood’s favourite experiences to facilitate using Google Street View.