Literature Review

Heart to Heart Hospice of San Antonio opens new hospice housePress release; by Kimberly Dellinger; 5/23/24Heart to Heart Hospice plans to expand inpatient services with the opening of the only freestanding Hospice House in the San Antonio area. Heart to Heart Hospice, a leader in hospice services since 2003, is currently building a Hospice House as an extension of its service offerings to patients and families in the San Antonio community, opening Summer of 2024.

Hosparus Health opens new multimillion dollar St. Matthews grief centerLouisville Business Journal; by Zak Owens; 5/23/24Hosparus Heallth unveils $4 million grief center on its St. Matthews campus.Note: May require subscription to access entire article.

Legacy society honors ardent supporters of Blue Ridge HospiceThe Winchester Star; by Brian Brehm; 5/21/24 Blue Ridge Hospice holds its cofounder in such high esteem, it has created a legacy society and named it in her honor. The new Helen Zebarth Legacy Society aims to honor Zebarth’s vision, inspire philanthropy and ensure the continuity of compassionate end-of-life care for generations to come, according to a media release from Blue Ridge Hospice in Winchester. Blue Ridge Hospice was formed after Zebarth visited England while her husband, Roger, was stationed in Europe on a military assignment in the 1970s. When the Zebarths returned to the United States in the late 1970s, Helen Zebarth, a former nurse at Winchester Memorial Hospital, got in touch with the hospital’s CEO, George Caley, and told him they needed to start a local hospice. Editor's Note: May we learn from Blue Ridge Hospice. On this day of remembering, we thank those whose vision and perseverance for "hospice care" carved out new paths for better living, dying, moments of death, and bereavement. Who were those pioneers for your hospice? How do you remember their legacies?

Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice rebrands to ‘Andwell Health Partners’ Home Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 5/21/24 The Maine-based Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice is rebranding to “better reflect its evolutions and future,” and will be operating under the name Andwell Health Partners moving forward. ... Andwell – formerly Androscoggin – is a nonprofit operator that employs more than 500 workers across all 16 counties in Maine. The company ... has expanded past just home health care over the years to provide hospice, palliative, behavioral health and pediatric care services to patients. Its president and CEO, Ken Albert, has served on the board of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) ... including as chairperson of the board. ... The word Andwell is “an amalgamation of the organization’s history, mission and services,” the company said. Specifically, the “And” makes reference to Androscoggin, the “Well” emphasizes the focus on health and wellbeing and “Dwell” evokes its home-based care focus.

Resurgia Health Solutions and Ennoble Care's Georgia Housecalls Practice finalize combination to strengthen healthcare access in Georgia KSN.com News - Cision PR Newswire; by PR Newswire; 5/20/24 Resurgia Health Solutions and Ennoble Care have united to strengthen healthcare access in Georgia. ... Under the regional leadership of Kevin Charles and Dr. Mark Bradshaw, Ennoble's Georgia home-based primary care practice will be integrated into Resurgia's regional operations and Ennoble's national operations. Renee Brack, FNP, will work closely with Mr. Charles and Dr. Bradshaw in Georgia, as the operational leader of palliative and hospice care in Georgia, ensuring continuity. ... "We are thrilled to combine our strong programs to expand home-based primary and palliative care access in Georgia." said Molly Viscardi, PhD, RN, Chief Operating Officer of Ennoble Care. 

Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice hires new Chief Executive OfficerPress release; 5/21/24Montgomery Hospice & Prince George’s Hospice is pleased to announce the selection of Karen Brubaker Miller, MSW, as the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer. Brubaker Miller’s tenure will start on July 1, succeeding Ann Mitchell, MPH, who was at the organization for the past 26 years. A licensed clinical social worker, Mrs. Brubaker Miller is a business and strategic minded leader with over 25 years of leadership experience working in the non-profit and for-profit hospice industry.

98-year-old Marine veteran in hospice care finally receives his high school diploma[MD] WJLA; by Jay Korff; 5/18/24A nearly 100-year-old Marine veteran in hospice Friday was hand-delivered the high school diploma he never received. 98-year-old Richard Remp was unable to get his diploma back in the 1940s because he dropped out at age 17 to serve in World War II, then Korea, and then Vietnam. But he savored the remarkable moment Friday.

Compassus Taps Fresenius Veteran Michael Asselta As Next CEOHome Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 5/7/24There’s a new leader at the helm of Compassus. The company’s board of directors has named Michael J. Asselta as CEO. Compassus is one of the largest home-based care providers in the country. The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company provides home health, hospice, palliative and home infusion services across more than 270 locations in 30 states.

Connecticut hospices obtain carveout from sweeping safety billMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/15/24Grassroots advocacy paid off for Connecticut’s hospice providers. Last week, they successfully obtained a carveout from Senate Bill 1, which requires home-based healthcare providers to run background checks on all potential clients. “It was basically a total victory,” Barbara Pearce, chief executive officer of The Connecticut Hospice and the main proponent calling for a carveout, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “You’re never going to defeat Senate Bill One, because they said - in naming it - it’s their top priority. We just tried to take hospice off, and we did.” ... The bill would have unintentionally limited patients’ access to hospice care, Pearce said. By the time a background check could be conducted on a client, it may be too late to provide effective care for the patient. Furthermore, current staffing challenges hospices face would make compliance even harder, she noted.

Emerging leaders in hospice and palliative care AAHPM - American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; webpage source for various press releeases of individuals; 5/24AAHPM developed the Emerging Leaders in Hospice and Palliative Care program to recognize the exceptional work accomplished by the next generation of leaders and bring increased exposure to the specialty of hospice and palliative medicine. In 2014, the first class of Emerging Leaders was named. AAHPM seeks to recognize accomplished early career professionals and the next generation of hospice and palliative care leaders. This award recognizes new Emerging Leaders in recognition of their career accomplishments, involvement in the Academy, mentoring of residents and students, and participation in charitable work. [Click on the title's link for the list of 36 honorees.]Editor's Note: Do you work with or know any of these honorees? If so, please share this with them and your colleagues, along with congratulations from Hospice & Palliative Care Today! (Invite them to register for free--no strings attached--to our daily newsletter.)

Care Synergy appoints Dr. Pradeep Rai as Chief Medical Officer Care Synergy Network; 5/13/24  Care Synergy announced the selection of Dr. Pradeep Rai, MD, as the company’s chief medical officer. Additionally, Dr. Rai will serve as The Denver Hospice’s (TDH) medical director as well. As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rai will lead clinical operations across all of Care Synergy’s hospice, palliative care, and home health affiliates. These affiliates include The Denver Hospice, Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care in Colorado Springs, Pathways Hospice in Fort Collins, and the Colorado Visting Nurses Association (CVNA) which serves patients across the Front Range. He will also spearhead medical operations for Colorado PACE upon its anticipated Q4 2024 launch.

Nurses’ Union reaches labor agreement with PeaceHealth for hospice, home health workers Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/14/24 After more than a year of negotiations, the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) labor union has reached an agreement with PeaceHealth. Priorities among the hospice and home nurses include wage increases, raising safety standards, ensuring affordable and accessible home health care delivery, equitable pay protection and addressing clinical staffing crises by increasing recruitment and retention of skilled caregivers. 

Potential progress at Optum Tri-State complicated by corporate care crisis: It's bonuses for bodies' The Examiner News; by Adam Stone; 5/13/24 'It's Bonuses for Bodies' This is the 16th installment in an investigative series, launched in December 2022, about CareMount/Optum/UnitedHealth and broader concerns about corporate medical care. ... I know this piece is a long ride to the larger point but buckle up and pretend you’re reading a few book chapters instead of a newspaper column, because all of the context matters, and interconnects. ...