Literature Review

Home Health & Hospice secures over $1 million in grants for innovative health care initiatives VB VermontBiz, by The University of Vermont Health Network Home-Health & Hospice; 2/29/24Home Health & Hospice (HHH) is pleased to announce the receipt of two grants from the Vermont Agency of Human Services, totaling $1.18 million. Vermont received funding through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to enhance, expand, and strengthen home and community-based services (HCBS) and allocated a portion of those funds to offer grants to HCBS providers that serve Medicaid members. 

St. Croix Hospice improves access to end-of-life care with new branch in Clarinda, IAPR Newswire, by St. Croix Hospice; 2/29/24St. Croix Hospice expands their presence in Iowa with a new branch in Clarinda. This location marks the fifteenth St. Croix Hospice branch in Iowa and helps patients and families residing in the surrounding communities access exceptional hospice care from local caregivers and clinical staff.

The devil’s in the details: Hospice providers face Claim Denials for Election Statement technicalities JDSupra, by Lanchi Nguyen Bombalier and Charmaine Mech; 2/29/24Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) paused much of its audit activity during the COVID Public Health Emergency, the most recent rounds of Medicare audit activity may represent the first “look” at the new Election Statement forms that many hospice providers adopted under the new Medicare election statement requirements effective in October 2020. Unfortunately, these initial audit results from the Medicare Administrative Contractors (“MACs”) suggest that hospice providers and MAC reviewers may not necessarily see eye-to-eye on what information must be included in the new Election Statement.

Is healthcare paying enough attention to nurse leaders?Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Erica Carbajal; 2/26/24 Early this year, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation released findings from more than 2,400 nurse leaders who were surveyed in November. Thirty-five percent of respondents indicated they were considering an exit from their roles: 12% said they intend to leave and 23% said they may leave within the next six months. When asked what the top reasons were for thinking about an exit, nurse leaders pointed to work having a negative affect on their health and well-being and not having the resources to do their job — a parallel to what bedside nurses consistently point to as drivers of burnout or reasons they've stepped away from the job. 

Home health users have higher likelihood of hospice utilizationHome Health Care News, by Joyce Famakinwa; 2/26/24People who receive home health care during the last three years of their lives are more likely to utilize hospice care at the end of life. That’s according to a recent Rutgers Health study that was published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. As part of the study, researchers examined a sample of over 2 million U.S. Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries who passed away in 2019, and were enrolled for at least three years before their death. What’s more, these older adults were more likely to use hospice compared to individuals who have never used home health care.

Hospice of Southern West Virginia receives grant WVNS Bluefield, WV; by Ashley Davidson; 2/26/24The Hospice of Southern West Virginia received a grant from the Beckley Area Foundation. The grant totals $33,962.15. “We’ve had numerous awards from them over the years that allow us to grow and achieve… It allows us to innovate and advance and all in the names of service to our patients and their families,” said Jeri Knowlton, Director of Public Relations for HOSWV.

Chapters Health System CEO on prioritizing value-based care initiatives in the home Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 2/26/24Andrew Molosky, the president and CEO of Chapters Health System, is keenly aware of the struggles that coincide with turning a large health care provider organization into a value-based one. The first priority in that situation, in his mind, is making sure that the entire organization is on the same page in terms of what value-based care really means, he told Home Health Care News ... “You want to get to the point where you can manage populations in the home,” Molosky said. “That becomes a parlay to reducing ER spend in a full-risk environment. It becomes earlier intervention for a hospice or home health episode. 

What to expect from your language services provider during CMS test call seasonMedCity News, by Kristin Quinlan; 2/26/24 Part of the CMS Star Ratings program, the Accuracy & Accessibility Study includes test calls designed to measure the accuracy of the information provided to a prospective beneficiary as well as the accessibility of interpreters in French, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tagalog. The test callers ask a series of questions related to the plan’s policy; success depends, in part, on accuracy of the information provided and availability of interpreters.

How new CEOs play tough handsBecker's Hospital Review - Leadership & Management, by Kelly Gooch and Alexis Kayser; originally posted 2/16/24, redistributed 2/26/24 It's a rare CEO that doesn't dream of a seamless transition. Unfortunately, the healthcare industry is riddled with seams. In addition to long-standing systemic challenges, each hospital and health system comes with its own set of concerns that may include high turnover, financial losses and/or recent job cuts. What's more, trust is paramount — but fragile — in the early days of a CEO's tenure. The responsibility can be tough to navigate as employees express doubts based on the past and boards bring demands for the future.

Where hospices are investing their 2024 recruitment, retention dollars Hospice News, by Holly Vossel; 2/20/24As hospices zero in on their investments in staff engagement and operational efficiencies, organizational culture is becoming a higher priority. ... Some have leveraged technology to streamline their operations and reduce documentation burdens, while others have poured resources into sculpting their organizational culture and developing training and career pathways.Notable mentions: Tanya Marion, Enhabit; Craig Dresang, YoloCares; Cooper Linton, Duke HomeCare & Hospice.

10 states where 'nurse burnout' is Googled most Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; 2/21/24Betternurse.org used Google Trends from Oct. 21, 2023 to Jan. 23, 2024, to gauge the relative search interest for the term "nurse burnout." Arizona had the highest search for nurse burnout, while Los Angeles was the metro area with the most burnout searches. The week in 2023 with the most searches for burnout was Nov. 26 to Dec. 2. On average in the last five years, November was the highest search month for nurse burnout. [Click on the title's link for states with the highest scores for "nurse burnout" searches.]

C-suites, clinicians are burning out at both endsBecker's Hospital Review, by Alexis Kayser; 2/22/24C-suite leaders and clinicians often feel they are on opposite sides of an ever-expanding chasm. But they actually have a lot in common, according to Bruce Cummings and Paul DeChant, MD — a former executive and a former practicing physician, respectively, and perhaps an unlikely pair. Executives and physicians are both knowledge workers. Both are trained to spot and solve problems. Both crave the autonomy to fix those problems — but often, neither feels they truly have it. Both are far strides from the bright-eyed, difference-driven graduates they once were. Both are exhausted, and neither really knows how to talk about it.