Literature Review

The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care raises $328,000 at C.A.R.S. Benefit Event JaxChamber - Jacksonville News (FL); 5/29/24The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care is pleased to announce that the recent Children are Rock Stars (C.A.R.S) benefit event, presented by Ring Power and held at The Brumos Collection, raised an impressive $328,000. “We extend our heartfelt thanks to Ring Power and the dedicated C.A.R.S. committee for their incredible effort and unwavering support, which were instrumental in making this event a success,” said Annie Tuttle, Executive Director of The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care. “Their commitment to our cause and the generous contributions from our donors and sponsors have made a significant impact.”

Manassas Park teens complete inaugural nurse aide course while earning high school diploma ABC News 7 Washington DC; by Victoria Sanchez; 5/30/24 Ten Manassas Park seniors completed their high school nurse aide program and are on their way to being certified by the Virginia Board of Nursing, all while earning their diploma. The inaugural Nurse Aide Pathway class is a competitive, five-day-a-week program that teaches the teens 22 skills they need to become a CNA. They also learned outside the classroom during 40 hours of clinical rotations at a local hospice center. ... “This is the best opportunity I could ever have in high school and will forever be one of the best opportunities I ever have in my life,” said student Javi Sedeno Cisneros. He has an eye on earning an MD after becoming a CNA. ... During their time at the hospice center, the 17-year-olds experienced life lessons most of their peers won’t learn for years.... [Read more for this inspiring, innovative solution.]

Early talks about governance essential for nonprofit hospice affiliations Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 5/28/24 Nonprofit hospices can combine their businesses in a number of ways, including traditional acquisitions, board member substitutions and other types of affiliations. However, member substitutions are becoming more common, according to Meg Pekarske, partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell. While this model offers benefits it can also become a political minefield that can sink an affiliation. ...

Publicly traded hospice companies poised for dealsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/24/24The nation’s publicly traded hospice companies are primed for more acquisitions after a 2023 slump, fueled by census and growth. Transaction volume declined in the hospice and home-based care space in 2023, following the two record-breaking prior years. [Examples include:]

Would an 'unbossed' culture work in healthcare? Becker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley; 5/24/24 The workforce has seen an influx of changes and trends come and go in a post-pandemic world, with more employees taking the reins and standing up for new, flexible ways to get their jobs done. One such trend catching on lately is the "unbossed culture." The term describes a work environment wherein management assumes more of a leadership role than a supervisor role. The hands-off approach makes for fewer check-ins, allowing employees to have more ownership over how they tackle and complete their tasks. While this new workforce trend spreads across multiple industries, the glaring question remains, "Would an unbossed culture work in healthcare?" 

Data paramount in hospice-payer, referral partner negotiationsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/23/24As hospice and palliative care providers move further into value-based care, data is becoming paramount to building payer and referral partner relationships. In this climate, hospices that can demonstrate their value — and their ability to financially and operationally weather changes in an evolving reimbursement landscape — will have a leg up on competitors. Key data points include performance on the Hospice Item Set, the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys and other quality measures.

Opinion: I care for people in their final days. Here’s what I’ve learned about hospice.San Diego Union-Tribune; by Kim Ann Dang; 5/23/24[Commentary] Dang, M.D., is a physician specializing in hospice and palliative medicine with Sharp HospiceCare, as well as family medicine with SharpCare, and lives in San Diego. As a doctor specializing in the care of older adults, I have witnessed firsthand the profound impact that timely, compassionate hospice care can have on patients and their families. Hospice isn’t just a service, but a philosophy of care that focuses on enhancing the quality of life for those facing end-stage diseases. It supports people in their final months and weeks, ensuring comfort, dignity and respect. ... Hospice is not about hastening death; it’s about enriching the quality of the time that remains. I urge health care providers, patients and families to consider hospice care not as a last resort but as an integral part of compassionate, dignified end-of-life care.

National Hospice Locator updatedBlog; by Cordt Kassner; 5/27/24The National Hospice Locator (NHL) is an online directory of every known hospice location, and for over a year default search results have been sorted by a quality matrix. On 5/22/24, CMS released updated Hospice Care Compare files. Part of the NHL's quality matrix includes Hospice Care Compare information, and the NHL has now been updated. Search on your state or city and see how your hospice is listed.

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?

Healthcare sees highest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in 15 years: reportMcKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/20/24Chapter 11 bankruptcies in healthcare, including senior living reached a multiyear high in the first quarter of 2024. That’s according to the newest Polsinelli-TrBK Distress Indices Report, published Wednesday. “We continue to see intense stress in senior living,” Jeremy R. Johnson, a bankruptcy and restructuring attorney at Polsinelli and co-author of the report, said in a press release issued in conjunction with the report. ... The Southeast continues to outpace the rest of the country as the busiest region for bankruptcy filings, according to the report. The Southeast region reported 33.4% of the filings in the first quarter, followed by Northeast and Delaware at 30.8% and 16.1%, respectively. Since the benchmark period of 2020, the Northeast has shown the biggest increase in filings.

In good hands: VA medical center introduces new inpatient hospice room and dialysis suites Salisbury Post; by Brad Dountz; 5/21/24The W.B. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center ... held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new inpatient hospice room, dialysis suites and six patient care rooms earlier this month. The amenities will allow veterans to get the treatment they need. Construction began during the days of COVID, but thanks to the work of the VA employees who built it, veterans can finally reap the benefits.  “We come together to honor those who have selflessly served our country and now require specialized care. Some of them are in their final moments,” said Dr. Kamran Lateef, chief of hospital medicine. “In this sanctuary of compassion and solace, every detail has been meticulously crafted to offer the highest quality of care tailored to the unique needs of our beloved veterans.”

The Pennant Group acquires hospice provider Nurses on WheelsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/16/24The Pennant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired the Corpus Christi, Texas-based hospice provider Nurses on Wheels Inc. for an undisclosed amount. This is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Pennant. Earlier this month Pennant acquired Utah-based South Davis Home Health and South Davis Hospice. The company in December 2023 picked up Arizona-based Southwestern Palliative Care & Hospice after acquiring five Medicare hospice providers in multiple states the prior month. Financial terms were not disclosed in these deals.

Modern Healthcare's Best Places to WorkPublisher's Note: On 5/20/24 we ran Modern Healthcare story recognizing Teleios as one of the best places to work in healthcare in 2024. We would like to recognize all hospice and palliative care providers on this list, including: