Literature Review

Without support, seniors aging in place may elect facility-based care, study finds McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 4/16/25 Older adults aging in place may rethink whether they want to receive care at home if they do not receive certain aging-in-place supports from their care providers and loved ones, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The researchers interviewed nearly 300 older adults receiving care at home and in long-term care facilities. ... The first theme was participants’ personal health experiences. ... Similarly, loss of health of loved ones and friends may also influence where patients want to receive care. ... The final factor influencing older adults’ aging preferences was time, the study found. 

PACE growth expected to continue amid HHS reorganization, provider uncertainty McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 4/15/25 ... Coordination for the PACE program is moving to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Center for Innovation, the National PACE Association said. That shake up, HHS officials have said, should make management of the PACE program more productive. The White House, however, is also seeking $800 million in budget cuts at CMMI. ... A white paper published in January by Health Dimensions Group showed 33 states and the District of Columbia had implemented 180 PACE programs, accounting for more than 79,000 enrollees. The 25 programs that were added in 2024 quadrupled the model’s average growth since 2005. 

The cost of nurse turnover in 24 numbers | 2025 Becker's Hospital Review; by Molly Gamble; 4/7/25 Nurse shortages and mounting labor costs are among health system CEOs’ top concerns, and a new survey puts numbers to the financial risks hospitals face from nurse vacancies and churn. The 2025 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report features input from 450 hospitals in 37 states on registered nurse turnover, retention, vacancy rates, recruitment metrics and staffing strategies.  It found the average cost of turnover for one staff RN grew from January through December 2024 to $61,110, among other dollar figures and statistics that are helpful to understand the financial implications of one of healthcare’s most persistent labor disruptions. Here are 24 numbers that illustrate the cost of nurse turnover, according to the most recent edition of the report, which is available in full here. [Continue reading ...]

Senior living demand hits all-time high: NIC McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 4/3/25 The demand for senior living is at an all-time high, with the first quarter seeing a record number of occupied units, almost 621,000, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care said Thursday afternoon [4/3]. Senior living occupancy rates increased 0.3 percentage points to 87.4% in the first quarter, up from 87.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the latest NIC MAP Senior Housing Market Fundamentals report. Independent living occupancy rose to 89%, up from 88.6% in the fourth quarter, whereas assisted living rates increased to 85.8% compared with 85.5% in the fourth quarter.

Are hospitalists becoming de facto PCPs for patients with complex illness? Today's Hospitalist; by Colleen Peggenburg, MD, MS; April 2025 Key takeaways:

Assisted Living vs. Memory Care: The key differences U.S. News & World Report; by Elaine K. Howley; 3/17/25 Age brings many challenges, among them a loss of independence that means some seniors will need help taking care of themselves. There are many senior living options available for folks who need hands-on support, and two common ones can provide big benefits for residents: assisted living and memory care. While these two options are similar in many ways, they have some important differences. Here, we’ll unpack everything you need to know about these two senior living options so you can find the best type of care for your loved one. ... [Continue reading ...]

Seen Health opens first PACE Center in San Gabriel Valley, delivering a new standard of culturally-focused senior care PR Newswire, Alhambra, CA; by Seen Health; 3/18/25 Seen Health, an innovative health care provider transforming senior care, celebrated the grand opening of its first flagship Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center in San Gabriel Valley on Saturday, March 15. ... With California's rapidly growing senior population, the need for innovative care has never been more urgent. In San Gabriel Valley alone, over 17% of residents are 65 or older, with over 300,000 seniors in the area and approximately 30% identifying as Chinese-American.  ... Designed for comfort and connection, Seen Health's PACE center features open communal areas, natural lighting, and cultural elements that promote dignity and social interaction. Unlike traditional senior services, Seen Health blends expert clinical services with highly personalized social and cultural support, ensuring care feels familiar, enriching, and provided in the participants' native languages. [Continue reading ...]

How a Lewiston health care nonprofit diversified to sustain services Mainebiz; by Laurie Schreiber; 3/20/25 Ken Albert leads Lewiston-based Andwell Health Partners, an independent, nonprofit home- and community-based health care organization. The former Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice, founded in 1966, focused on home health care and hospice in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties. Rebranded in 2024 to reflect its expansion in recent years, Andwell now has locations throughout Maine, with additional service lines including in-home hospice care, Maine’s first inpatient hospice facility, the Maine Center for Palliative Medicine, community and behavioral health, mobile wound care, in-home care giving, private-duty nursing, therapy care, ad maternal and child health. This week, it opened Andwell Audiology in Lewiston. 

Assisted Living Facility owner indicted, facing numerous felony charges Knoxville Daily Sun; 3/17/25 ... In June 2024, after receiving a referral from Adult Protective Services, [the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Division (TBI)] special agents began investigating allegations involving Wendy Henley, the owner of Sunset Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Mountain City. ... [Agents] learned that Henley used a patient’s insurance benefits card to purchase items for the facility. In July, ... they discovered that seventeen residents, including two hospice patients, had been left in the care of two juveniles who were not authorized to provide direct patient care. Agents requested an immediate response from the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission and evacuated the facility, transferring the residents to other local facilities to assure their safety and continued care.

Willow Point Nursing Center raises pay by nearly 20% WIVT Binghampton, Vestal, NY; by Samantha Rich; 3/17/25 A local nursing home is recognizing the selfless contributions of its employees by significantly increasing its pay scale. The Broome County Legislature recently approved 16-20% pay raises for multiple healthcare roles at Willow Point Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Vestal. The pay scale was raised for Supervising Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs). Willow Point has also added several new openings in each role.

Questions to ask when choosing a memory care facility The Kansas State Collegian; 3/10/25 ...  Your goal is to find a community where your family member can feel safe, truly cared for, and supported during this next chapter of their life. To help, we’ve put together a list of questions you should ask when touring memory care facilities. These questions will help you cut through the sales pitches and get to the heart of what each community offers. ...

Mass General Brigham begins 2nd round of layoffs Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 3/10/25 The second of two rounds of layoffs at Mass General Brigham began March 10, with about 1,500 employees reportedly affected by the overall workforce reductions, according to The Boston Globe. The layoffs, the largest in the Somerville, Mass.-based health system's history, were announced in early February. The workforce cuts stem from "the same unrelenting pressures affecting many healthcare systems across the country," as the system faces a projected budget gap of $250 million within two years, a spokesperson told Becker's. Mass General Brigham, the largest health system in the state, said the layoffs primarily affect nonclinical and nonpatient-facing roles to "enhance efficiency, reduce costs and maximize support for front-line clinicians." 

‘The weekend effect’: If you’re planning surgery, doctors say you should think twice about Fridays DailyDot.com; by Ilana Gordon; 3/7/25 Everybody’s working for the weekend, which, according to a new study, is incidentally the worst time of the week to undergo surgery. A paper published in the JAMA Network on March 4, 2025, concludes that patients experience worse outcomes during the weekends, as compared to weekdays. This phenomenon is known as the “weekend effect” and the study, which examined 429,691 patients in Ontario, Canada, determined that people whose surgeries began directly before the weekend “experienced a statistically significant increase in the composite outcome of death, complications, and readmissions at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year.”