Literature Review

Home health agencies may soon claim telehealth services during patients’ hospital stays McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 10/17/24 In a recent change, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that it would allow home health providers to submit claims for telehealth while their clients are receiving inpatient care. Currently, Medicare beneficiaries may not be inpatients in a hospital or skilled nursing facility and simultaneously receive home healthcare. CMS rejects any home health service claims that overlap with a patient’s hospital or SNF stay, and providers are responsible for submitting a new claim without any dates for service that coincide with an inpatient stay. In a recent change request, CMS announced that it would modify its rule to allow home health providers to submit telehealth claims even when their clients are in hospital or SNF care. The change specifically applies to telehealth services that fall under the G0320, G0321 or G0322 Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes. 

Atria to exit home care business to focus on senior living portfolioMcKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 10/16/24 Atria Senior Living is shuttering its New York-based home care subsidiary in an effort to focus on its core business of senior living. In a  “warn unit” notice filed Oct. 10 with the New York Department of Labor, Atria Home Care cited economic reasons for the layoffs of 161 employees from its Garden City, NY-based home care business, which will be effective Jan. 8. “After careful consideration, we have made the decision to discontinue operations at Atria Home Care in an effort to focus on our core business of social model senior living communities,” a spokesperson for Atria told McKnight’s Senior Living. “We are working with all home care customers and employees on a transition to other home care providers and are committed to supporting our employees and clients through these changes over the next several weeks.”

MD Home Health expands services with in-clinic, virtual care, remote patient monitoring, house calls and hospice Longview News-Journal, Phoenix, AZ; by MD Home Health; 10/15/24 Leading Home Health Agency in Arizona launches comprehensive onmnichannel healthcare approach. MD Home Health, a privately-held leading Arizona-based home health agency, today announced the expansion of its healthcare services to include in-clinic care, virtual care, remote patient monitoring, house calls, and hospice, making it one of the first privately-held home health agencies in Arizona to offer a full and comprehensive omnichannel healthcare approach. This expansion allows the firm to broaden its healthcare offering to significantly increase access to comprehensive, quality and convenient healthcare for residents across the Phoenix metro area. "Our new and comprehensive services are designed to ensure that patients have convenient and flexible options to access quality healthcare how, when and where they need it," said David P. Tusa, President and Chief Executive Officer of MD Home Health. 

Kaiser Health Care: Navigating Aging: Older men’s connections often wither when they’re on their own Tahlequah Daily Press; by Judith Graham; 10/12/24 At age 66, South Carolina physician Paul Rousseau decided to retire after tending for decades to the suffering of people who were seriously ill or dying. It was a difficult and emotionally fraught transition. … Seeking a change of venue, Rousseau moved to the mountains. … Soon, a sense of emptiness enveloped him. … His work as a doctor had been all-consuming. Former colleagues didn’t get in touch, nor did he reach out. His wife had passed away after a painful illness, … His isolation mounted as his three dogs, his most reliable companions, died. Rousseau was completely alone — without friends, family, or a professional identity — and overcome by a sense of loss. “I was a somewhat distinguished physician with a 60-page resume,” Rousseau, now 73, wrote in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May. “Now, I’m ‘no one,’ a retired, forgotten old man who dithers away the days.” In some ways, older men living alone are disadvantaged compared with older women in similar circumstances. Research shows that men tend to have fewer friends than women and be less inclined to make new friends. Often, they’re reluctant to ask for help.

Private equity in senior living an increasing focus of federal, state government McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto, Lois A. Bowers and Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 10/7/24 At press time [10/7], a bill that would require private equity firms and hedge fund organizations in California to give prior notice of acquisitions or changes in control to the state’s attorney general was sitting on the governor’s desk, to become effective Jan. 1 if he signed it into law. It is just one example of legislation recently put forth at the state or national level focused on the private equity and real estate investment trust funding sometimes used in senior living and in other industries. ... The legislation calls for greater transparency for private equity firms and for-profit companies that own healthcare entities, including nursing homes, hospitals, and mental or behavioral health facilities. ...

Maryland hospitals face IV shortage as hurricanes hit suppliers The Baltimore Banner; by Sapna Bansil; 10/10/24 Hospitals across Maryland are scrambling to conserve IV fluids after damage from Hurricane Helene last month halted production at the country’s leading manufacturer and triggered a national shortage — which could worsen as Hurricane Milton drenches Florida this week. Baxter International shut down its plant in Marion, N.C., about 35 miles east of Asheville, after it experienced severe flooding and a nearby bridge collapsed. The facility produced 1.5 million bags a day and accounted for 60% of the nation’s supply of IV fluids, according to the American Hospital Association. Another key manufacturing plant, for B. Braun Medical in Daytona Beach, Florida, is in the path of Hurricane Milton. The company said that it planned to temporarily close the facility and that it had relocated its inventory farther north. In a statement posted to its website Wednesday, Baxter said that as it has ramped up production at its global facilities, most customers are now able to receive the majority of what they typically order. There is no timeline on when production will resume in North Carolina.

Managers play crucial role in retaining long-term care staff, expert saysMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 10/9/24Managers play a crucial role in retaining direct care workers in long-term care for older adults, Philip Taylor, PhD, FGSA, said Monday during a webinar hosted by the Gerontology Institute at Georgia State University and the Southern Gerontological Society... “The essence of the project was that amid concern about the sector’s workforce, there’s a need to problematize leadership and management to think about their skills deficits and how we might go about addressing them, and to consider the impact of that on the workforce and also ultimately on care quality,” Taylor said. “So I’m interested in these people managing facilities or managing their services.”

Newsweek: America's Best Nursing Homes 2025 Newsweek; introduction by Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief; 10/8/24 ... This year's list recognizes 1,050 nursing homes across the 25 states with the highest number of facilities, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data. The top nursing homes in each state were assessed and ranked based on four pillars: performance data, recommendations of medical professionals, accreditations and resident satisfaction.Editor's note: To access lists, click on the title's link and scroll down to select "... 50-99 beds," "... 100-149 beds," "... 150+ beds." Results are ranked and organized by state.

PACE Programs emerge as ‘natural allies’ to home-based care providers Home Healthcare News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 10/4/24 Home-based care providers and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations are in a unique position to strengthen the work one another is doing to care for seniors. No one understands this better than Alivia Care, a home-based care provider that also has PACE programs under its umbrella. In 2021, Alivia Care opened up Jacksonville, Florida-based The PACE Place. “We thought No. 1, it related to the type of care that we gave, in terms of chronic elderness, geriatric frailty, many of the things that we see in our hospice patients, so we felt that we had some core competencies there,” Alivia Care CEO Susan Ponder-Stansel told Home Health Care News. ...

The Natural Funeral launches TerraCare Partner Program (TM) to expand terramation services nationwide AccessWire, Boulder, CO; by The Natural Funeral, Inc.; 10/1/24 The Natural Funeral, a leader in sustainable funeral practices, proudly announces the launch of its TerraCare Partner Program™. This innovative initiative empowers funeral homes and crematory operators across the United States to offer terramation, also known as Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), to their communities. The program provides partners with a comprehensive turnkey solution, featuring the firm's advanced, fourth-generation Chrysalis™ vessels. These systems are meticulously designed for precision, efficiency, elegance, and rapid deployment to transform human remains into Regenerative Living Soil™ within just two to four months. "By introducing the TerraCare Partner Program™, we are not only expanding the reach of terramation services but also enhancing the capacity of funeral service providers to meet a critical and growing demand for sustainable end-of-life options," said Mike Reagan, CEO of The Natural Funeral. ... The Natural Funeral has served over 500 families with eco-conscious funeral options, many of whom chose terramation, its most rapidly growing disposition service. 

[Florida] 12,200 miles of roads cleared as thousands contribute to recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene CBS-10 Tampa Bay, FL; by Haley Williams; 9/28/24 As damage assessments continued after Hurricane Helene slammed the Florida coast, thousands of state officials and law enforcement officers quickly began working to clear roads and check in with storm victims in rural areas. More than 12,000 miles of roads have been cleared by more than 800 Florida Department of Transportation crews. ... The Agency for Health Care Administration reports more than a hundred healthcare facilities have been evacuated or are running solely on generator power. Saturday morning, 55 healthcare facilities reported evacuations, which included:

Health systems abandon rigid hierarchies Becker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 9/27/24 Health systems are relinquishing traditional leadership structures to reimagine a more effective healthcare delivery organization. The rigid hierarchies instilled within many hospitals and health systems years ago ensured a tight grip on quality and management. But times have changed; the rapid evolution of digital technology and need for nimbleness are forcing hospitals to change. "As an industry, healthcare must transition from hierarchical, top-down leadership to more agile, decentralized models that empower teams and promote innovation at all levels," said Wendy Horton, PharmD, CEO of UVA Health University Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va. "Excellent communication skills will be vital for navigating these changes, along with a strong emphasis on workforce well-being including strategies to address mental health, retention and burnout." ... Dr. Horton also elevates empathy and effective communication for healthcare leaders. ... The proliferation of artificial intelligence and other technologies in healthcare is streamlining the purely administrative tasks, further emphasizing the human connection between leaders and their teams.