Literature Review

Saint Francis Hospital’s Healthy Village creates national social-services healthcare model DelawareLive, Wilmington, DE; by Jarek Rutz; 10/23/24 Saint Francis Hospital hopes a new, unique initiative will be a national model for healthcare. As it celebrates 100 years of service, the hospital is expanding its community outreach to the Wilmington community by launching the Healthy Village at Saint Francis Hospital, which aims to deliver essential social services to those in need. Located in economically challenged neighborhoods, Healthy Villages are designed to enhance the traditional safety net hospital model. “The goal is to create the ultimate one-stop care setting that promotes synergy, diversity, and equity,” said Lillian Schonewolf, executive director of the Healthy Village at Saint Francis, in a YouTube video. Editor's note: See the article we posted yesterday about the importance of community, "Who gets access to a good death?"

Nonprofit repurposes wedding bouquets for seniors Spectrum News 1, Columbus, OH; by Taylor Bruck; 10/21/24 Todd Davis, a resident of Columbus, knows it’s the simple things in life that mean the most. That’s why every weekend, he and volunteers pick up leftover flowers from weddings and other events and repurpose them into beautiful bouquets. They then deliver them to senior citizens all over Columbus and people in hospice care. ... Every week, volunteers turn thousands of flowers into about 200 bouquets, equating to nearly 10,000 this year and endless smiles.

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.

Home health sector leads healthcare job growth in September: BLSMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 10/7/24Last month, the number of jobs in home healthcare increased by 13,000. That compares with employment gains of 12,000 in hospital care and 9,000 in nursing and residential care facilities. Meanwhile, medical and diagnostic laboratories saw roughly 1,400 workers leave the field. There were approximately 1.8 million home healthcare workers in the US as of September, according to the BLS. That represents a roughly 8.6% increase in the number of home health jobs over the past 12 months.

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. ...

One Senior Place: What legal steps should be taken after dementia diagnosis? Florida Today; by Brenda Lyle; 10/1/24 After a dementia diagnosis, preparing key legal documents early helps families focus on the quality of life for their loved one. ... Dementia is a term for many progressive neurodegenerative disorders that affect memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer accounts for about 60% of all dementias. As the disease advances, individuals may lose the ability to make informed decisions about their health care, finances and other important aspects of life. Legal planning is absolutely crucial for ensuring that the wishes of the person with dementia are honored and that their affairs are managed appropriately. This planning also helps reduce stress for family members and caregivers. [Click on the title's link to continue reading for basics about Durable power of attorney, Heath care surrogate, Living will, Last will and testament, and Guardianship.]

[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: