Literature Review

These MD architects want to redesign your hospital Medscape; by Amanda Loudin; 6/5/24Little known fact: Florence Nightingale might have been the most famous clinician to notice and openly comment on the role of hospital design in patient care. In her now well-known writings on nursing, Nightingale advocated for "open windows to maximize light and ventilation," among other elements. Today, a growing group of physician-designers are paying attention to many such details — windows in patient rooms included. Their goal: To build hospitals and medical facilities where design can enhance patient and clinician well-being. ...

Saint Therese to transition its New Hope Senior Community to new ownership Big Country Homepage; by Accesswire; 6/4/24 After years of intensive research and deliberation about the future of its New Hope senior living community, aging services provider Saint Therese today announced it is transitioning Saint Therese of New Hope [Minn.] to new ownership, supported by senior care provider Compass Healthcare. The transition is expected to be final on August 1, 2024 and the name will change to Woodlake Care Center and Woodlake Residences. ... Abbott said the Saint Therese organization remains dedicated to the senior care and services industry, has no future plans to transition any of its other communities and remains focused on expanding the mission and ministry in the communities in which we are blessed to serve. Saint Therese currently has three locations in the Twin Cities metro, in Brooklyn Park, Woodbury, a new community opening in the fall in Corcoran, a hospice and palliative care home in Shoreview and a community in Monroe, Mich. 

Dr. Marc Boom confronts the new dynamics of CEO burnoutBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/23/24While the topic of burnout among hospital CEOs is not new, there are new dynamics in play to consider as part of the discussion. Those in the role today encounter increased pressures ranging from financial to operational. "There are new pressures that have emerged in the healthcare delivery world - everything from reimbursement cuts and escalating drug and supply costs, and labor expenses - that have created a lot of financial headwinds for organizations," said Scott Sette, a partner with Chicago-based executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. "Plus, regulatory changes have forced CEOs to spend more resources on compliance, cybersecurity, EMR administration." Additionally, "there have just been so many workforce challenges. ... Then you have the impact of the remote and hybrid workforce and the impact of that on organizational culture. Plus, you've got many social issues going on. Clearly, [diversity, equity and inclusion] continues to be top of mind, but also you've got political unrest. You have mass shootings. You have gender-affirming care and other social issues that organizations have to address. And all of these topics [have] created even more pressures for hospitals and health systems to deal with, in addition to delivering high-quality care and delivering customer-centric experiences. There is a lot for CEOs to deal with on a daily basis." Marc Boom, MD, has served as president and CEO of Houston Methodist, an eight-hospital system with more than 32,000 employees, since 2012. He acknowledged these pressures in a recent interview with Becker's. He also discussed the prevalence of burnout and shared advice for how leaders can reduce the potential for it.

Improving nursing home care goes beyond helping nursesMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Kristen Fischer; 5/30/24An editorial published Monday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society [Quality of care for older adults in nursing homes: It begins with registered nurses but does not end there!] points out flaws in moves to improve nursing home care outlined in a report published in March. Authors of the March report [RNs in nursing homes—It is not always about the numbers] shared a method to move beyond staffing numbers and optimize the workload of registered nurses. The model detailed nurse accountability, decision making, continuity of information and continuity of care. The authors shared the differences between RN work in the nursing home compared with acute care hospitals, and they also emphasized the importance of geriatric nursing knowledge.

UnitedHealth Group continues to leverage home-based care to drive value-based strategy Home Health Care News; by Robert Holly; 5/30/24 Value-based care has long been a core focus for UnitedHealth Group and its Optum arm. Recently, however, the health care giant has started to view value-based care as a sustainable business model that it can lean into to drive growth across its operations. ... “Although it’s a topic that has been talked about for probably 30 years as a theme, I would say, really, only within UnitedHealth Group and Optum are you seeing value-based care now on a scale and presence [that] allows it to operate truly as a business model,” UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said Wednesday, speaking at an investor conference.

Record numbers of nursing homes are shutting down in New EnglandBoston.com; by Beth Treffeisen; 5/30/24[Personal story about multiple moves, due to shutdowns:] ... Her dad had to spend his entire life savings on care, about $400,000. “And now he’s being treated like this,” Jones said. “He gets moved around, shuffled around like an object.” The nursing home closures affect not only the patients, like Jones’s father, but also the larger health care system and local communities they serve. Experts in the field say the loss of long-term care facility beds has led to backups in emergency rooms, and family members are leaving the workforce to care for the elderly or sick. ... According to a Boston Federal Reserve report, there were 150 less nursing facilities in New England at the end of fiscal year 2023 than there were at the beginning of 2010, a 15 percent decrease.

NYCHA, HPD and HDC celebrate completion of nearly 200 units of senior housing in Bed-Stuy New York Law School; by Veronica Rose; 5/28/24 On May 23, 2024, the New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation celebrated the completion of the Atrium at Sumner project, a new eleven-story residence for seniors. ... Of these 190 units, 57 apartments have been reserved for seniors who formerly experienced homelessness, and 132 apartments are available to senior households at 50 percent area median income or less. ... On-site social services will be provided through Selfhelp’s Active Services for Aging Model with voluntary social work support for individual residents and a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE Center) on the ground floor open to residents. 

US News adds Medicare Advantage data to rankingsBecker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 5/22/24U.S. News & World Report is now including Medicare Advantage data in the rankings for Best Hospitals, according to a U.S. News blog post. The publication previously relied on Medicare data, but as more beneficiaries opt for commercial Medicare Advantage plans, U.S. News decided to expand its scope. The next set of rankings, scheduled for publication on July 16, will include risk-adjusted mortality rates for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in 11 adult specialties. U.S. News weighted mortality scores at 36% of the overall ratings with traditional Medicare data. The weight will shift with the combined mortality score from both Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans.

Uber expands healthcare reach with new patient transport platform Modern Healthcare / Crain's New York Business; by Amanda Glodowski; 5/17/24 Uber has announced a new platform to help caregivers facilitate transportation for those they care for. The move also further expands the company’s footprint in the healthcare space. The new offering ...  allows caregivers to request and monitor rides and deliveries of prescriptions, groceries and over-the-counter items for those they care for. In the coming months, Uber said it will start to partner with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans to reimburse consumers for the cost.

CVS could lose 10% of its Medicare Advantage members in 2025Becker's Payer Issues; by Rylee Wilson; 5/14/24CVS Health executives are bracing to lose up to 10% of Aetna's Medicare Advantage members next year, Bloomberg reported May 14. At an investor conference on May 14, CVS CFO Tom Cowhey said it's "entirely possible" the company loses a portion of its members in the coming year as it prioritizes profitability, according to Bloomberg. "That's OK because we need to get this business back on track," Mr. Cowhey said. Executives at CVS Health have said they will prioritize "margins over membership" in Medicare Advantage in the coming year.

Home-Based Care Investors Show Interest, But M&A Pace Remains CautiousHome Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 5/13/24Home-based care dealmakers have been busier of late, but that has not yet translated into more transactions. There’s some feeling that sidelined private equity firms will eventually have to enter the game, but that may not be the case.

UnitedHealth Group's Optum to close Ohio location, lay off 129Modern Healthcare; by Lauren Berryman; 5/17/24UnitedHealth Group’s Optum will lay off 129 employees and close a Toledo, Ohio, facility, according to a notice filed with the state's job and family services department. The separations are expected to take place in three waves, from July 15 to September 6, and will affect employees in Ohio and remote locations, Optum said in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed Thursday. The affected employees include senior software engineers, senior technology product managers, associate business systems analysts and associate business operations coordinators, the notice said.

Sanction-free InnovAge faces new challenges in Colorado, California during fiscal Q3McKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/14/24InnovAge posted a loss in its third fiscal quarter, but executives of the for-profit Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly provider said business will only continue to improve as temporary headwinds fall by the wayside. “The company’s third quarter results were largely consistent with our expectations,” Patrick Blair, president and chief executive officer, said during a third quarter earnings call last week, according to a transcript. “We continue to see ongoing performance improvement in every facet of our operations which is driving greater stability in our financial results and increased confidence in our ability to deliver high-quality care and a great participant experience while also growing our top and bottom lines.” During the quarter ended March 31, InnovAge lost $6.1 million. That compares to a $7.3 million loss during the third fiscal quarter of 2023. Revenues grew by nearly 12% year-over-year to $193 million.