Literature Review

Wildfire emergency: Health facility evacuation details California Department of Public Health; Press Release; page updated 1/21/25Wildfires can lead to emergency evacuations and it’s important to follow your local officials when evacuations are ordered. If you’re looking for current evacuation information, monitor local news outlets (television, radio, etc.) as well as official social media sites for emergency responders (sheriff, police, fire). Be sure to follow the directions of safety personnel to ensure your safety and the safety of first responders. If you are ordered to evacuate your home or the area, do so immediately. Time is crucial!​ The table below contains the latest health facility evacuation ​information: [Click on the title's link to view the list.] 

Which health facilities have been impacted by L.A.-area fires? AI may paint a clearer picture DirectRelief; by Andrew Schroeder; 1/14/25 Geospatial AI and remote sensing advance health system impact analysis shows where facilities have been damaged or destroyed -- and where medical needs may be greatest. One of the most important factors for humanitarian responders in these types of large-scale disaster situations is to understand the effects on the formal health system, upon which most people — and vulnerable communities in particular — rely upon in their neighborhoods. Evaluation of the impact of disasters ... is traditionally a relatively slow and manually arduous process, involving extensive ground truth visitation by teams of assessment professionals. Speeding up this process without losing accuracy, while potentially improving the safety and efficiency of assessment teams, is among the more important analytical efforts Direct Relief can undertake for response and recovery efforts.

How poor communication is killing patients and burning out doctors Medpage Today's KevinMD.com; by Pamela Buchanan; 1/14/25 This week alone, I had two particularly heart-wrenching encounters [as an Emergency Room physician]: A 65-year-old man with metastatic lung cancer, convinced his shortness of breath was just pneumonia. When I explained the progression of his disease, he was shocked. No one had told him that his cancer was likely incurable. A 97-year-old woman brought in for “failure to thrive.” She was frail, pale, and not eating—classic signs of the final stages of metastatic cancer. When I suggested hospice care, she seemed blindsided, as if this reality was completely new to her. Both cases highlight a troubling trend: Patients often come to the ER not just for care, but for clarity. They don’t understand their diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment plan. ...

St. Croix Hospice to acquire Mayo Clinic Health System hospice operations in Southwest Minnesota PR Newswire, Oakdale, MN; by St. Croix Hospice and Mayo Clinic Health System; 1/13/25 St. Croix Hospice and Mayo Clinic Health System have entered into a definitive agreement for St. Croix Hospice to acquire Mayo Clinic Health System's hospice operations in Southwest Minnesota. The agreement remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. ... "With more than 75 locations across the Midwest staffed by local care teams, St. Croix Hospice has been proudly providing hospice care for Mayo Clinic Health System patients throughout the Midwest for many years," says St. Croix Hospice Chief Clinical Officer Mandy Cogswell. ... "This marks the second recent transaction where St. Croix Hospice has acquired a health-system based hospice program, including a fourth quarter 2024 purchase in Iowa and Nebraska," said St. Croix Hospice CEO Heath Bartness.

Caregiver confessions: ‘How much more can we take?’ New York Magazine - The Cut - Family; as told to Paula Aceves and David mack; 1/13/25 Eleven people who care for aging and sick relatives share their fears, resentments, and guilt. “Where did those ten years ago?”: the daughter struggling to make ends meet while caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s. I never left home, like a good Cuban. My dad died when I was 9, and my mom never remarried, so I always felt a responsibility for her as her only child, especially since I’m not married and don’t have children of my own. [Click on the title's link to read this and other caregiver stories.]

Doctors, nurses press ahead as wildfires strain L.A.’s healthcare Los Angeles Times, produced by KFF Health News; by Emily Alpert Reyes, Bernard J. Wolfson and Molly Castle Work; 1/10/25 The rapidly spreading wildfires are not only upending the lives of tens of thousands of Los Angeles County residents and business owners, but also stressing the region’s hospitals, health clinics, first responders and nursing homes. ... Amid the maelstrom, doctors, nurses and other caregivers did their jobs. ... “All hospitals in close proximity to the fires remain on high alert and are prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen,” the Hospital Assn. of Southern California said in a statement. “The fires are creating significant operational hurdles,” the association added. ... [From a nurse,] "In times like this, this is when community si the most powerful."

Researchers compared hospital early warning scores for clinical deterioration—Here’s what they learnedJAMA Network; Roy Perlis, MD, MSc; Jennifer Abbasi; 1/24This conversation is part of a series of interviews in which JAMA Network editors and expert guests explore issues surrounding the rapidly evolving intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and medicine. Arecent head-to-head study at Yale New Haven Health System compared 6 different early warning scores designed to recognize clinical deterioration in hospitalized patients, including 3 proprietary AI tools. Among the best was the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), a publicly available non-AI tool, while the Epic Deterioration Index “was one of the worst” of the batch, the authors reported in October in JAMA Network Open.

California wildfires and healthcare: Compiled articlesCompiled from various news sources; 1/9/25

'Never waste a good crisis': The keys behind a Louisiana system's financial comebackBecker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 12/27/24Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, a 10-hospital system headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., achieved a $241 million turnaround in fiscal year 2024 under the leadership of CFO Mike Gleason, who told Becker's the feat was "a total team effort." By reimagining operational strategies, shifting from a holding company to an operating company model, and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration, the 10-hospital system not only stabilized its finances but positioned itself for sustained growth. Mr. Gleason joined the Becker's Healthcare podcast to discuss the strategies that turned a financial crisis into an opportunity for sustainable growth and strengthened the health system's ability to reinvest in its people and future.

Top 25 health systems' most-successful digital projects of '24Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 12/20/24Health systems experienced another year of digital advancement in 2024, with more big EHR moves and a push toward generative AI. Here are the most successful IT projects and top digital trends of the year, as told to Becker's by the head technology leaders at top 25 health systems across the U.S.

Holistic and seamless: How health systems advocate, Mass General Brigham are advancing at-home care Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 1/6/25 A big part of the evolution of health systems has been more meaningful engagement with the home as an extension of brick-and-mortar operations. In recent years, organizations like Advocate Health and Mass General Brigham have exemplified this shift. These major health systems are reevaluating their home-based care capabilities and partnerships, and leveraging technology and innovative care models–including hospital-at-home–to enable more integrated and cost-efficient services. ... In August, the organization was awarded $4.6 million from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services to study short-term rehab at home. The study is a randomized controlled trial that examines the impact of delivering short-term rehab care at home compared to a traditional post-acute care setting.

Here’s what experts expect for hospitals in 2025Healthcare Brew; by Cassie McGrath; (emailed 1/6/25) 12/5/24Two experts talked with Healthcare Brew about possible upcoming trends in leadership development and health equity initiatives, and they’re also eyeing potential changes to federal regulations for drug discount programs as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what providers are anticipating for 2025, according to industry experts. [Including:]

Current challenges in neurocritical care: A narrative reviewWorld Neurosurgery; Safa Kaleem, William T. Harris II, Stephanie Oh, Judy H. Ch'ang; 1/25Neurocritical care as a field aims to treat patients who are neurologically critically ill due to a variety of pathologies. As a recently developed subspecialty, the field faces challenges, several of which are outlined in this review ... [including confusion around] brain death testing or the diagnosis of brain death itself ... Given these difficult scenarios encountered in the neuro-ICU, conversations with patients’ decision-makers are often done with the assistance of palliative care services ... the most common reasons for palliative care consultation in the neuro-ICU were discussing prognosis, eliciting patient and family values, understanding medical options, and identifying conflict. Collaboration with hospital chaplains and palliative care services can be helpful, but cultural humility also needs to be a priority for neurocritical care providers to be able to navigate difficult conversations.