Literature Review

[UK] Supporting the bereaved child in the adult ICU: A narrative reviewIntensive Care Medicine; Annelies Rowland, Carole Boulanger, Louise Dalton; 2/25Childhood bereavement is a significant issue globally, affecting millions of children each year, with incidence rates significantly increasing following the COVID-19 pandemic. The loss of an important adult, particularly in the ICU environment, can lead to lasting psychological and behavioural challenges for children. Both families and healthcare professionals (HCPs) often feel unprepared and uncomfortable engaging in honest, supportive conversations with children about bereavement, further complicating children's grief processing. This narrative review examines the pivotal role ICU HCPs can play in facilitating child-centred bereavement support, focusing on promoting honest communication, supportive visitation practices, creating a child-friendly and humanised ICU environment, and encouraging child involvement during end-of-life care. The review also advocates for specialised training to equip ICU staff with the necessary skills to support grieving children and families.

7 hospital closures in 2025 Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Madeline Ashley; 2/25/25 ... Following a trend of 25 hospital closures reported on by Becker's in 2024, many facilities are being forced to close their doors due to changing community needs, rising operational costs and evolving care models. Becker's has reported on seven hospital and emergency department closures in 2025:

SSM Health's blueprint for navigating the 'change curve' Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 2/26/25 Addressing the challenges facing healthcare leaders requires focus on more than one priority. In the case of SSM Health, four areas are at the foundation of its approach to taking on what President and CEO Laura Kaiser calls "wicked" problems.

Patients without family or health care proxies face overtreatment or limbo in hospitals WHYY - PBS; by Maiken Scott; 2/24/25 A program matches unrepresented patients with volunteers who can make care decisions for them during health care crises. ... [Intensive care physician David] Oxman says unrepresented patients are a small, but growing group. Some have outlived their family members, or are estranged from them. Maybe they’ve moved a lot, sometimes substance use or homelessness plays a role. The situation is especially complicated with patients who have dementia, or who can’t communicate their wishes for other reasons. ... Most states have provisions where medical guardians and medical decision makers can be appointed by a court, but that takes a long time. In the meantime, a search for relatives begins. David Sontag, director of ethics for Beth Israel Lahey Health in Massachusetts, ... created a matching program where health care professionals volunteer to represent patients, not within their own hospital systems because that could cross ethical boundaries, but at other hospitals. “This is an opportunity for us to help some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, those who have nobody to speak for them when they can no longer speak for themselves. And that allows us to respect their autonomy throughout their lives,” he said.

Home health, hospice CEO average pay tops $400K: report McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 2/19/25 The Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service’s newly released 2024-2025 Multi-Facility Corporate Compensation Report offered an in-depth look at home health  and hospice executives’ average earnings. The average CEO salary at a multifacility home health and hospice firm was $403,000, with the top 10% earning $603,000 and the bottom 10% making $278,000. Average salaries varied among other C-suite executives, with chief operating officers earning $247,000, top financial executives earning $265,000, and chief medical officers earning $285,000, on average, according to the report. 

Ascension recoups $1B in advance payments Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 2/19/25 St. Louis-based Ascension has recouped about $1 billion in advance payments from Medicare and certain commercial payers related to disruptions from the May ransomware attack that affected the health system as well as the February 2024 Change Healthcare cyberattack. "The advance payments helped to mitigate the unfavorable cash flow impacts associated with the aforementioned cyber incidents as revenue cycle processes continue to ramp towards recovery," the health system said in financial documents published Feb. 17. "In accordance with the terms and conditions of the programs, recoupments began in FY24 with all payments being fully recouped at Dec. 31, 2024." 

Innovations in serious illness care with Bree Owens Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 2/19/25 In this episode of TCNtalks, host Chris Comeaux interviews Bree Owens, a licensed clinical social worker and co-founder of The Holding Group.  They discuss Bree’s journey in the healthcare field, particularly in Palliative Care. Bree shares insights on learning the importance of meaningful conversations with patients and their families about care options, which led her to the unique model of The Holding Group.  Her organization has created space, hence the name The Holding Group, for a patient-centered approach, helping patients and their families find the right care at the right place and at the right time.  Bree emphasizes the significance of informed consent and the role of social workers in facilitating these discussions to enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction.

What's keeping CFOs up at night? Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 2/14/25 As health system CFOs chart their course for 2025, they face an increasingly complex financial landscape marked by mounting labor costs, tightening margins, shifting payer dynamics and an evolving regulatory environment. ... [Several] CFOs recently joined the “Becker's CFO and Revenue Cycle Podcast” to discuss the trends they're watching most closely — and the strategies they're deploying to stay ahead. [Key items include the following: labor shortages (key theme); major investments in ambulatory care facilities; AI to support operations and service; physician partnerships; shift from fee for service to value-based care; clinical labor; malpractice litigation; growth of Medicare Advantage programs; staffing shortages; inflation; reimbursements; providing care to undersinsured patients; Medicaid supplemental funding programs; "disruptors' by private equity and "other nontraditional players"; uncertainty of federal and state regulation changes.]

57 health systems on Forbes' list of best large employers Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 2/13/25 Forbes released its annual ranking of America's best large employers Feb. 12, and it included 57 hospitals and health systems. The publication partnered with market research firm Statista to compile lists of the top large and midsize employers in the U.S. after surveying more than 217,000 employees working at companies within the U.S. that employ more than 1,000 people. Companies with more than 5,000 employees were considered for the large employers ranking. Survey participants were asked whether they would recommend their employer to others and to rate it based on criteria such as pay, work environment, training programs and advancement opportunities. [The top 5 include the following. Click on the title's link for the full list and links to more info.]

Impact of inpatient palliative care on end-of-life care among patients with early-onset colorectal cancerJournal of Clinical Oncology; Suriya Baskar, Bohae R Lee, Rajiv Midha, Udhayvir Singh Grewal; 1/25Palliative care has proven benefits in elderly patients with advanced cancer; however, the objective benefits of palliative care in younger patients with cancer remain under-studied. We sought to examine the impact of inpatient palliative care consultation on end-of-life (EOL) care among hospitalized patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC). Inpatient palliative care consultation at EOL among patients with EOCRC was associated with lesser use of aggressive interventions and higher rates of DNR code status. We also noted significantly lower costs of hospitalization among patients receiving inpatient palliative care consultation at EOL. These results underscore the importance of integration of inpatient palliative care consultation among patients with EOCRC at EOL. 

432 rural hospitals at risk of closure, breakdown by state Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Andrew Cass; 2/12/25 There are 432 rural hospitals vulnerable to closure, according to a Feb. 11 report from Chartis, a healthcare advisory services firm. Chartis analyzed 15 vulnerability indicators and found that 10 were statistically significant in predicting hospital closures, including: Medicaid expansion status, average length of stay, occupancy, percentage change in net patient revenue and years of negative operating margin. Of the 48 states with rural hospitals, 38 have at least one at risk of closure, according to the report. The states with the highest number of vulnerable hospitals are: 

Flu cases continue to rise across the countryABC 6 News, Rochester, MN; by KAALTV; 2/10/25Flu cases are continuing to rise across the country as doctor visits for flu-like symptoms are now reaching their highest point in 15 years. The CDC estimates at least 24 million illnesses this flu season alone, with 13,000 turning deadly. Right now, about 31% of flu tests are coming back positive, nearly double the peak from last season. Doctors say your best line of defense is vaccination.Editor's note: We see this surge across news media sources, and compiled this state-specific list for you. 

Palliative care initiated in the Emergency Department-A cluster randomized clinical trialJAMA; Corita R. Grudzen, MD, MSHS; Nina Siman, MA, MSEd; Allison M. Cuthel, MPH; Oluwaseun Adeyemi, MBBS, PhD; Rebecca Liddicoat Yamarik, MD; Keith S. Goldfeld, DrPH, MS, MPA; PRIM-ER Investigators; 1/25Question-What is the effect of a multicomponent intervention to initiate palliative care in the emergency department on hospital admission in older adults with serious, life-limiting illness? In this cluster randomized clinical trial, which was conducted at 29 US emergency departments and included 98,922 initial visits, there was no difference in the rate of hospital admission in older adults with serious, life-limiting illness receiving care before (64.4%) vs after (61.3%) emergency department clinical staff receipt of a multicomponent primary palliative care intervention. Relevance-This multicomponent intervention to initiate palliative care in the ED did not have an effect on hospital admission, subsequent health care use, or short-term mortality in older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.