Literature Review

Bill introduced to increase access to advanced wheelchairs HomeCare, Nashville, TN; 10/24/24 U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced the Choices for Increased Mobility Act (S 5154) to increase access to wheelchairs made with advanced materials by allowing Medicare beneficiaries to upgrade to lighter, more functional wheelchairs without bearing the entire upfront cost. These manual wheelchairs help prevent shoulder injuries, enhance maneuverability and reduce overall pain and fatigue for users. ... When the Medicare billing code for ultra-lightweight manual wheelchairs was established in 1993, materials like titanium and carbon fiber were not considered, as they were not yet in use for wheelchairs. As a result, ... providers have struggled to supply wheelchairs with these advanced materials at the fee schedule amounts set by Medicare.

Safety first: How to ward off health care facility violence SmartBrief; by Julia M. Johnson; 10/23/24Panelists on an American Hospital Association webinar highlight ways in which hospitals and practices can protect their patients and themselves. ... The American Hospital Association recently hosted a webinar about what hospitals and practices need to know to protect themselves, staff members and patients. “Understanding Origins of Violence in Health Care Facilities” featured Jason Grellner of Evolv Technology and Drew Neckar of Cosecure. Both panelists spoke candidly about technology, terminology and steps that can be taken to dial down the danger at health care facilities.  

Healthcare trends & transactions Q3 2024 Bass, Berry & Sims; by Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC; 10/21/24 In the healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, while deal volumes varied across different sectors, by and large the sure and steady pace of deal volume in Q2 continued into Q3. Moreover, several positive developments in Q3—namely, the Federal Reserve (finally) cutting interest rates, the courts striking down the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) national ban on non-competes, and California Governor Newsom’s vetoing Assembly Bill 3129—may serve as the catalysts needed to boost activity as we head into the final stretch of 2024.

Dozens of CarePartners patients in Asheville transferred to other facilities after HCA temporarily shuts down rehab, hospice center Asheville Watchdog; by Andrew R. Jones; 10/14/24 Hundreds of employees uncertain about their jobs after facility is closed to ease pressure on Mission Hospital. Mission Health’s CarePartners Health Services is temporarily closed following the pressures Hurricane Helene put on Asheville’s health care system, disrupting rehabilitative care for more than 50 patients and forcing more than 250 employees to take temporary jobs elsewhere in the system, according to employees and internal emails obtained by Asheville Watchdog.  ... The closing affected nearly 50 inpatient rehab patients, several long-term acute care patients, and eight hospice patients, all of whom were sent to home caregivers, skilled nursing facilities, other inpatient rehab programs, and UNC Health Caldwell in Lenoir, more than an hour’s drive to the east, according to one employee.

Minnesota-based Saint Therese to acquire St. Mary of the Woods Senior Community in Avon, Ohio AP; by Barb Hemberger; 10/15/24 Continuing to build its footprint in the Midwest, Saint Therese, an aging care and services leader based in the Twin Cities, today announced it will acquire St. Mary of the Woods in Avon, Ohio, near Cleveland. The transition of ownership is expected to occur on December 1, 2024. This is the second acquisition for Saint Therese in two years and the second in the region, following the purchase last year of IHM Senior Living Community in Monroe, Michigan. ... Saint Therese at St. Odilia in Shoreview specializes in hospice and palliative care. Saint Therese is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) senior care organization. 

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.

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.”

Sixty-four Fla.-based healthcare facilities report evacuations  Healthcare Purchasing News - Regulatory; by Janette Wider; 10/8/24 Ahead of Hurricane Milton the Agency for Health Care Administration initiated an event in the Health Facility Reporting System. ... Health care providers have been requested to provide information on census, available beds, evacuation status, accepting evacuees and generator needs from counties declared under EO-24-114. This information allows AHCA to assist health care providers in transferring patients if needed and ensure that health care providers in impacted areas have the necessary resources and adequate power. 64 health care facilities have reported evacuations. This includes:

Temporary regulatory relief for South Carolina health care providers responding to Hurricane Helene Baker Donelson; Alissa D. Fleming; 10/4/24 South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a State of Emergency on September 25, 2024, to prepare for Hurricane Helene. On September 29, 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a Federal Major Disaster Declaration (FEMA-4829-DR) for South Carolina. On September 30, 2024, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency in South Carolina, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued several blanket waivers to provide greater compliance flexibility and continuity of care while responding to Helene in the geographic area covered by the President's declaration. These waivers [detailed in the article] provide health care facilities with flexibility in service delivery, staffing, and patient care, aimed at alleviating the strain caused by Helene. Further, HHS, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), and other regulatory bodies have announced relief efforts, all aimed at reducing administrative burdens so providers can continue to care for and treat those in need. ...7. Hospices Assessment Timeframe Extension: CMS is extending the timeframe for updating comprehensive hospice patient assessments from 15 to 21 days, though initial and ad-hoc assessments must still be completed based on patient needs. ...Editor's note: Click on the title's link to continue reading. Other CMS waivers are defined for 1. General ... for Health Care Facilities; 2. Critical Access Hospictals; 3. Hospital and Long Term Care Facilities; 4. Skilled Nursing Facilities; 5. Home Health Agencies; 6. DME, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies; 7. Hospice (above); 8. Practioner Licensure and Enrollment ... HIPAA; Disaster Relief

$1.6M grant to focus on nursing home units to reduce racial disparities in dementia care McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Jessica R. Towhey; 10/3/24 Emory University will use a $1.6 million, federal grant to investigate the role Alzheimer’s special care units play in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in dementia care within nursing homes. The research team will be led by Huiwen Xu, PhD, an associate professor in the university’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, who specializes in gerontology and elder health. The four-year grant from the National Institute on Aging will analyze quality of life and improved health outcomes in the specialized care units, which the school’s press release said are available in only 14% of nursing homes nationwide. Xu’s team will examine the underlying causes of racial disparities for Black and Hispanic residents, who have limited access to the memory care units, the release said. 

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.]

Mirror, mirror 2024: A portrait of the failing U.S. health system - comparing performance in 10 nations The Commonwealth Fund; by David Blumenthal, Evan D. Gumas, Arnav Shah, Munira Z. Gunja, and Reginald D. Williams II Goal: Compare health system performance in 10 countries, including the United States, to glean insights for U.S. improvement. Methods: Analysis of 70 health system performance measures in five areas: access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health outcomes. Key Findings: The top three countries are Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, although differences in overall performance between most countries are relatively small. The only clear outlier is the U.S., where health system performance is dramatically lower. Conclusion: The U.S. continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector. While the other nine countries differ in the details of their systems and in their performance on domains, unlike the U.S., they all have found a way to meet their residents’ most basic health care needs, including universal coverage.

Waterbury nursing home residents, caregivers push back against plan to close facility NBC Waterbury, CT; by Amanda Pitts; 9/17/24 A nursing home in Waterbury could close in less than 30 days after losing its federal funding. Abbott Terrace Health Center is home to 180 people and employs 287 caregivers, who are newly unionized and pushing back against the closure. ... The funding was pulled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) after the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) found that the facility didn’t meet safety requirements. It has left residents to find a new place to live and caregivers to find a new place to work.