Literature Review

Blue Ridge Hospice expanding mission to serve people better, sooner The Winchester Star, Winchester, VA; by Brian Brehm; 9/9/24 “We’re calling this a year of transformation,” said Jason Parsons, who was named CEO of the Winchester-based nonprofit in December. “Blue Ridge has been around for 43 years and this year, 2024, we’re transforming ourselves into Blue Ridge Care, which includes Blue Ridge Hospice, Blue Ridge Independence at Home — which is our PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) program — Blue Ridge Palliative Care Services and our eight thrift shops.” It’s a sweeping change for an organization that most people only associate with end-of-life care. Parsons ... said Blue Ridge Care will continue to provide graceful exits for patients in the final chapter of their lives, but it will also expand its focus to improve the quality of life for seniors who still have a lot of stories to tell.

When rounding sparked improvements, per 4 chief nursing officers Becker's Hospital Review; by Erica Carbajal; 9/5/24 Rounding the floor with front-line nurses and staff is more than just a management practice for leaders to show face — it is a vital tool for connecting with employees and driving meaningful change. In conversations with hospital leaders, they often echo the sentiment of how routinely spending time with front-line staff uncovers opportunities to address pain points in their daily workflow. With nurses often pointing to lack of resources and support as drivers of job dissatisfaction and burnout, rounding represents a key strategy to positively affect staff engagement and retention, and thus, patient care. Becker's recently asked four chief nursing officers to share a recent example of a time when rounding sparked a process change or improvement at their hospital. Here are their responses: ... Editor's note: "Rounding" best practices and outcomes apply to hospice and palliative care multidisciplinary teams. 

National Health Statistics Reports: Overview of Post-acute and Long-term Care Providers  and Services Users in the United States, 2020 CDC U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; by Jessica P. Lendon, Ph.D., Christine Caffrey, Ph.D., Amanuel Melekin, Ph.D., Priyanka Singh, M.P.H., Zhaohui Lu, M.S., and Manisha Sengupta, Ph.D; dated 8/27/24, released 9/7/24 Objective: This report presents national results from the National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study to describe providers and services users in seven major settings of paid, regulated post-acute and long-term care services in the United States. Methods - Data Sources: Data include about 11,400 home health agencies, 5,200 hospices, 1,200 inpatient rehabilitation facilities, 350 long-term care hospitals, and 15,300 nursing homes. Results:

Year-over-year health spending growth highest ‘by far’ for home healthcare McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 7/28/24 Year-over-year growth in national health spending in June was highest “by far” for home healthcare, at 20.9%, compared with other major healthcare categories, according to a brief issued late Tuesday by Altarum. Most of the growth, 18.5 percentage points, was due to changes in utilization rather than price, George Miller, PhD, Altarum fellow and research team leader, told the McKnight’s Business Daily. “Nursing home care spending was a distant second, at 10.0% year-over-year growth,” Miller said. By comparison, year-over-year spending growth was 8.3% for prescription drugs, 8.2% for hospital care, 7.3% for dental services and 6.6% for physician and clinical services, according to the report. Overall, spending on healthcare goods and services grew by 8.1% between June 2023 and June 2024, with utilization growth continuing to outpace price growth.

Improving post-hospital care of older cancer patients Cancer Health; by University of Colorado Cancer Center and Greg Glasgow; 8/26/24 A few years ago, University of Colorado Cancer Center member and hospitalist Sarguni Singh, MD, began to notice a troubling trend: Older adults with cancer who were leaving the hospital for skilled nursing facilities after treatment were being readmitted to the hospital or having worse outcomes while in rehabilitation. ... Singh knew of an intervention called Assessing and Listening to Individual Goals and Needs (ALIGN) — a palliative care social worker-led protocol aimed at improving quality of life, aligning goals of care, and providing support to patients and caregivers — and she began using it for cancer care. ... The results were overwhelmingly positive, and patients and caregivers told us, ‘This was so helpful,’” says Singh, associate professor of hospital medicine in the CU School of Medicine.

Home health care agency going through changes KSAL.com; by Todd Pittenger; 8/22/24 According to Memorial Health System of Abilene, Home Health & Hospice of Dickinson County (HH&H) has covered many miles throughout Dickinson, Morris, and Marion counties for many years. ... While it was never about profit  and more about going the extra mile to take care of the people in the community, the small agency can no longer support the supply and demand of what it takes to provide these services.  They have taken a loss for several years and can no longer sustain that loss. Home Health & Hospice of Dickinson County is not closing. Their local staff is proud to be the only agency in the community that provides the kind of quality care to neighbors, friends, and family, and  will continue to do so.  HH&H has been in contact with multiple agencies that can assist patients to locate agencies or individuals who can provide these types of services and they are ready to assist. [List of resources]

St. Louis Man sentenced for home health care fraudDOJ press release; 8/21/24U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a man who used his brother’s identity to fraudulently obtain money from the Missouri Medicaid Program to six months of incarceration and six months of house arrest. Judge Clark also ordered Christopher J. Spencer, 46, to repay $56,173 to Missouri’s Medicaid Program. Spencer made false statements from June 2018 to February 2022 in connection with claims for Medicaid-reimbursed personal care assistance services.

“What I wish I knew about dementia”: A caregiving only child’s experience The Healthy; by Dr. Patricia Varacallo, DO; 8/20/24 It's no secret dementia affects the brain of the patient, and tests the hearts of their loved ones. Through one woman's personal journey, experts advise on the emotional, medical, and financial aspects of caregiving for dementia. ... Drawing from Ann’s caregiving journey and insights from Dr. Wint and Lucille Carriere, PhD, Cleveland Clinic Angie Ruvo Endowed Caregiving Chair, we share their collective wisdom on what they wish more people knew about dementia.

Future trends in aged care careers Intelligent Living; by Jennifer Barns; 8/21/24Medical advances have increased the average life expectancy. By 2050, older people—or those above 60 years—are expected to comprise 22% of the global population, almost twice compared to 2015, according to the World Health Organization. As the population ages, the demand for skilled professionals in the aged care sector is also going through the roof. ... Editor's Note: This article provides statistics and user-friendly language that might be helpful for your employee recruitment strategies.

Home Instead Totton launches expedited home care service to meet growing needsKMLK (AR) press release; 8/7/24Home Instead Totton has announced the launch of its new expedited home care service... This new service aims to cut down waiting times, helping clients get the care and support they need quickly and efficiently. The service is designed to meet various needs of the local community, offering a wide range of home care options. These include home visits, specialised care, health care, and live-in care. Each service is designed to address specific client needs, from daily activities to complex health conditions.Publisher's note: Is there need / opportunity for "expedited" hospice care?

Owner of home health care company convicted of multimillion dollar health care fraud schemeDOJ press release; 7/22/24[Boston] Faith Newton, 56, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of health care fraud, and three counts of money laundering. The jury found the defendant not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy... “Newton orchestrated a massive $100 million health care fraud scheme that targeted the Medicaid program, funding her lavish lifestyle at the expense of the American taxpayers,” said Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Today’s guilty verdict underscores the commitment of HHS-OIG and our partners to protecting the integrity of our federal health care system, and it should also serve as a stern warning to criminals who contemplate engaging in similar illegal schemes.”

A blood test accurately diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the time, study finds The New York Times; by Pam Belluck; 7/28/24 The New York Times says researchers “reported that a blood test was significantly more accurate than doctors’ interpretation of cognitive tests and CT scans in signaling” Alzheimer’s disease. The study “found that about 90% of the time the blood test correctly identified whether patients with memory problems had Alzheimer’s,” while “dementia specialists using standard methods that did not include expensive PET scans or invasive spinal taps were accurate 73% of the time” and “primary care doctors using those methods got it right only 61% of the time.” The findings were published in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

The bereavement care crisis in hospice facilities MedCity News; by Cara McCarty Abbott; 7/28/24 Bereavement care is an essential part of the hospice experience, designed to support those coping with loss. Bereavement care is not just a compassionate gesture; it is a critical component of the hospice care continuum. So why is it so underserved in the U.S.? ... Instead of pushing harder on hospice providers to find more ways to deliver comprehensive bereavement care with less, it's key to address the systemic forces hampering their ability to deliver quality care at the scale required and address these challenges. Editor's Note: Additionally, does your hospice still rely on the misnamed, overused "5 Stages of Grief"? These were determined from 1960's persons who were dying, not from bereaved persons who live on--surviving--the death. Extensive fresh, contemporary, hospice-designed grief resources to support bereavement counselors and the persons they serve are provided by Composing Life Out of Loss, a sponsor for our newsletter.