Literature Review

Calvary Hospital doubles down on palliative care and hospice expansion Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 3/24/25 Michael Fosina began serving as president of Calvary Hospital in New York City in January, bringing decades of healthcare experience to the role. ... Mr. Forsina told Becker’s he’s excited about Calvary’s mission as the organization celebrates its 125th anniversary. Recently, the hospital integrated services with its parent organization, ArchCare, the healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. Mr. Fosina shared his perspective on Calvary’s role in New York and its future in meeting patient needs. ... [Michael Fosina described:] "ArchCare has all of the components of post-acute care when you include our end-of-life hospital and our hospice program. The integration allows us to accept patients, move patients around, have them stay connected with the physician — the team physician. So the transitions of care are not as dramatic as if you’re going from one organization to the next organization." [Continue reading ...]

Revamped tool can reliably assess pain symptoms in dementia patients: researchers McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 3/17/25 ... A team of researchers reconstructed the End-of-Life Dementia-Comfort Assessment in Dying, or EOLD-CAD, after a multifacility study showed that caregivers could adequately and reliably address a host of pain symptoms seen in end-of-life dementia patients. ... When clinicians working in the SNFs that were part of the trials used the EOLD-CAD, they were able to detect patterns in more than 600 residents that fell into four categories: physical distress, symptoms of dying, emotional distress, and well-being. Common symptoms observed across these categories were restlessness, shortness of breath, choking, gurgling, difficulty in swallowing, fear and anxiety. ...

Assessing pain, anxiety and other symptoms of nursing home residents unable to speak for themselves Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, IN; by Kathleen T. Unroe, MD, MHA; 3/10/25 Revamped tool reliably addresses physical and emotional distress, well-being and end-of-life symptoms. As many as half of nursing home residents are cognitively impaired and may be unable to communicate symptoms such as pain or anxiety to the staff and clinicians caring for them. Therefore, information needed for the evaluation of symptoms and subsequent treatment decisions typically does not reliably exist in nursing home electronic health records (EHRs). A new paper reports on the novel adaptation of a commonly used symptom assessment instrument to more comprehensively acquire this difficult-to-obtain data with the ultimate goal of enabling knowledge-based expansion of palliative care services in nursing homes to address residents’ symptoms. 

Breaking bad news: Guidance on disclosing a dementia diagnosis Medscape; by Megan Brooks; 3/3/25 As biomarker testing for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) evolves, timely and compassionate disclosure of a diagnosis is more complex than ever. Yet, clinicians may struggle with how — or in some cases whether — to disclose that a patient has mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. A recent perspective offers a practical roadmap to help clinicians navigate these challenging conversations. The authors from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, noted that disclosure of a dementia diagnosis “is particularly nuanced and requires a conscientious approach. Clinicians must assess patients’ understanding and appreciation of symptoms, goals for the evaluation, and desire for information.” 

New report details financial, emotional toll of Parkinson’s on family caregivers McKnights Home Care; by Foster Stubbs; 2/4/25 A new report sheds a light on the unique challenges faced by family caregivers who care for loved ones with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The report, Parkinson’s Disease Caregiving in the US, features insights from secondary analysis and supplementary interviews with 10 PD caregivers. These caregivers average 31 hours of unpaid care per week; half of interviewed caregivers exceed 100 hours each week, according to the report. The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), with support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and Arcadia University, released the report.  

Healthcare Industry Team 2024 Year in Review JD Supra; by Claire Bass, S. Derek Bauer, Kevin Bradberry, Ernessa Brawley, Sarah Browning, Charlotte Combre, Payal Cramer, Emily Crosby, Vimala Devassy, Shareef Farag, Amy Fouts, Winston Kirton, Caroline Landt, Charlene McGinty, Justin Murphy, Lynn Sessions, Gregory Tanner; 1/22/25As we begin a year that will once again be transformative for the industry, we are excited to present our comprehensive 2024 year-in-review, highlighting all that has happened and the trends that will shape 2025. [Downloadable PDF from BakerHostetler, bakerlaw.com. Large categories include the following:]

The 'paradigm shift’ of hospice service diversification Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/17/25 Some hospices have delved deeper into service diversification to improve timely access and expand their patient reach, while others remain focused on end-of-life care delivery. The decision to launch into new service realms can come with a range of operational and reimbursement questions. Among the keys to diversifying services is establishing a business infrastructure that allows for innovative growth based on communities’ needs, according to Leslie Campbell, COO of Touchstone Communities. The San Antonio, Texas-headquartered company provides hospice, home health, veterans services, assisted living and skilled nursing services. ... Hospice leaders need to ensure that both back-office administrative and interdisciplinary teams are educated on how business growth impacts them, particularly when it comes to quality and compliance across the care continuum, Campbell stated.

The most-read Health Affairs Forefront articles of 2024 Health Affairs; by Health Affairs; 1/8/25... [We] offer a look back at the most-read Health Affairs Forefront articles of 2024. Each year’s list has its own character. This year’s list is heavy on work by authors at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—in particular, articles from our Forefront Featured Topic “Accountable Care For Population Health,” which claimed the first three spots on the “top ten” roster.

Navigating Aging: The LGBTQ+ community relives old traumas as they face aging on their own Northern Kentucky Tribune; by Judith Graham; 1/5/25 Bill Hall, 71, has been fighting for his life for 38 years. These days, he’s feeling worn out. Hall contracted HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, in 1986. ... This past year, Hall has been hospitalized five times with dangerous infections and life-threatening internal bleeding. But that’s only part of what Hall, a gay man, has dealt with. ... By 2030, the number of LGBTQ+ seniors is expected to double. Many won’t have partners and most won’t have children or grandchildren to help care for them, AARP research indicates. They face a daunting array of problems, including higher-than-usual rates of anxiety and depression, chronic stress, disability, and chronic illnesses such as heart disease, according to numerous research studies. High rates of smoking, alcohol use, and drug use — all ways people try to cope with stress — contribute to poor health. Keep in mind, this generation grew up at a time when every state outlawed same-sex relations and when the American Psychiatric Association identified homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder. Many were rejected by their families and their churches when they came out. Then, they endured the horrifying impact of the AIDS crisis.

‘Change in air’ for senior living and care industry in 2025 McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 12/20/24 “Change is in the air” heading into 2025 for the senior living and care industry, particularly evidenced in regulatory shifts, dementia care, technology expansion and market rebounds, according to the Health Dimensions Group’s annual white paper outlining key issues expected to affect providers in the future.

Quality of hospices used by Medicare Advantage and traditional fee-for-service beneficiariesJAMA Network Open; Lindsay L. Y. White, PhD, MPH; Chuxuan Sun, MPA; Norma B. Coe, PhD; 12/24In this cross-sectional study including 4 215 648 decedents and 2 211 826 hospice enrollees, regular Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service beneficiaries enrolled in hospices of similar quality. However, beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage special needs plans were significantly more likely than fee-for-service beneficiaries to use hospices of inferior quality, with referral networks playing an important role in hospice quality choice. These results suggest that policymakers should consider incentivizing referrals to high-quality hospices and approaches to educating beneficiaries on identifying high-quality hospice care. 

Palliative care may improve quality of life for stroke survivors and their family members American Heart Association - Stroke News & Brain Health; by Newsroom; 12/16/24 Palliative care ... can help improve quality of life for stroke survivors as well as their family members, according to “Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke,” a new scientific statement published today in the Association’s peer-reviewed scientific journal Stroke. ... The new statement complements the Association’s 2014 Scientific Statement on Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke, which covered core palliative care competencies and skills for health care professionals who treat stroke patients. The statement includes strategies to improve communication about prognosis and goals-of-care, address psychosocial needs such as coping with loss, navigate complex health care systems and prepare for death with end-of-life care when necessary. It also highlights the substantial inequities that exist in palliative care after stroke across sociodemographic and regional characteristics and the need to reduce those disparities.

Characteristics of patients enrolled in hospice presenting to the emergency department American Journal of Emergency Medicine; by Kayla P Carpenter, Fernanda Bellolio, Cory Ingram, Aaron B Klassen, Sarayna S McGuire, Alisha A Morgan, Aidan F Mullan, Alexander D Ginsburg; 12/9/24, online ahead of print Emergency Departments (EDs) frequently care for patients with life-limiting illnesses, with nearly 1 in 5 patients enrolled in hospice presenting to an ED during their hospice enrollment. This study investigates the reasons patients enrolled in hospice seek care in the ED, the interventions they receive, and their outcomes. ... Patients enrolled in hospice most frequently presented to the ED for trauma [36%; with 15% for pain, 12% for catheter/tube malfunction]. Most received laboratory studies and imaging. Nearly half of patients were admitted to the hospital and short-term mortality was high, particularly for patients enrolled in hospice for needs for ED care? Ie.,