Literature Review

Transforming care: Spencer Health Solutions and Pharmerica partner to simplify medication management and improve lives The MarCom Journal, Morrisville, NC; by Leigh White, PharMerica and Daphne Earley, Spencer Health Solutions; 1/21/25In a move set to redefine how medication is managed, Spencer Health Solutions (SHS), a leader in innovative healthcare technology, and PharMerica, one of the nation’s largest and most trusted long-term care pharmacy services provider, are joining forces. This transformative partnership aims to make managing medications easier and more reliable for individuals with complex medication needs, senior living communities, and payers nationwide. ... Spencer Health Solutions (SHS) is dedicated to transforming medication management through innovative healthcare technology. ... PharMerica ... serves the long-term care, senior living, hospital, home infusion, hospice, behavioral, specialty and oncology pharmacy markets. 

Los Angeles wildfires leave older patients vulnerable Direct Relief - California Wildfires; by Talya Meyers; 1/22/25 The radio announcer said nursing home residents were being evacuated to the Pasadena Convention Center, so Dr. Laura Mosqueda headed over. Older adults were arriving at the evacuation shelter with hair and hospital gowns covered in ash. People urgently needed to be on oxygen — in a large convention hall with few electrical outlets — or their catheters were getting full but responders didn’t have gloves. ... Some patients were in hospice and end-of-life care, and getting them placed more comfortably was an urgent priority. ... The wildfires that ripped across Southern California communities this month will hurt the health of millions — causing everything from short-term respiratory symptoms to long-term adverse outcomes from chronic disease — but older adults will likely be among the most vulnerable. ... [And with that,] Dr. Mosqueda cautioned that while older adults may be more likely to be medically fragile, many aren’t. Many have perspectives that help them navigate frightening, uncertain situations like the wildfires. “Older adults…were among the most calm and circumspect people I spoke with,” she recalled. “They just had a lot of wisdom and life experience, and they weren’t getting freaked out. They had so many internal resources.”

Brightspring Health Services, Inc. enters into definitive agreement to divest Community Living business to Sevita; reports preliminary 2024 financial results and provides 2025 guidance excluding Community Living The MarCom Journal, Louisville, KY; by Leigh White; 1/20/25 BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. (“BrightSpring” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BTSG), a leading provider of home and community-based pharmacy and health services for complex populations, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Community Living business, namely ResCare Community Living, to Sevita, a leading provider of home and community-based specialty health care, for $835 million in cash consideration, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in 2025, pursuant to regulatory approvals and typical closing conditions. Following the divestiture, BrightSpring’s Provider Services will be comprised of Home Health and Hospice, Personal Care, Rehabilitation Services, and Primary Care. 

US dementia cases projected to double within 40 years Medscape Medical News; by Pauline Anderson; 1/13/25 The number of US adults who will develop dementia each year is projected to increase from approximately 514,000 in 2020 to about 1 million in 2060, new research shows. In addition, the lifetime risk of developing dementia after age 55 is estimated at 42%. The research showed that the relative growth in dementia cases is particularly pronounced for Black adults. These new findings researchers say, “highlight the urgent need for policies that enhance healthy aging, with a focus on health equity.”

HHS targets private equity, pushes for more SNF ownership transparency in new report McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 1/16/25 A new federal report is calling for greater transparency in long-term care ownership, citing “growing consolidation in the healthcare sector and the lack of meaningful competition” as main drivers in decreased patient care quality and caregiver well-being. The Department of Health and Human Services released its report Wednesday. “HHS Consolidation in Health Care Markets RFI Response” was created in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Report authors examined a broad range of settings and deals in the healthcare sector, ultimately identifying two major trends: increasing consolidation in certain healthcare markets and a recent influx of private equity and other private investors. Some providers support the push for more ownership transparency, saying private equity acquisitions of previously nonprofit-owned healthcare providers is a symptom of a broken system.

Philips recalls remote cardiac monitoring software after 2 deaths Modern Healthcare; by Lauren Dubinsky; 1/14/25 Philips is recalling its remote cardiac monitoring software, which has been associated with 109 reported injuries and two reported deaths, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency labeled the action a Class I recall, its most serious designation. ... The recall is related to the company’s Monitoring Service Application, which processes and transmits symptomatic and asymptomatic cardiac events in electrocardiogram data received from the Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry device. The company and its subsidiary Braemar Manufacturing discovered that the software was not properly handling certain EKG readings between July 2022 and July 2024.

Guidelines for evaluating, diagnosing, and disclosing dementia published by Alzheimer’s Association Practical Neurology; 1/14/25 The Diagnostic Evaluation, Testing, Counseling, and Disclosure Clinical Practice Guideline (DETeCD-ADRD CPG) Workgroup, convened and funded by the Alzheimer’s Association, has developed new recommendations for clinicians to use when evaluating patients with possible Alzheimer disease (AD) or AD and related dementias (ADRD). An executive summary of the recommendations for use in primary care and other practice settings was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, along with a companion article summarizing specific guidance for specialists. The Workgroup included representatives from  primary, specialty, subspecialty, long-term, and palliative care disciplines as well as the fields of health economics and bioethics.  Editor's note: Click for open access to the Alzheimer's Association clinical practice guideline ..., executive summary of recommendations for primary care. 

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.]

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver extra food ahead of winter storm Fox 4 KDFW, Dallas, TX; by Alex Boyer; 1/8/25 Volunteers are doing their best to help some of North Texas’ most vulnerable people prepare for the winter storm. ... Meals on Wheels in Dallas County is a service provided by the Visiting Nurses Association. Currently, the organization serves about 5,200 homebound seniors and disabled adults throughout the county each weekday. That’s in addition to those in hospice care.

Seven trends in senior living that will define 2025 and beyond McKnights Senior Living; by Michele Hollerand, PhD, MBA; 1/6/25 Senior living is in the midst of a major transformation, and seven major trends have emerged as key drivers of the strategic plans adopted by boards across the country. Those trends will shape the way organizations position themselves for the future to capture a new customer base in 2025 and beyond.

‘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.

The top long-term care stories of 2024 McKnights Long-Term Care News; by James M. Berklan; 12/20/24 Workforce issues dominated the long-term care provider landscape in 2024 — but in far more ways than just coping with the finalization of the nation’s first-ever nursing home staffing mandate. As new legal and political winds may eventually push that controversial regulation off providers’ desks anyway, it was clearly apparent this year that McKnight’s Long-Term Care News readers’ interests span a wide array of personnel and workplace issues. Below are the top stories, topics and issues that our readers showed they were most intrigued about when it came to doing their jobs better, and about the sector in which they spend so much daily energy.

Sierra Hills employees strike for safer conditions to live and work Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, WY; by Noah Zahn; 12/26/24 Employees at Sierra Hills Assisted Living protested Thursday outside the facility after Edgewood Healthcare, which owns Sierra Hills, has refused to budge in negotiations for safer working conditions for employees and residents after more than 10 months of negotiation. “We did include many things in our contract proposal that we feel will really benefit the residents,” said Taylor Ewig, who has been a CNA at Sierra Hills for around 10 years. ... There are currently between 70 and 80 residents at the facility and around eight under hospice care. Ewig and other CNAs participating in the strike said that many of the Sierra Hills residents are supportive of the strike. The issues began at the facility when Sierra Hills implemented a hospice care service a few years ago, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The company hires hospice nurses who are only on the facility about two hours per week, according to Sierra Hills staff. The rest of that time, the burden of care for the resident falls to the staffed CNAs and RNs.