Literature Review

New Health Equity Guide from Center to Advance Palliative Care provides a roadmap to transform care for black patients with serious illness Cision PRWeb; by Center to Advance Palliative Care; 11/13/24 Having medical concerns dismissed, not being believed when reporting pain, and facing multiple barriers to care are just three of the experiences reported to Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) in a focus group of Black patients with serious illness. In fact, when Black people in the United States are living with a serious illness like cancer, heart failure, or dementia, they experience disproportionately high suffering compared to white patients—often due to poor pain management, low-quality communication from their care teams, and high family caregiver burden. To address these inequities, CAPC has released a new, comprehensive guide, Advancing Equity for Black Patients with Serious Illness, to equip palliative care leaders and health equity change agents with practical tools to implement meaningful change. Drawn from research, examples of health equity initiatives from across the country, and the wisdom of health equity leaders, the guide provides a practical roadmap for transforming care for Black patients, and their families and caregivers.

‘Everything is lining up’: Home-based care M&A expected to soar in near-term future Home Health News; by Audrie Martin; 11/11/24 Home health, home care and hospice M&A was historically high in 2021, with high valuations serving sellers and solid return on investment serving buyers. Transactions plummeted after that, but recent signs suggest M&A is beginning to pick back up across sectors. ... Sellers should expect questions about employee retention, the company’s track record of growth after M&A and whether their leadership has done due diligence before entering the race. ... Experts predict that large, founder-led home health and hospice businesses will be in high demand in the coming year. Larger home care companies, especially those that are Medicaid-funded, will also be in demand. 

Veterans and Alzheimer's: 6 lifestyle tips for staving off the disease NOLA.com, New Orleans, Louisiana; by Dana Territo; 11/11/24 Are veterans more prone to Alzheimer’s disease? According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other dementias than the general public, and the number of veterans with Alzheimer's is expected to grow. For instance, in 2021, an estimated 457,391 veterans had Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is projected to increase by 8.4% to more than 488,000 by 2033. Age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease as a whole, and veterans are more likely to have health conditions that further increase that risk, including high cholesterol, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Additionally, homelessness contributes to that risk as homeless veterans are more likely to have an Alzheimer’s diagnosis than those who are stably housed.

“I’m 68 and totally alone”: 50 people share what it’s like being seniors AOL.com - Bored Panda; by Dominyka; 11/9/24 People are different in their upbringing, in their tastes, even in their looks. But all people do have one thing in common: we're all heading towards the same end. With the exception of Bryan Johnson, maybe. Still, we're all aging, whether we like it or not. And with aging comes social isolation; according to a 2024 Medicare report, 57% of adults aged 65 and older report feeling lonely. The users of Quora recently tackled this problem when one person wrote: "I'm 63 years old and so lonely. Does it matter to anyone?" Many older people rushed to the comments to share their stories, highlighting the sad realities they face today. Bored Panda sought the expertise of the anti-ageism activist Jacynth Bassett, Founder and CEO of Ageism Is Never In Style about how important social connections are to us as we age. We also spoke with her about the right terminology when referring to older people and how we can all spot ageist attitudes in ourselves. 

Most heart failure patients miss out on guideline-recommended palliative care Cardiovascular Business; by Dave Fornell; 11/6/24 Over the past decade, the American Heart Association (AHA) and European Society of Cardiology have recommended integrating palliative care into heart failure management. Despite these recommendations, the use of palliative care for heart failure remains low in the United States. Racial and geographic variations in access and use of palliative care are also pronounced, highlighting health disparities. These were the findings of a recent study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers at Saint Louis University led the study and said only one in eight patients with heart failure in the United States receive palliative care consultations within five years of diagnosis. Their study highlights the alarmingly low uptake of palliative care among adults with heart failure in the U.S., especially compared to patients with cancers that have the same mortality rates. The study also pointed out significant racial and geographic disparities. Black patients were 15% less likely to receive palliative care compared to their white counterparts. They said this disparity is particularly concerning given the higher cardiovascular risk and mortality rates in the Black population.

Pennant acquires senior living communities in Wisconsin Global Newswire; by Pennant Group; 11/1/24 The Pennant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG), the parent company of the Pennant group of affiliated home health, hospice, home care and senior living companies, today announced that it has acquired the operations of the following premier senior living facilities in Green Bay and Appleton, Wisconsin. The acquisition is effective today, November 1, 2024, and will be subject to a long-term, triple net lease:

More Minnesotans face ‘pharmacy deserts’ with chain drugstore closures The Minnesota Star Tribune; by Dee DePass; 11/2/24 KB Brown’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since Walgreens shut its W. Broadway store last year, leaving one pharmacy to serve 67,000 residents in the north Minneapolis area where he lives and runs his graphics design business. With Walgreens gone — and CVS shutting four other area stores — Brown, at least three times a week, transports employees, relatives and older neighbors to pharmacies in Robbinsdale or other suburbs so they can get their medications. ... North Minneapolis joins a growing number of “pharmacy deserts” rapidly dotting the state and nation as small and large pharmacies close up shop, leaving people with few options to quickly access prescription medicines. ... CVS, which closed 600 U.S. stores between 2021 and 2023, said it would close 300 more this year as leases end. On Oct. 15, Walgreens announced a plan to close 1,200 unprofitable stores, starting with 500 in 2025.

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.

Introducing Vivie: A new name with the same heart for service 1045 TheDan.com - Business Wire, Alexandria, MN; 10/24/24 Knute Nelson and Walker Methodist announce their new name and brand—Vivie. Vivie provides home health care, hospice, senior living, rehab, and more. ... With more than 150 years of combined service to older adults in their communities, Vivie unites two trusted legacies under one name and vision. As Vivie, the organization remains dedicated to the values that have made Knute Nelson and Walker Methodist pillars in their communities for generations. After merging in January 2024, the newly formed organization quickly began an extensive process to find a single, unifying name. "While our name is new, our heart for service remains the same," shared Mark Anderson, President and CEO. “We will continue to build on the solid foundation built by Knute Nelson and Walker Methodist, expanding our services to meet the evolving needs of those we serve.” The name “Vivie” is derived from the Latin root “viv” to paint a compelling picture of what it means to live. The new brand represents a vision for the future, rooted in our mission of enriching, empowering, and elevating people throughout life’s journey.

Saint Francis Hospital’s Healthy Village creates national social-services healthcare model DelawareLive, Wilmington, DE; by Jarek Rutz; 10/23/24 Saint Francis Hospital hopes a new, unique initiative will be a national model for healthcare. As it celebrates 100 years of service, the hospital is expanding its community outreach to the Wilmington community by launching the Healthy Village at Saint Francis Hospital, which aims to deliver essential social services to those in need. Located in economically challenged neighborhoods, Healthy Villages are designed to enhance the traditional safety net hospital model. “The goal is to create the ultimate one-stop care setting that promotes synergy, diversity, and equity,” said Lillian Schonewolf, executive director of the Healthy Village at Saint Francis, in a YouTube video. Editor's note: See the article we posted yesterday about the importance of community, "Who gets access to a good death?"

Nonprofit repurposes wedding bouquets for seniors Spectrum News 1, Columbus, OH; by Taylor Bruck; 10/21/24 Todd Davis, a resident of Columbus, knows it’s the simple things in life that mean the most. That’s why every weekend, he and volunteers pick up leftover flowers from weddings and other events and repurpose them into beautiful bouquets. They then deliver them to senior citizens all over Columbus and people in hospice care. ... Every week, volunteers turn thousands of flowers into about 200 bouquets, equating to nearly 10,000 this year and endless smiles.

The powerful companies driving local drugstores out of business DNYUZ; 10/19/24 The small-town drugstore closed for the last time on a clear and chilly afternoon in February. Jon Jacobs, who owned Yough Valley Pharmacy, hugged his employees goodbye. He cleared the shelves and packed pill bottles into plastic bins. Mr. Jacobs, a 70-year-old pharmacist, had spent more than half his life building his drugstore into a bedrock of Confluence, Pa., a rural community of roughly 1,000 people. Now the town was losing its only health care provider. Obscure but powerful health care middlemen — companies known as pharmacy benefit managers, or P.B.M.s — had destroyed his business. This has been happening all over the country, a New York Times investigation found. P.B.M.s, which employers and government programs hire to oversee prescription drug benefits, have been systematically underpaying small pharmacies, helping to drive hundreds out of business.

Communication gaps among clinicians may limit conversations about prognosis, hospice Healio - HemOncToday; by Jennifer Byrne; 10/16/24 Clinicians in acute or post-acute care settings may delay or avoid serious illness conversations with patients whose cancer prognoses are worsening out of deference to the patient’s oncologist, according to study findings. Researchers conducted 37 semi-structured interviews with physicians and leaders in hospital medicine, oncology, palliative care, home health care and hospice. Investigators coded and analyzed the interviews using thematic content analysis. Evaluation of the responses yielded insights into how care silos, lack of clear clinical roles and other factors may affect communication between oncologists and other clinicians. ... "We know that the 3-month window after an older adult with cancer is discharged to a skilled nursing facility can be comprised of complex medical decision making and changing preferences of care. Lack of appropriate serious illness communication during this time can result in unwanted hospitalizations and unwanted, aggressive care at the end of life."