Literature Review

Recommendations for supporting healthcare workers' psychological well-being: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemicHealthc Manage Forum, by Melissa B Korman, Lisa Di Prospero, Tracey DasGupta, Mark Sinyor, Samantha J Anthony, Monika Kastner, Janet Ellis, Rosalie Steinberg, Robert Maunder; 1/30/24 Healthcare workers are at risk of adverse mental health outcomes due to occupational stress. Many organizations introduced initiatives to proactively support staff's psychological well-being in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, ... [such as] the STEADY wellness program, ... in a large trauma centre in Toronto, Canada. Program implementors engaged teams in peer support sessions, psychoeducation workshops, critical incident stress debriefing, and community-building initiatives. ... [This] article describes recommendations for future hospital wellness programs.

First-ever survey of LGBTQIA+ older adults cheered by senior living provider groupsMcKnights Senior Living, by Lois A. Bowers; 1/29/24A planned first-ever statewide survey of LGBTQIA+ older adults in California is drawing cheers from senior living industry advocates. Responses to the online survey, conducted by the California Department of Aging and a statewide coalition of LGBTQIA+ community-based organizations and research partners, will form a baseline data set to inform plans for tailored services, the CDA said in an announcement, which described the survey as “groundbreaking.”

Smile in the sky drawn for Worcester hospice patientBBC News, by Vanessa Pearce; 1/27/24An aerobatic pilot has put on a special show for a patient with a lifelong passion for aircraft who is being cared for at a hospice. Pilot Rich Goodwin created the sky high smile above the St. Richard's Hospice in Worcester. Former transportation engineer Ray Stanton, 66, enjoyed the show with his wife, Angela, and two children. "To see the smile in the sky and then look at Ray's smile was just fantastic," said Mrs. Stanton.

How AccentCare is using communication, career development to address caregiver burnoutHome Health Care News, by Patrick Filbin; 1/28/24As the home-based care industry continues to evolve, enhancing the well-being of employees and addressing caregiver burnout remains a top priority for providers. It’s not uncommon for caregivers to experience moments of feeling unsupported or undervalued. That can often lead to a sense of disconnection within the company from the bottom to the top. To help that disconnect, providers like AccentCare have focused on retention initiatives that are based around communication within the organization.

'What my terminal cancer diagnosis taught me about life' BBC News, by Nicola Bryan; 1/27/24Forget striving for a bigger home and a better car. Slow down, be grateful for what you have and take time with the people you love. This is the advice from Megan McClay, 30, who is living with terminal cancer. ...  Megan's story is one of several being told at 'What matters most?', an exhibition at Senedd Oriel at the Senedd, or Welsh Parliament in Cardiff Bay [Wales]. Through photographs and short films the exhibition shares the perspectives of people with terminal illnesses, their families and those who work in palliative care.Editor's Note: Click here for this exhibition's "What matters most?" website, film, and many video storie.s

Local author shares a message of hope to caregivers in Newnan Parkinson's support groupThe Newnan Times-Herald, by Gary May; 1/22/24Hughes wrote "Parkinson's Caregivers - Yes, There is HOPE!" about her experiences over 23 years caring for her husband Carlton, who had Parkinson's disease. Her mission is to encourage and support both caregivers and their loved ones as they transition through the stages of the progressive disease, from diagnosis, to daily living, to the advanced stages and finally, to hospice care.

Caregiver charged in deathDouglas Budget, by Matt Adelman; 1/24/24A caregiver has been charged with causing the death of her mother ... earlier this month. Central Wyoming Hospice and Transitions Center was present at her passing and notified Converse County Coroner Ross Gorman, who then notified Converse County Sheriff’s Investigator Ben Peech because the alleged actions leading to her death occurred on the family ranch near Douglas.

Masonic Village Elizabethtown hosts hiring event to combat nurse shortageFox43 WPMT, by Cyera Williams; 1/24/24According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of registered nurses (RNs) that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. Masonic Village at Elizabethtown is combatting that shortage by hosting a nursing service hiring event ... 

Jon Franklin, two-time Pulitzer winner as science journalist, dies at 82

Don’t stop dreamin’ turns nursing home residents’ dreams into realityiAdvanceSeniorCare, by Paige Cerulli; 1/22/24The nonprofit now works to fulfill dreams for residents of all Quality Life Services homes, as well as for patients of Three Rivers Hospice. “There is one employee at all ten locations, including Three Rivers Hospice, that represents Don’t Stop Dream’ as a Dream Ambassador,” explains [Paula] Elder. “They are responsible for learning about our residents and patients’ needs and dreams, and submitting them for request. Most dreams are typically granted to our residents and patients after research is completed to ensure their safety, travel arrangements (if necessary), and staffing is available.”

Riding off with a legacyNext Avenue, by Kate St. Vincent Vogl; 1/22/24A story about women breaking barriers was bigger than my dying friend and me. I promised to see it through. ...  And in the fall of 2019, from her hospice bed, my friend handed over her whole manuscript. ... Turned out the founder of the Women's International Motorcycle Association (WIMA) also encouraged her followers to say yes — to motorcycle riding. And the thrill of independence. [Her dying wish is published: Iron Horse Cowgirls - Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s.]

The Long Decline: Health care access grows difficult in shrinking rural communitiesAlabama Reflector, by Alanda Rocha; 1/18/24The lack of health care providers in rural Alabama is stark. Most of Alabama’s rural counties have significantly more people per primary care physician than urban counties. Butler County ... has just one primary care physician per 4,900 residents ... As rural Alabama continues a decades-long population collapse, residents who remain — many of them older people — face increasing barriers to health care, a trend seen around the nation.

Healthcare ranks second among industries with workers frustrated by low pay: survey McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 1/19/24Healthcare workers rank second among those frustrated about their industry’s pay, according to a recent analysis from USA Today Blueprint. ... The research included 3 million Glassdoor reviews of 500 large employers in 25 industries. ... Only workers in the education field are less satisfied with their pay than are workers in healthcare, according to the findings.