Literature Review

Agrace partners with nonprofit SAGE to meet needs of LGBT community eldersIn Business - Greater Madison; 1/8/24... At least 80% of the nonprofit’s staff have completed annual cultural competence training about the needs and concerns of the LGBT community. SAGE, the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults, reports that discrimination, harassment, and violence often lead LGBT elders to become ill at an earlier age than their straight peers. Agrace has partnered with SAGE to provide services including hospice, supportive (palliative) care, adult day care, grief support, and nonmedical senior care and serve elders across southern Wisconsin.

Danger on the job: Workers suffer the most injuries in these 25 jobsNewsCenter1, by Colleen Kilday; 1/9/24Editor's Note: For HR leaders, 12 of the 25 are from healthcare jobs. How does this data compare with your employees' job-related injuries and illnesses?

This Florida resort gives critically ill children the chance to just be kidsUSA Today, by Eve Chen; 1/9/24Eight-year-old Zachary Doyle was in hospice when his family got a chance for one more adventure. “We adopted Zachary when he was 7 weeks old, and he had spina bifida and hydrocephalus, which at the time seemed like manageable diagnoses that we could tackle as a family,” his mom, Susan Doyle. ... She said he underwent around 40 brain and heart surgeries like ”a champ,” but ran out of treatment options last year. “We were pretty resigned to being at home and finishing out the end at home,” Doyle said. That was until Zachary was granted a rush wish trip to Walt Disney World through Gentle Shepherd Hospice in Lynchburg, Virginia. 

The income gap jeopardizing retirement for millionsThe New York Times, by Paula Span; 1/6/24Paula Span explores the unprecedented challenges posed by a rapidly aging population.

Financial hardship drives unhappiness in people living with dementia, study findsMcKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kristen Fischer; 1/4/24A new study is uncovering just how tough it can be financially to live with dementia. The report, published Dec. 29 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that nearly 56% of people with dementia face financial hardships. Those financial challenges are linked with worse reported satisfaction with life and healthcare. ... The study examined data from 534 participants with dementia who shared details on satisfaction with their lives and their healthcare. The researchers compared that data to information from questionnaires from 576 people who were newly diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment.

After loved ones' long-awaited organ transplants, caregivers often find challenges are just beginningSTAT, by Annalisa Merelli; 1/4/24By the time his wife Glenda Daggert received a double organ transplant in 1999, Ira Copperman already had a lot of experience as a caregiver. ... After the transplants, Daggert had a new kidney and a new pancreas, and was no longer diabetic. Yet this was not the ending to all her health issues, nor to Copperman’s role as a caregiver. “Transplantation is not the end story. You don’t stop what you do as caregiver or care partners the day after a transplant,” said Copperman, who serves as vice president of the nonprofit Transplant Recipients International Organization. “It is a lifelong journey.”

Kingston man arrested for allegedly threatening bedridden fatherBNN, by Salman Akhtar; 1/2/2431-year-old Tyler Jason Vasquez, a resident of Kingston, was apprehended by the local law enforcement following a disturbing incident involving his ailing father. The event, captured by a Ring doorbell camera at their home on New Hurbane Street, had Vasquez allegedly threatening his bedridden father with a firearm. The security camera had been installed by Vasquez’s sister to keep an eye on their father, who is under home hospice care.

Man 'accidentally' fires gun in Iowa hospital: policeBecker's Clinical Leadership, by Mackenzie Bean (Twitter); 1/2/24 Police are investigating an incident in which a gun was discharged at MercyOne Waterloo (Iowa) Medical Center Dec. 29, according to NBC affiliate WHO 13 News. Authorities found damage from a single gunshot in a restroom after responding to a report of a gun being fired at the hospital around 9:40 a.m. CST. No injuries were reported.

How dog saved from euthanasia sparked movement to help terminally ill petNewsweek, by Alice Gibbs; 1/1/24A very special dog who was saved from euthanasia has sparked a heartwarming movement to help terminally ill pets. Opie, a 9-year-old terrier with cancer, was facing imminent euthanasia due to the weather, a harsh Texas winter. Austin Pets Alive! (APA) was called. ... The situation opened the eyes of staff at Austin Pets Alive to the need for specialized care for dogs with terminal illnesses. Opie's original foster, supported by a dedicated team of volunteers, established the shelter's "fospice" program—offering end-of-life care to animals in similar situations.

2023 saw several health care deals that changed the landscapeThe Boston Globe, by Bob Herman and Tara Bannow; 12/30/23Every year, the health care industry behaves more like a balloon: Squeeze one side, and the other expands. Companies that were once just insurers or just pharmacies are tacking on new business lines. The idea is that when profit inevitably gets squeezed in one, it'll expand in another. That trend of vertical integration was on full display in 2023, a year when the country's biggest pharmacy chain bought a primary care provider, and the biggest private insurer branched further into home health. Hospitals, meanwhile, continued to push the boundaries of expansion — their leaders following through on their promises to grow market power. Here are some of the biggest and most consequential health care transactions in 2023.Editor Note: Article appears behind paywall.

CHP Angel Foundation grants wishes to terminally ill adultsThe West Bend News; 12/30/23Back in 1995, the staff at CHP Home Care & Hospice noticed the need to fulfill wishes for adults in its hospice program who had limited time remaining in their lives. The idea was expanded to include individuals from throughout the state of Ohio, and the Angel Foundation was established.

The curious joy of being wrong – intellectual humility means being open to new informationKansas Reflector, by Daryl Van Tongeren; 12/30/23Four main aspects of intellectual humility include being:

Lane County home care and hospice workers authorize strike, but hold out hope for future negotiationsKEZI-TV (Eugene, OR); 12/29/23Springfield, OR—PeaceHealth home and hospice care nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association voted this week to authorize a strike, but one will not be called immediately. Jo Turner, a hospice nurse and member of ONA’s executive committee at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services, said at a press conference on Friday that a “significant majority” of nurses voted between December 27 and 28 to authorize the strike, but a decision to go on strike is not one that is taken lightly. “We are not calling for a strike—yet,” she said.