Literature Review

Former director of two non-profits sentenced for stealing from organizationsWABI News Desk (tv); 1/12/24The former director of two Skowhegan (ME) non-profits has been sentenced for stealing $200,000 from the organizations, according to the Morning Sentinel. The paper reports 37-year-old Jason Gayne of Athens stole from the Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Hospice Volunteers of Somerset County. Gayne was the ... director of Hospice Volunteers from 2014 to 2022.

Man with cancer once wanted assisted suicide, but was glad he chose natural death insteadLive Action, by Cassy Fiano-Chesser; 1/15/24“In our last moments, when he was awake, I sat on his bed and sang to him — Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now. He had watched her sing it at the Isle of Wight pop festival and it was a magical memory he had relived with us.

Association Forum announces 2024 Woman of InfluenceForum; 12/11/23Association Forum is pleased to announce Wendy-Jo Toyama, MBA, CAE, FASAE, CEO of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (a client of the Association Management Center), as the 2024 recipient of the Woman of Influence Award.  This honor is awarded to trailblazers in the industry who have a proven track record of innovation, impact and paying it forward through coaching, mentoring and service to others.  Being named the 2024 Woman of Influence reflects Toyama’s ... dedication to the advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Martin Luther King Day 2024 January 15AwarenessDays.com; for 1/15/24Editor's Note: This resource gives succinct description of Martin Luther King Day 2024: What. When. How to celebrate. History. Relevant hashtags.

Rural hospitals are caught in an aging-infrastructure conundrumFortune, by Markian Hawryluk and KFF Health News; 1/11/24Kevin Stansbury, the CEO of Lincoln Community Hospital in the 800-person town of Hugo, Colorado, is facing a classic Catch-22: He could boost his rural hospital’s revenues by offering hip replacements and shoulder surgeries, but the 64-year-old hospital needs more money to be able to expand its operating room to do those procedures.

Is healthcare relying too much on family caregivers?Modern Healthcare, by Diane Eastabrook; 1/10/24The Biden administration is demanding hospitals offer more clarity to family members on their role in home-based services. Access requires a subscription to Modern Healthcare

Impatiently waiting for my mom to dieYour Tango, by Kai Larsen; 1/10/24... I never hear her voice or see her face or think it’s her when a light burns out. She’s just gone. I write my portion of her obituary while she is still alive, but only because there’s not much to do while you’re living on the floor of the hospital that is designated for dying, and because it is taking her so long to do so. ...

Maine governor dedicates $2.5 million to support elderly population through innovative programBNN, by Saboor Bayat; 1/9/24In an unprecedented move, Governor Janet Mills is allocating $2.5 million of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to bolster support for Maine’s aging population. Aiming to enhance the lives of older adults and their caregivers, this initiative pioneers the establishment of community-based navigator roles for a more efficient connection to essential resources.

It’s unbelievable how retired congresswoman’s son found her months before deathRolling Out, by Darryl Maxie; 1/8/24Though she was 89 years old, trailblazing politician Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) should not have died on Dec. 31.  ... [She was] the first nurse ever elected to Congress. ... Johnson’s family plans to sue Baylor Scott & White Health, claiming negligent post-surgery care at the hospital’s rehabilitation center led to the death of the woman known as EBJ, who represented the Dallas area in Congress for 30 years.

How to ensure your passwords don't die with youCyberGuy Report, by Kurt Knutsson; 1/7/24As technology becomes more integrated into our lives, we need to consider how it affects our legacy and our loved ones. There are some uncomfortable but necessary end-of-life conversations we should all have with our loved ones, but passwords usually aren’t one of them. Yet with so much of our professional, personal and financial life online, it is more important now to include how to handle your digital life in those conversations.  

Pets can improve health outcomes for older adults living at home, overseas study findsMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 1/3/24Pet ownership may be linked to slower cognitive decline among adults aging in place, according to a recent study conducted in England. “Older adults living alone are at high risk for developing dementia,” the researchers wrote in the study published by JAMA Network Open. “Pet ownership might completely offset the association of living alone with faster rates of decline in verbal memory and verbal fluency among older adults.”Editor's Note: What happens when the senior adult becomes to ill to take care of their pet? Explore one  program, Banfield's "Peace of Mind: Keeping Pets and People Together During Hospice Care."

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.”

Sleep pods, coffee bars, and coworking spaces: Hospital staff lounges get a makeoverHealthcare Brew, by Shannon Young; 12/7/23Health systems are looking at how they can better attract, retain, and support staff with respite spaces. Picture this: a large coworking environment with collaboration areas, cappuccino bars, and programmable spaces. No, it’s not a Silicon Valley startup, a student union, or even a swanky airport lounge. It’s the next generation of hospital employee break rooms. After years of optimizing hospital spaces to focus on the patient experience, more health systems are looking at how they can better attract, retain, and support staff, Mike Pukszta, codirector of CannonDesign’s global health practice, told Healthcare Brew.Editor's Note: Consider implications for today's hospice staffing. Office-based leaders, have you ever spent a day with a team member making visit after visit? While you want staff out in the field, do they have a home base where they can easily collaborate, eat, communicate with each other? Seek feedback and consider adjustments that can make a big difference in employee satisfaction and well-being.