Literature Review

Agnesian HealthCare Foundation 2024 Charity Open has successful year envision - Greater Fond du Lac, WI; by Agnesian HealthCare Foundation; 9/11/24 The Agnesian HealthCare Foundation recently hosted its 36th annual Charity Open, presented by the Michels Corporation, celebrating another successful year supporting local hospice and cancer patient care. Since 1989, the Charity Open has raised more than $7.6 million. Thanks to the generosity of those attending and sponsoring the event, the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation raised approximately $455,000. Proceeds from this year’s event are supporting SSM Health at Home Hospice and SSM Health Cancer Care services within the greater Fond du Lac area – helping ensure that all patients have access to these vital services regardless of their ability to pay. “Our hospice team supports our patient’s last days by offering comfort and dignity,” according to Kim Laws, Agnesian HealthCare Foundation director of development and interim leader. “Our goal is to provide this service regardless of the family’s ability to pay." 

Leading the Way: Gilchrist and Franklin Hospice forces in landmark integration Franklin Hospice, Chambersburg, PA; by Karen M. Giffin; 9/9/24 Franklin Hospice and Gilchrist ... have announced an affiliation agreement. This partnership will unite two of Maryland’s oldest and most experienced nonprofit organizations, together with nearly 70 years of service to their communities. As the healthcare landscape continues to transform nationwide, this type of affiliation of two synergistic nonprofit organizations with similar missions, visions, and values will position both organizations for continued growth, innovation and financial strength. ... This strategic affiliation will strengthen their ability to offer compassionate care to more patients and families throughout Central and Southern Maryland, as well as Washington and Frederick Counties and South-Central Pennsylvania. Both organizations will retain their name and branding while offering a unified approach to care. 

National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation Fierce Pharma - Special Report: The Fierce 50 of 2024 - Innovation Honorees; by Fraiser Kansteiner; distributed 9/10/24 With an aging population and shifting healthcare environment, providing proper, personalized care for the U.S.’ most vulnerable patients can be a challenge.That’s why Tom Koutsoumpas, one of the masterminds behind the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), has been working to continually improve hospice and palliative care across the nation for decades. ... The goal, he explained in an interview with Fierce, was to "become the national voice for the future of hospice, palliative care, and advanced illness care." Through its efforts, NPHI seeks to work in tandem with its network of nonprofit community programs to help them innovate, thrive into the future and continue to evolve in the ever-changing U.S. healthcare system, Koutsoumpas said. While local hospice and palliative care groups exist to tackle many of these same goals, “programs in the community have no scale,” Koutsoumpas explained. “They have no opportunity to work from scale to address cost issues, rising costs, changes that occur.” In turn, NPHI was founded to help bring those programs together while allowing them to retain their identities as discrete, local providers. Editor's note: NPHI is a sponsor for our newsletter. 

Blue Ridge Hospice expanding mission to serve people better, sooner The Winchester Star, Winchester, VA; by Brian Brehm; 9/9/24 “We’re calling this a year of transformation,” said Jason Parsons, who was named CEO of the Winchester-based nonprofit in December. “Blue Ridge has been around for 43 years and this year, 2024, we’re transforming ourselves into Blue Ridge Care, which includes Blue Ridge Hospice, Blue Ridge Independence at Home — which is our PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) program — Blue Ridge Palliative Care Services and our eight thrift shops.” It’s a sweeping change for an organization that most people only associate with end-of-life care. Parsons ... said Blue Ridge Care will continue to provide graceful exits for patients in the final chapter of their lives, but it will also expand its focus to improve the quality of life for seniors who still have a lot of stories to tell.

2024 NHPCO Facts and Figures Report now available National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/10/242022 Data Show First Increase in Hospice Utilization Rates Since COVID The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) published the 2024 edition of National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) Facts and Figures, an annual report on key data points related to the delivery of hospice care, including information on patient characteristics, location and level of care, Medicare hospice spending, and hospice providers. Facts and Figures – the leading resource for hospice providers and others interested in understanding the work of the community – has been published annually for over two decades by NHPCO. ... The findings in this report reflect patients who received care in Calendar Year (CY) 2022, or Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, provided by hospices certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and reimbursed under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. This year COVID-19 continued to impact patient care as COVID-19 waivers were still in place through May 2023. These waivers included increased telehealth services. With 49.1% of all Medicare decedents in 2022 choosing hospice care, utilization of hospice increased in 2022 for the first time since 2019. The increase hints at a normalization of the utilization rates back to pre-COVID data. Hospice utilization rates increased across all race and ethnicity groups, with the largest increase among Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries seeing. The total number of beneficiaries enrolled in hospice care in 2022 was 1.72 million. Due to the unique impact of COVID-19 on 2020 data, those data are not included in many of the charts this year.

Fundraiser raise $30k for hospice services The Meadville Tribune, Meadville, PA; by Chloe Forbes; 9/7/24 There’s no place like home, and at the end of life, familiarity can make all the difference. Not everyone can just click their heels, but a donation to Hospice of Crawford County might help get them close. Following the kayaking fundraiser “Tammy’s Yellow Brick Row,” over $30,000 is going toward the hospice organization to create an endowment fund for individuals who need support the most — those at the end of life and who cannot afford it. The fundraiser and endowment fund are in the name of the late Tammy Young-Eckenrode, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2014 and survived just short of two years.

BrightSpring projects ‘robust, cccretive’ hospice, home health M&A pipeline Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/6/24 BrightSpring Health Services Inc. is poised for growth in the home health and hospice landscape. The company anticipates ramping up merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in coming years, with an emphasis on long-term return on investment, according to BrightSpring President and CEO Jon Rousseau. The company is focusing on significant expansion in the next two years, he indicated. Tuck-in deals and de novos have been key to BrightSpring’s strategic growth. Acquisitions have increasingly become a larger part of its game plan — though with a cautious and diligent mindset, Rousseau said ...

Hospice of the Valley student volunteers gain insight into dementiaCity Sun Times [AZ]; by Lin Sue Flood; 9/4/24... Hospice of the Valley [has a] College Partners Program, an innovative collaboration with Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona State University and other schools to provide socialization to people living with dementia and a much-needed break to family caregivers... Hospice of the Valley’s dementia and volunteer departments spearheaded this intergenerational program to help inspire careers in dementia care. Incentives include scholarship opportunities, monthly education and letters of recommendation. To date, 106 students have been trained and paired with 123 patients since College Partners launched in 2021 with a grant from Community Care Corps. Now, the program is funded by Hospice of the Valley and community donations.

Hospice of Hope names new executive director The Highland County Press, Hillsboro, OH; by Hospice of Hope Press Release; 9/3/24 Hospice of Hope has recently announced the appointment of Derek (Shawn) Flaugher as the organization’s new Executive Director. Flaugher will succeed Anthony (Tony) Trovato, who is set to retire at the end of September 2024. Flaugher obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Morehead State University and pursued a master’s degree in accounting at Clemson University. A retired Army National Guard Veteran with a combat tour in Afghanistan, Flaugher has dedicated 31 years to Hospice of Hope, progressing through roles including Staff Accountant, Controller and Director of Business Operations. Outgoing Executive Director Tony Trovato expressed his confidence in Flaugher, stating, "I am pleased to pass on the leadership to someone as committed and accomplished as Shawn. His wealth of experience and deep understanding of the healthcare landscape will be invaluable in his new capacity."  

Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice announces new name HomeCare, Richmond, VA; 8/29/24 The Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice programs, which serves the greater Richmond area, announced a new name: Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice by Compassus. The name change reflects a joint venture partnership between Bon Secours Mercy Health, a Catholic health system in the U.S., and Compassus, a national provider of integrated home-based health care services, which was finalized earlier this year.

Hoffmann Hospice to host Grief Support Camp for Children of first responders KGET Bakersfield, California; by Jaspreet Multani; 8/29/24 Hoffmann Hospice will host its second annual free grief support camp for children and teens of first responders on Saturday, Sept 14, 2024. The event called “A Heart for Hero’s Art Camp,” provides a safe space for young people grieving the loss of a loved one such as a parent, sibling, or grandparent. ...  Led by experienced grief counselors, the camp offers therapeutic activities and support to help children express their grief in a nurturing environment. ... “We have a huge heart for kids, especially those who put themselves on the line for us every day,” said Ryan D’ Amato of Hoffmann Hospice.Editor's Note: While many hospices provide excellent grief camps for children and teens, this one stands out for tending the unique experiences for families of first responders. Many of these deaths will have been sudden and tragic--without hospice care--and often more complex to grasp and grieve. Hoffman Hospice's website indicates support for other non-hospice deaths: Miscarriage, Still Birth or Sudden Loss; Suicide. Bravo and thank you to Hoffman Hospice and other hospices who utilize your grief services to support your larger communities through often-disenfranchised deaths and grief.

Hospice care standards are important. Congress must be careful tinkering with them. NorthJersey.com, Special to the USA TODAY Network; by Patrick Maron; 8/28/24... As hospice care grows, real attention needs to be paid to the differences between nonprofit and for-profit centers.  [A] staggering  73%  of hospice programs today are for-profit and are driven by financial motives, ... Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, is drafting legislation that, if enacted, would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight. Though Blumenauer’s bill, the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement — or Hospice CARE — Act, is still in development, key provisions will likely include a new payment mechanism for high-acuity palliative services, changes to the per-diem payment process and actions to improve quality and combat fraud. The bill would also implement a temporary, national moratorium on the enrollment of new hospices into Medicare, to help stem the tide of fraudulent activities ... However, there are significant challenges for nonprofit freestanding inpatient hospice facilities like Villa Marie Claire in Saddle River. Most important, the proposed five-year moratorium on enrolling new hospice programs into Medicare could limit our ability to expand services, straining resources of the Villa ... What’s more, the legislation mandates more frequent inspections and enhanced oversight, which could lead to operational stress and higher costs. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

LifeTouch Hospice still providing end-of-life care in South ArkansasEl Dorado News-Times; by Keturah Smith; 8/28/24LifeTouch Hospice said Monday they would like the South Arkansas community to know the company remains fully operational and continues to offer care to terminally ill patients after merging with Little Rock-based Arkansas Hospice last year. "There has been some misconception in El Dorado with the closing of the hospice house," said Hannah Odell, LifeTouch provider relations representative, at the El Dorado Rotary Club meeting. "LifeTouch Hospice is very much still around." While the physical location of LifeTouch has closed, Odell mentioned their services can be provided at the nursing home, local hospital, assisted living, home or wherever care is needed. "We're contracted with South Arkansas Regional Hospital for [general inpatient care] for the most critical patients," Odell said. ...