Caring for communities in need
Hospice Foundation of America email; 1/22/25
[Online course.] Hospices can play a significant role in supporting communities in the aftermath of natural disasters and other tragic situations. This program will feature speakers from western North Carolina, who will share lessons learned and response strategies they employed to support families, patients, staff, and first responders while faced with death, flooding, mudslides, property destruction, and communication and power outages caused by Hurricane Helene.
Presenters include Chris Comeaux, Vern Grindstaff, and Sheila Crane.

Some wary of Providence home health joint venture with for-profit company 
Herald Net, Everett, WA; by Jenna Peterson; 1/23/25 
Some nurses in the state say an upcoming joint venture between Providence Home and Community Care and Compassus, a for-profit company with private equity ownership, could have an adverse effect on health care. The deal, expected to be finalized in Washington early this year, ... impacts locations in five U.S. states. ... Boyle and Compassus spokesperson Dana Coleman said there will be no changes in care or staffing under the joint venture. But some nursing advocates, like Ian Mikusko, worry that a for-profit, private equity influence could be harmful for health care. “Private equity is somewhat more extractive because there’s a pressure to provide large dividend payments to investors,” said Mikusko, strategic researcher with the Washington State Nurses Association. Mikusko cited research that shows quality of care diminishes when private equity companies become involved in health care, such as a 2023 study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Healthcare Industry Team 2024 Year in Review 
JD Supra; by Claire Bass, S. Derek Bauer, Kevin Bradberry, Ernessa Brawley, Sarah Browning, Charlotte Combre, Payal Cramer, Emily Crosby, Vimala Devassy, Shareef Farag, Amy Fouts, Winston Kirton, Caroline Landt, Charlene McGinty, Justin Murphy, Lynn Sessions, Gregory Tanner; 1/22/25
As we begin a year that will once again be transformative for the industry, we are excited to present our comprehensive 2024 year-in-review, highlighting all that has happened and the trends that will shape 2025. [Downloadable PDF from BakerHostetler, bakerlaw.com. Large categories include the following:]

• Transaction Review Laws ...
• Compliance ...
• Litigation ...
•  Healthcare Privacy & Cyber Security ...
• Health Tech
• Licensure/Enrollment ...
• FDA ...
• Long-Term Care ...
• Labor and Employment ...
• Antitrust ...

Editor's note:  Specific "hospice" information is identified under "Licensure/Enrollment" and "Long-Term Care: Federal Anti-Kickback Statute."

Care Dimensions receives $10,000 grant from ACM Lifting Lives to support music therapy program 
MassNonprofit News; 1/22/25
Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care provider in Massachusetts, is proud to announce receiving a $10,000 grant from ACM Lifting Lives®, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music. ... “Dealing with memory loss can be such an unmooring experience,” noted Care Dimensions Creative Arts Therapy Coordinator Li Kynvi, who is a board-certified music therapist. “One of the magical things about music therapy, especially for those with dementia, is that music lives in them in a whole different way than even the last five minutes does, which enables them to not only engage with a song, but engage with the person sharing it, and delivers a feeling of connection and competence often difficult for dementia patients to experience.”
Editor's note: Providing patient care from a board certified music therapist is far superior to simply having a musician perform. Music therapy focuses on the person: physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually. Music therapy engages memories and meanings for the present moment, and ahead. For more information, examine the Certification Board for Music Therapy. Click here for their directory.

Clarinda health center honors Fulks for family donation 
Maryville Forum, Clarinda, IO; 1/22/25 
The Clarinda Regional Health Center announced last week that the recent remodel of its hospice suite and family room was made possible through a donation from the Jimmy and Lora Lea Fulk family. According to a news release from the hospital, the transformed space is a lasting tribute to the Fulks, reflecting on their values of faith, family and perseverance. The renovation, funded by Joyce Fulk Whitney, Dale Fulk, Alice Fulk Wisner and Nancy Fulk McKinnon in honor of their parents, ensures that the hospice suite and family room are not only more functional, but also provides a sanctuary for those in need of comfort and solace, the news release stated. 

How it feels to be a hospice nurse 
Post Independent; by Oanh Hoang, Hospice of the Valley; 1/22/25 
If someone had asked me this question seven years ago, when I was a new graduate nurse, I would have said it felt terrifying, depressing, frightening, and sad. However, my feelings have changed since I became a hospice nurse 4.5 years ago. ... If someone were to ask me how it feels to be a hospice nurse now, I would tell them to grab a soda, popcorn, and snacks, and get comfortable because I could talk for hours about what it’s like. My feelings start with gratitude. I am grateful to be a part of the final phase of my patients’ lives, walking alongside them and their families toward a peaceful end. For all my hospice patients, time is the most valuable thing they have. ... Along with all these rewarding feelings, I also feel sadness when my patients pass away. But this sadness is different from the sadness I felt seven years ago.  ...
Editor's note: How would your hospice nurses answer, "how it feels to be a hospice nurse"? Calling all non-clinical, business leaders to read this. Better yet, shadow a nurse in the field for a day. Experience their role, skills, interactions. Examine your role and your responsibilities to equip and empower them to best "be a hospice nurse." 

Virtual nursing could upend traditional staff ratios
Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Paige Twenter; 1/13/25
In conversations about virtual, team-based nursing services, the term "nurse-to-patient ratios" is an anachronism, according to nursing leaders at Providence and Trinity Health. Within the traditional primary nursing model, a virtual mountain of research demonstrates low nurse-to-patient ratios bolster safety and quality of care. However, as new virtual programs emerge and pick up steam, new research indicates that virtual nursing models improve communication, safety and quality — all without assigning a ratio.

The HOPE Assessment Tool Series: Understanding the Required Timed Visits
CHAP blog; by Jennifer Kennedy; 1/25
It’s January 2025, and we are counting down to the implementation of the HOPE Assessment Tool on October 1, 2025. That date may seem far away, but there is much preparation you need to do in the coming months for a seamless launch on the “go-date”. Your staff will need consistent education about the assessment tool content and their responsibility for the administration and completion of the timed visits. [Click the link above to read the entire story.]

Engaging the hospice community in end-of-life care in prisons (Part 2)
ehospice; by Barry R. Ashpole; 1/21/25
Part 1 offered a broad overview of the potential role community hospices can play to improve end-of-life care (EoLC) for a particularly vulnerable and underserved population. As has been widely acknowledged, prisons and correctional facilities are caught between the proverbial “rock and a hard place,” between issues of security and public safety and the civil rights of the prison inmates to healthcare comparable to what is available to the populace-at-large. Part 2 takes a closer look at specific initiatives by some community hospices to support prison inmates towards the end of life. Prior to conducting research for its 2020 report, ‘Dying Behind Bars: How can we better support people in prison at the end-of-life,’ Hospice UK had only anecdotal evidence of the important work that some hospices were engaged in to support prison inmates at the end of life. The scope of this support had not been established at a national level. After conducting a survey of hospice services across England, researchers found that 25 hospices – representing approximately 15% of hospices in the country – are indeed providing this care and support, working with 34 different prisons.
Publisher's note: Also see: Engaging the hospice community in end-of-life care in prisons (Part 1) that was also discussed in Hospice News' Global challenges persist in bringing hospice care to incarcerated populations.

Health policy at a crossroads: What to watch in 2025
Health Affairs; by Katie Keith; 1/21/25
This article is the first in a new Health Affairs Forefront featured topic, “Health Policy at a Crossroads.” Articles in this topic will offer timely analysis of prominent regulatory, legislative, and judicial developments in health policy... 2025 could mark a major inflection point in health policy. Over the past four years, among many other changes, the nation rebounded from a once-in-a-generation pandemic; the uninsured rate reached a record low—with record enrollment across Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces; Medicare beneficiaries began to see savings on prescription drugs; overdose deaths dropped; and women lost the right to reproductive choice under the US Constitution, leading to abortion bans in more than 20 states less than three years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Policy priorities for the first 100 days
C-TAC press release; 1/20/25
The first 100 days of the Trump Administration and 119th Congress offer a pivotal opportunity to enact bold policies that improve the quality of care for individuals with serious illness while reducing overall healthcare costs. By addressing key policy priorities, we can create a healthcare system that delivers better outcomes for patients and families. C-TAC calls on policymakers to act now to advance solutions in the following areas:

• Access
• Innovation
• Preference
• Quality

Utah home care association sounds alarm on HCBS access crisis
McKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 1/17/25
The Homecare and Hospice Association of Utah (HHAU) is calling for greater Medicaid support of home- and community-based services as beneficiaries in the state face worsening access barriers. “Our biggest concern, and the most pressing one, is with the HCBS waiver rates,” Matt Hansen, executive director of HHAU, said Wednesday in an interview with McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “If [providers] are still participating in the HCBS waivers, they’re doing it as a charity in most cases. We’ve had 64% of providers exit these programs between December 2022 and December 2023, so that’s 64% fewer providers.”

Barry Goldberg, blues-rock keyboardist whose work with Bob Dylan included controversial Newport '65 Concert, dies at 83 [with hospice care] 
Variety; by Chris Willman; 1/23/25 
Barry Goldberg, a blues-rock keyboard player whose work with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band led to playing with Bob Dylan in the 1960s, including the notorious 1965 Newport Folk Festival concert dramatized in "A Complete Unknown," died Wednesday [1/23] at 83. Bob Merlis, a representative, said that Goldberg died in hospice care after a 10-year struggle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with his wife of 53 years, Gail Goldberg, and son, Aram, at his bedside.

Executive Personnel Changes - 1/24/25

• Catholic Hospice, serving hospices throughout South Florida, is proud to announce the appointment of Diana Smith-Lopez as the organization's new Executive Director.
  
  
• The Guthrie Clinic, headquartered in Sayre, Pennsylvania, introduces Paul Mollo, Pharm.D as their inaugural Chief Pharmacy Officer. " The decision to create the role underscores our ongoing commitment to innovation, quality, and patient care, and highlights a new, strategic approach to pharmacy operations, necessitated by Guthrie’s continued growth."
  
  
• MaineHealth's Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine named Matthew Wolden as COO. MaineHealth, based in Portland, includes a level 1 trauma medical center, eight additional licensed hospitals, pediatric care services, a behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services as well as home health, hospice and senior care services. 

The question is not what you look at, but what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau