Literature Review

If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise it is not. ~ Elon Musk

‘Cuddle therapy’ ponies help bring joy to patients and staff at local hospice[London] Bedford Independent; by Emily Moriarty-Jones; 5/18/24The patients and staff of Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice in Moggerhanger were excited to be greeted by two very special guests recently, when Teddy and Mouse, a pair of ‘cuddle therapy ponies’ came for a visit. Those being cared for at the hospice, as well as their families and Sue Ryder staff were given the chance to pet, brush and interact with the placid pair.

Hospitals Are Refusing to Do Surgeries Unless You Pay in Full FirstWall Street Journal; by Melanie Evans; 5/9/24Now, more hospitals and surgery centers are demanding patients pay in advance. Advance billing helps the facilities avoid hounding patients to settle up. Yet it is distressing patients who must come up with thousands of dollars while struggling with serious conditions. Heather Miconi has seven weeks to come up with $2,000 to pay for surgery her daughter needs to breathe more easily. Merritt Island Surgery Center in Merritt Island, Fla., billed Miconi in advance of the adenoid and tonsil surgery. If she can’t pay for the surgery before it is scheduled to take place next month, the procedure will be put off. Miconi, whose insurance won’t cover the cost because she has a high deductible, works three jobs and doesn’t have savings to cover the cost. She is now appealing to strangers through a GoFundMe campaign for help. For years, hospitals and surgery centers waited to perform procedures before sending bills to patients. That often left them chasing after patients for payment, repeatedly sending invoices and enlisting debt collectors. Those who can’t come up with the sums have been forced to put off procedures. Some who paid up discovered later they were overcharged, then had to fight for refunds. Among the procedures that hospitals and surgery centers are seeking prepayments for are knee replacements, CT scans and births.

Compassus Taps Fresenius Veteran Michael Asselta As Next CEOHome Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 5/7/24There’s a new leader at the helm of Compassus. The company’s board of directors has named Michael J. Asselta as CEO. Compassus is one of the largest home-based care providers in the country. The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company provides home health, hospice, palliative and home infusion services across more than 270 locations in 30 states.

‘Great Resignation’ becomes ‘Great Reshuffle’ of American jobsMcKnight's Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/16/24After a record number of workers left their jobs in the early part of the decade in what was known as the “Great Resignation,” the American workforce has entered a period now dubbed the “Great Reshuffle,” according to the World Economic Forum. “While quit rates remain high, hiring rates continue to outpace them as many workers have been transitioning to other jobs in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, or a strong company culture,” the US Chamber of Commerce reported.

Connecticut hospices obtain carveout from sweeping safety billMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/15/24Grassroots advocacy paid off for Connecticut’s hospice providers. Last week, they successfully obtained a carveout from Senate Bill 1, which requires home-based healthcare providers to run background checks on all potential clients. “It was basically a total victory,” Barbara Pearce, chief executive officer of The Connecticut Hospice and the main proponent calling for a carveout, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “You’re never going to defeat Senate Bill One, because they said - in naming it - it’s their top priority. We just tried to take hospice off, and we did.” ... The bill would have unintentionally limited patients’ access to hospice care, Pearce said. By the time a background check could be conducted on a client, it may be too late to provide effective care for the patient. Furthermore, current staffing challenges hospices face would make compliance even harder, she noted.

‘Bodacious’ mentorship, honesty needed to retain LTC leaders of tomorrow, experts sayMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Josh Henreckson; 5/17/24Cultivating mentorships in long-term care is vital to bringing up and retaining the next generation of sector leaders, a group of six prominent women leaders said this week at a McKnight’s Women of Distinction Forum panel. The speakers ... repeatedly emphasized the core needs of honesty, humility and an ongoing commitment to learning for successful mentors.

Big Bend Hospice, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Plan to Build Value-Based Network, Offer Palliative CareHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/14/24A new collaboration for transitional care between Florida-based Big Bend Hospice (BBH) and the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) system has more going on behind the scenes. Big Bend, a nonprofit provider, in 2021 formed a new parent company called Seven Oaks Health. TMH has entered into an affiliation agreement with Seven Oaks Health, as the new organization works over the next five years to build a larger value-based network to provide transitional and palliative care, social determinants support, as well as care navigation and other services. Looking to the future, the organizations’ plans to engage in value-based care could manifest through participation in the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (ACO REACH) model.

Beyond medicine: 'Being Mortal' challenges healthcare's approach to death and dying SwiftTelecast; by Shawn Butlere; 5/11/24 This video from the “Frontline” series, titled “Being Mortal,” follows Dr. Atul Gawande as he explores the complex relationships between doctors, patients, and end-of-life decisions. Based on his best-selling book “Being Mortal,” Gawande discusses how medical training often falls short in preparing doctors for the realities of death and dying. The documentary highlights personal stories, including Gawande’s own experiences with his father’s illness and death, to illustrate the challenges in balancing hope with realistic outcomes and the importance of quality life in the face of terminal illness. 

Addus HomeCare expects 2024 acquisitions Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/7/24Addus HomeCare Corp. is poised for further acquisitions, potentially including some hospice deals. The company is seeking to pair its clinical services with its personal business in its existing markets. This is a cornerstone of its acquisition strategy. But Addus Chairman and CEO Dirk Allison does not rule out the possibility of moving into new markets if circumstances are right. ... When examining new markets, Addus focuses on regions where they can quickly become the largest or second-largest provider by market share, according to CFO Brian Poff. ... Addus’ roughly 33,000 employees provide hospice, home health and private duty nursing services across more than 200 locations in 22 states.

At age 99, Jimmy Carter is still exercising his right to vote Story by CNN and Atlanta News First; 5/10/24 Former President Jimmy Carter, age 99, is still exercising his right to vote. Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, said the nation’s 39th president cast a mail-in ballot this week for the May 21 Georgia primary, emphasizing his grandfather is not going to miss an election. The former president entered hospice care more than a year ago in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Since then he celebrated his 99th birthday last October and attended the annual Peanut Festival, which celebrates the region’s cash crop. He also mourned the loss of his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November at the age of 96. To date, that has been Jimmy Carter’s last public appearance. 

In praise of hospiceJAMA; by James R. Nicholas, MD; 4/24In this narrative medicine essay, a retired physician describes the kindness, companionship, and skill of the hospice workers who helped his wife and him prepare for her death. ... Joan did what she wanted to do: she, with the help of hospice, made her dying as easy as possible for me and our children. I have the same wish for myself. I doubt if I will achieve it as well as did Joan, but I will have her as a guide. And I hope I will have the kind of hospice team that Joan had.

Musician grants dying wish to hospice patient The Platte County Citizen; by Rimsie McConiga; 5/14/24 Jazz musician Stanton Kessler was surprised when he was contacted recently by his friend, a hospice nurse, who reached out to him with an unusual request. A patient at the Kansas City hospice where she works told her his last wish would be to hear his favorite song, ‘Feels So Good’ before he died. During their conversations Kessler’s impression was that this was his friend’s first experience with a request such as this. “There was an element of urgency,” Kessler said. “She said he was near death.” ... An incredibly emotional and rewarding moment followed when Kessler began to play the patient’s beloved song. The man’s eyes remained closed, but his fingers began to move. ...Editor's Note: For research-based, hospice clinical stories, and rich music metaphors for ways to use music with the dying and bereaved, examine the book, Music of the Soul, Chapter 7 "The Final Cadence," in Routledge's international Series in Death, Dying, and Bereavement (series edited Robert A. Neimeyer), authored by Joy S. Berger, DMA, FT, BCC, MT-BC (editor for this newsletter).