Literature Review

Helene will likely cause thousands of deaths over decades, study suggests USA Today; by Doyle Rice; 10/2/24 [Note the 10/2 date of this article. Helene's death toll is now 230+ and rising. Hurricane Milton's predictions were new.] A new study ... says that hurricanes and tropical storms are far deadlier than initial death tolls suggest. ... Overall, the death toll of a tropical cyclone may be a broader public health issue than previously thought, as disasters frequently trigger a domino effect of other threats to affected populations. ... Researchers found that these excess deaths were due to causes such as diabetes, suicide, sudden infant death syndrome or another cause that was not recorded. Cardiovascular disease was the next most common cause, followed by cancer. Official government statistics record only the number of individuals killed during these storms. Usually, these direct deaths, which average 24 per storm in official estimates, occur through drowning or some other type of trauma, according to the study. "People are dying earlier than they would have if the storm hadn't hit their community," said senior study author Solomon Hsiang, a professor of environmental social sciences at Stanford University. Looking at the death and destruction from Helene, Hsiang told the Associated Press that "Watching what’s happened here makes you think that this is going to be a decade of hardship on tap, not just what’s happening over the next couple of weeks.”

Ransomware attack at Texas health system spreadsBecker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 10/9/24When hackers strike a health system, it can have far-reaching effects beyond just the original target. That's been the case with the Sept. 26 ransomware attack against Lubbock, Texas-based UMC Health System. That event has also ensnared Lubbock-based Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas Tech Physicians, which share IT systems with UMC Health. The medical school and its affiliated physician group are now in downtime, unable to access their EHR or receive patient portal messages or faxes. Their phone lines are experiencing intermittent outages as well. However, their clinics remain open, as do their pharmacies, albeit with reduced capacity.

Florida health-care workers exhausted as Hurricane Milton approaches The Washington Post; by David Ovalle and Sabrina Malhi; 10/8/24The storm shutters are up at Stephen Johnson’s house near the water in North Fort Myers, Fla. ... But  Jones won’t be home when Hurricane Milton is expected to thunder ashore this week along the Gulf Coast. Instead, the paramedic — like thousands of health-care workers across Florida — intends to ride out the storm at work, then jump into action when the winds die down, the waters recede and people seek medical assistance. ... “It gets stressful. You don’t know if you’re going to come back to a home,” Johnson, 28, of Brewster Ambulance Service, said during a brief break Tuesday after two straight days of organizing evacuations of patients from hospitals and assisted-living facilities across Lee County in southwest Florida while surviving on granola bars and energy drinks. ... By Tuesday afternoon, Florida health officials had deployed nearly 600 ambulances, buses and other transport vehicles to ferry patients out of harm’s way. More than 200 health-care facilities — including 115 assisted-living facilities, 10 hospitals and five hospice providers — have reported evacuations, according to the state’s health department.

The greatness of a community is most accurately measure by the compassionate actions of its members. ~ Coretta Scott King

Hospital-at-home care’s future still hangs in the balance Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 10/7/24 Even with a proven track record for clinical effectiveness and cost savings, the hospital-at-home model’s future hangs in the balance. “The data suggests that, for the populations that have been studied in multiple different places, it’s a very safe service to be done and with high-quality care, low readmission rates, low escalation rates, low infection rates,” Dr. Adam Groff, co-founder Maribel Health, told Home Health Care News. “The bottom line is people love it, patients love it and it’s a high-quality care experience.” ... In 2020, the hospital-at-home model had its breakthrough. Though the model was common internationally, it was considered niche in the U.S. This changed with the introduction of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Acute Hospital Care At Home program. A recent report from CMS found that the program has been largely successful. ... Despite the momentum the model has seen in recent years, challenges still exist when it comes to operations and scalability. Specifically, less than 9% of waiver-approved hospitals accounted for more than 70% of all U.S. admissions, according to data from MedPAC’s June 2024 report to Congress. ... 

Hospices leverage school-based partnerships to strengthen bereavement care Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/7/24 Some hospices have increasingly recognized the value of collaborating with local educators when it comes to improving community grief support for bereaved children and their families. Establishing collaborative relationships with educational institutions can help hospices ensure that they’re developing age-appropriate grief services, according to Cole Warner, director of support services at North Carolina-based Hospice of Davidson County. The nonprofit provides hospice services across 10 counties in its service area and also offers bereavement and veteran programs. The ability to identify and communicate grief-related emotions ranges across different age groups, and bereavement care teams need to be well-versed on youths’ cognitive capacity, Warner said. This involves having educators weigh in the common challenges that kids experience along their grief journeys. ...

Couple who volunteers together, shares the same joy Envision - Greater Fond du Lac, WI; contact Betty Wallerser; 10/7/24 For the past nine years, Matthew Davis, a Green Lake resident, has been spending a good amount of his days volunteering with SSM Health at Home Hospice – Green Lake. “A friend of mine mentioned volunteering for hospice telling me that it was the most rewarding thing he had ever done, so I thought I’d give it a try,” according to Matthew. A handful of stories and memories later, Matthew is still volunteering for SSM Health at Home Hospice – Green Lake. ... In 2023, Matthew’s wife, Becky, also started volunteering for SSM Hospice at Home Hospice in Green Lake.  “I always wanted to be a hospice volunteer,” Becky shares. “I worked in physical therapy for 25 years and had a comfort level with patients I knew some people didn’t have. When a close friend of mine passed away on hospice, I knew it was my time to sign up.” Matthew and Becky are one of several couples who volunteer in hospice and are a great asset to the Volunteer Services team, as they both visit with several hospice patients a week.

Hospice of the Chesapeake Golf Tournament raises nearly $225,000 Southern Maryland News Net; 10/7/24 With a long list of sponsors, volunteers and more than 250 golfers to thank for it, Hospice of the Chesapeake’s annual Golf Tournament was a fantastic success. It raised nearly $225,000 for the not-for-profit that serves Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and Prince George’s counties. No doubt the venue and joyful attitude accompanied by food, drinks and giveaways helped to make it another successful year. Held Sept. 26 at Queenstown Harbor Golf Course, the tournament offered hospitality that began with an omelet bar in the morning, shrimp, oysters and bourbon along with grilled lunch at the turn and a gourmet awards banquet to cap off the day.

[Podcast] Health by law: What should clinicians and students know about the legal landscape of advance care planning?AMA Journal of Ethics; by Thaddeus M. Pope; 10/7/24Dr Thaddeus M. Pope joins Health By Law to discuss updates to the Uniform Law Commission’s Health-Care Decisions Act.

It’s official: How to be a Servant Leader comes down to 6 behaviors, Says Research The best leadership philosophy in the world, simplified to its most basic tenets. Inc.com; by Marcel Schwantes; 10/4/24 Workplace culture became a critical business topic a decade ago, with more executives and HR leaders recognizing that shared values and behaviors drive engagement, innovation, and performance. Building a strong culture, however, requires visionary leadership. One framework I’ve been using to develop leaders in my coaching and training practice is based on the seminal research of organizational leadership scholar Dr. Jim Laub. Laub identified six key leadership behaviors essential to fostering a thriving culture. These behaviors are rooted in the principles of Servant Leadership, a people-centric approach where leaders prioritize serving others, creating environments of trust, engagement, and productivity. ...

'Trying not to cry:' Helene's wrath sets new normal in battered western North Carolina townCBS WBTW-13, Florence, SC; by Adrianna Lawrence; 10/8/24 Kyle Katona has lived through his share of hurricanes. But nothing could ready him for the wrath Helene unleashed across the idyllic valleys of western North Carolina. "I've never seen the amount of devastation that Hurricane Helene caused in the mountains," the Four Seasons hospice store driver said. He wasn't alone. "I don't think anybody was prepared for the level of catastrophe that was going to occur," said Rikki Hooper, Four Seasons' clinical operations officer. Traumatized residents awoke to the sound of water coursing into their homes before the sun came up -- taking everything and, in some heartbreaking instances, everyone, with it. "Nobody should have to go through this," said Polk County residents Pixie and Deena Moore said. Discolored tree lines 10 to 20 feet high in some places peppered the landscape amid rows of utility vehi cles and overturned cars caked in debris were stark reminders of Helene's total destruction. At Lake Lure -- a beloved vacation spot minutes from Chimney Rock -- mud stands in for where water once flowed. Instead, officials and first responders were providing medical treatment. Military helicopters flicked across the sky and bulldozers cleared out areas. If it sounds like a warzone, that's because it was as close as it could be to one, Pixie Moore said. Editor's note: Click here to donate directly to Four Seasons' hurricance relief needs; or Amazon Wish List. Click here for our 10/2 interview with TCN leaders with Four Seasons about Helene's devastation and hospice needs. 

Temporary regulatory relief for South Carolina health care providers responding to Hurricane Helene Baker Donelson; Alissa D. Fleming; 10/4/24 South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a State of Emergency on September 25, 2024, to prepare for Hurricane Helene. On September 29, 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a Federal Major Disaster Declaration (FEMA-4829-DR) for South Carolina. On September 30, 2024, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency in South Carolina, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued several blanket waivers to provide greater compliance flexibility and continuity of care while responding to Helene in the geographic area covered by the President's declaration. These waivers [detailed in the article] provide health care facilities with flexibility in service delivery, staffing, and patient care, aimed at alleviating the strain caused by Helene. Further, HHS, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), and other regulatory bodies have announced relief efforts, all aimed at reducing administrative burdens so providers can continue to care for and treat those in need. ...7. Hospices Assessment Timeframe Extension: CMS is extending the timeframe for updating comprehensive hospice patient assessments from 15 to 21 days, though initial and ad-hoc assessments must still be completed based on patient needs. ...Editor's note: Click on the title's link to continue reading. Other CMS waivers are defined for 1. General ... for Health Care Facilities; 2. Critical Access Hospictals; 3. Hospital and Long Term Care Facilities; 4. Skilled Nursing Facilities; 5. Home Health Agencies; 6. DME, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies; 7. Hospice (above); 8. Practioner Licensure and Enrollment ... HIPAA; Disaster Relief

October is a symphony of permanence and change. ~ Bonaro W. Overstreet