Literature Review

Hospice of Central PA President Gil Brown to retire Abel Personnel; by Rochelle Shenk; 10/9/24 After more than a decade of service at Hospice of Central PA, president Gil Brown will retire Dec. 31. According to a news release, Brown has been a driving force behind the organization’s growth, steering it through significant achievements and fostering strong relationships with health care partners and the community. Since joining Hospice of Central PA in 2014, Brown has led the organization through numerous milestones, including earning Joint Commission accreditation and securing a 5-star status in the We Honor Veterans program offered by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. ... “Working with Gil has been a truly inspiring experience,” said Hank Straub, HCP Board Member. “His unwavering commitment to compassionate care and his visionary leadership have not only shaped Hospice of Central PA, but also set a high standard for excellence. Gil’s ability to lead with both heart and strategic focus has made a lasting impact, and it has been an honor to collaborate with him in serving our community.” 

Community making strides to reopen Owatonna's Hospice House Owatonna People's Press, Faribault, MN; by Annie Harman; 10/8/24 ... Allan and Randee Radel smiled as they remembered the days they relied on the Homestead Hospice House to care for Randee’s mother, Kaye Mahlman, during the final days of her life. “It was wonderful. It was good for her, and it was good for the family,” Randee said, looking at the house as visitors strolled inside. ... It has been more than a year since the Hospice House has cared for a patient, but there is movement being made to open the doors once again as a full-service residential hospice care facility. And thanks to the Radels, that dreaming has taken a significant step toward reality. The couple handed over a check this week to the HHH Board to put toward the $850,000 fundraising goal to reopen the house. While the couple has decided they’d rather just call it a “very generous donation,” in lieu of sharing the actual number, those involved in the fundraising efforts are not shy to say with confidence that, thanks to the Radels and others like them, they are making “significant progress” in reaching that goal. ...

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

Ellen McGirt on supporting caregivers at work Great Place to Work; by Roula Amire with Ellen McGirt; 10/8/24 This episode of Better features journalist, speaker, and podcast host Ellen McGirt. In this deeply personal conversation, we dive into the challenges of caregiving while balancing a career.  ...On how managers can better support caregivers at work: Flexible time off, no questions asked. A flexible schedule can change everything for people. ...On the impact a senior leader can have by talking about caregiving and grief: If a very senior person triggers this conversation in the workplace with a disclosure or concern, you're going to see new training, new conversations, new talking points, and new volunteers, and maybe even new staff positions around this. ...On how colleagues can support coworkers who are caretakers, or members of the sandwich generation: Kindness and compassion go a long way. ...

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. ... 

Sixty-four Fla.-based healthcare facilities report evacuations  Healthcare Purchasing News - Regulatory; by Janette Wider; 10/8/24 Ahead of Hurricane Milton the Agency for Health Care Administration initiated an event in the Health Facility Reporting System. ... Health care providers have been requested to provide information on census, available beds, evacuation status, accepting evacuees and generator needs from counties declared under EO-24-114. This information allows AHCA to assist health care providers in transferring patients if needed and ensure that health care providers in impacted areas have the necessary resources and adequate power. 64 health care facilities have reported evacuations. This includes:

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. ...

SBL Hospice Binga raises record amount for endowment Cromwell Media; by SBL Hospice; 10/8/24 Sarah Bush Lincoln’s Hospice Binga event raised a record amount on September 3, netting more than $33,000 to support the Willow Breeze Hospice House Endowment. Since opening in January, Willow Breeze offers a beautiful home-like atmosphere where skilled care is provided to people in East Central and Southern Illinois to stay during their final days while also offering amenities for their families who visit. Earnings from the endowment help those with limited resources pay for their stay. 

How to prepare yourself for death when given a terminal diagnosis Yahoo!Life; by Kate Ng; 10/8/24 Receiving a terminal diagnosis can be a devastating blow, for the individual and their loved ones. There is no right or wrong way to react to such news, and people respond with all sorts of emotions - from anger and denial, to acceptance and peace. Having a terminal illness can also give a person new perspective. ...

'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. 

Court rules False Claims Act Provisions unconstitutional, with implications for hospice cases Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/7/24 A federal judge has struck down the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, with broad implications for hospice and other health care enforcement actions. The ruling centers on the law’s qui tam clauses, which the court found unconstitutional. In a qui tam action, a whistleblower, called a “relator” by the courts, files a False Claims Act suit on behalf of the government and possibly receives a portion of any funds recovered by the government via the lawsuit, typically ranging from 15% to 25%. The overwhelming majority of False Claims Act cases involve qui tam whistleblowers. In Fiscal Year 2023, for example, these cases recovered $2.3 billion of the total $2.68 billion recouped by the government in FCA settlements and judgements, according to a report from the law firm Polsinelli. ... FCA cases have been rampant in the hospice space during the last several years. Many of the major cases and settlements that have occurred during that time have been qui tam actions, including two major actions this year. ...

Guest column: Hopewest – Breaking the silence: Supporting suicide prevention and survivors of loss Special to the Herald Times; 10/2/24 Those left in the wake of a suicide loss sometimes aren’t sure where to turn or what to do. Uprooted by shock and overcome by the grief of losing someone to suicide can feel painful and isolating. ... The stigma surrounding suicide deaths, particularly on the Western Slope of Colorado, often hinders individuals from seeking the support they need. To address this crisis in our communities, we must not only bring awareness to suicide prevention but also collectively understand and acknowledge the challenges that survivors of suicide loss face. “Grief after the loss of a loved one to suicide is a unique and painful experience. Survivors struggle with a range of challenges, from the heavy weight of stigma surrounding the death, to judgment from others,” said Judy Eskelson, HopeWest Meeker Bereavement Counselor. “And for many in our community, they may not fully understand the ins and outs of this type of grief. Life after this kind of death can be overwhelmingly difficult, leaving families to navigate a path they never expected to walk.” ... Following the devastating loss of a loved one to suicide, the HopeWest bereavement team is here to walk alongside individuals and families needing a source of comfort and guidance through their grief journey. Editor's note: Though many hospices provide bare, minimum grief support, many others--like HopeWest--live out their mission by providing a fuller scope of bereavement counseling and support. What does your hospice provide? Throughout your service area, do bereaved persons (whether hospice deaths or not) think of your agency as the "dying, death and bereavement" expert, or not?