Literature Review

New fellowship will help imprisoned women plan for end of life Washington State University - WSU Insider; by Scott Swybright; 12/9/24 Incarcerated individuals have few personal rights, but one they do retain is the ability to create advance directive plans for their health care. Unfortunately, few know that this is the case. A new project led by a Washington State University graduate student will educate more incarcerated people about their options as they approach the end of their lives. “When folks are incarcerated, they lose most of their bodily autonomy and basically become property of the government,” said Tosha Big Eagle, a doctoral student in WSU’s prevention science program at the WSU Vancouver campus. “Advance directives are one outlier, but nobody tells them about that right.” To help educate prisoners, Big Eagle recently received a fellowship from The Order of the Good Death, a group helping all people face end-of-life concerns, fears, and legalities. Big Eagle’s project will focus on ensuring incarcerated people at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) have access to end-of-life resources.

That’s the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. "Here you are, alive. What would you like to do with your one wild and precious life?" ~ Mary Oliver

Two states lead the pack on palliative care access, many lag behind Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/10/24 Two states — Massachusetts and Oregon — rise above the rest when it comes to access to palliative care. This is according to the new rankings from the Center to Advance Palliative Care, America’s Readiness to Meet the Needs of People with Serious Illness Scorecard. The scorecard ranks each state’s capacity to deliver high-quality care to people facing serious illness on a five-star scale by evaluating five domains, according to Stacie Sinclair, the associate director for policy and care transformation at the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). To develop the scorecard, CAPC applied an updated methodology that considers metrics beyond those used in previous reports, which only examined the availability of palliative care in hospitals with 50 beds or more. 

The politics of loss: What grief reveals Psychology Today; by Daniela E. Miranda, PhD; 12/10/24 It has been a bit over two years since my 27-year-old brother unexpectedly passed away, exactly two weeks before my 64-year-old father, quickly and expectedly, died from cancer. What followed was a series of “secondary losses”. For my family, secondary losses included the shifting dynamics of caregiving and the emotional labor required to rebuild a daily life after multiple losses, while permanently uprooting to a different country. This article is not about my grief but about how the experience of loss can illuminate the fractures and possibilities within our systems of care. ... Key points:

HSPN Staffing Summit: Leveraging technology for person-centered care Hospice News; by Sophie Knoelke; 12/9/24 This article is sponsored by CareXM. This article is based on a virtual discussion with Kathleen Benton, President and CEO of Hospice Savannah. ... Dr. Benton has a master’s degree in medical ethics and a doctorate in public health. She has offered and reviewed many publications relevant to the topics of palliative care, ethics, hospice, and communication. [Dr. Benton:] I was schooled in clinical ethics and really mediating ethical dilemmas in health care. Looking at, is this in the best interest of the patient? Are we truly following the patient’s wishes? Many of the dilemmas, I would say a good 90%, occur at the end of life. ... [At] the root of [really trending] cases was one missing element. That element was the lacking area of communication. What do I mean by that? I believe that health care does the worst job of probably all other areas of communicating with folks. We have really taken what it is to be human out of what it is to treat a patient and a person. [Click on the title's link to continue reading this insightful discussion.]

Hospital-at-home, telehealth, DME reimbursement top year-end home care priorities McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 12/9/24 Home care advocates are advancing numerous home care advocacy priorities in the final days of 2024. They are focusing on telehealth, hospital-at-home and durable medical equipment (DME). Last week, the Long-Term Post-Acute Care Health Information Technology (LTPAC Health IT) Collaborative, which includes LeadingAge as a member, sent a letter to Congress asking for an extension of telehealth flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. These flexibilities, which allow providers to furnish virtual care services over state lines, among other capabilities, will expire Dec. 31 without congressional action.

Court rules against former Encompass Health officers in lawsuitHomeCare, Dallas, TX and Birmingham, AL; 12/9/24 The Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in the lawsuit against Encompass Health, a national home health and hospice provider, and Enhabit Home Health and Hospice, an owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals. The lawsuit related to breaches of fiduciary duty by former company executives within Emcompass Health's former home health and hospice division, which is now Enhabit Home Health and Hospice. The court awarded judgment against VitalCaring Group, a home health and hospice business, as well as the private equity firms Vistria Group and Nautic Partners for aiding and abetting “the egregious breaches of the duty of loyalty” by former Encompass Health CEO April Anthony, former chief strategy officer Luke James and former chief financial officer Chris Walker. The court found that while employed by Encompass Health, Anthony, James and Walker usurped acquisition opportunities falling within Encompass Health’s line of business, used Encompass Health’s confidential information and swayed key Encompass Health employees to join them, with the promise of equity in the home health and hospice competitor that Anthony now heads, VitalCaring Group. 

Fierce 50 Award presented to NPHI CEO at New York Gala National Partnership for Healtcare and Hospice Innovation - NPHI, Washington, DC; Press release; 12/9/24The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) and Tom Koutsoumpas, CEO, were honored with a Fierce 50 Award at the 2024 Fierce 50 Awards Gala in New York City on December 5. Hosted by Fierce Life Sciences and Fierce Healthcare, the event celebrated fifty trailblazers—individuals and organizations driving transformative change in healthcare, biopharma, and biotech. NPHI and Tom were recognized in the Innovation category for a bold commitment to healthcare innovation and for leadership in hospice, palliative, and advanced illness care through NPHI’s network of mission-driven, nonprofit providers. ... “It was such an honor to be in New York to celebrate this outstanding achievement, and to be surrounded by other major innovators across healthcare,” said Tom Koutsoumpas, NPHI CEO who gave an acceptance speech. “This recognition reflects the passion and dedication of our nonprofit members in setting standards of quality for hospice and end-of-life care. It was inspiring to share the evening with leaders who, like us, are deeply committed to transforming healthcare to better serve patients, families, and communities.” Editor's note: NPHI is a sponsor of our newsletter.

Gift packages made for hospice patients in west Alabama WBRC 6 News, Birmingham, AL; by Kelvin Reynolds; 12/9/24 While it’s usually between people who know each other, that’s not always the case. A group in west Alabama arranged gift packages for folks using hospice and or home healthcare services who may not have many more holidays to celebrate. Anita Jones and others assembled dozens of care packages, working with Aveeno Home Health and Aveeno Hospice offices in Demopolis and Livingston to identify people in need. The company will distribute the care packages to its patients. ... McElroy Trucking from Cuba, Alabama helped pay for the items. They included books, blankets, shaving equipment, and other personal items.

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. ~ Carol Burnett

From sleeping in cars to having an apartment: Season for Caring helps once-homeless families Austin American-Statesman; Austin, TX; by Nicole Villalpando; 12/8/24 When Thamairis Canales Yanez learned this year that she had been selected for the Austin-American Statesman's Season for Caring program, "what I did was thank God," she said. ... The 45-year-old and her 14-year-old daughter, Ivanna, came to the U.S. from Venezuela after Yanez's dental business was taken away by the government, and she feared for her daughter's life. She is trying to rebuild her life in America, but it has been difficult. At one point, she and Ivanna were living in her car. She has breast cancer that has spread to her brain. She is unable to work. Often when Season for Caring comes into the lives of the featured families, it is during one of their darkest times.  ...  "I have seen the impact on families," said Robin Clemons, chief development officer at Hospice Austin. "Imagine facing the end of life, and they can't pay their rent. (With Season for Caring funds) they don't have to worry about those types of needs. The stress for the caregiver, it relieves that burden."

Resources are expanding for older adults on their own California Healthline; by Judith Graham; 12/9/24 Jeff Kromrey, 69, will sit down with his daughter the next time she visits and show her how to access his online accounts if he has an unexpected health crisis. Gayle Williams-Brett, 69, plans to tackle a project she’s been putting off for months: organizing all her financial information. ... Until a few years ago, few resources were available for this growing slice of the older population. Now, there are several Facebook groups for solo agers, as well as in-person groups springing up around the country, conferences and webinars, a national clearinghouse of resources, and an expanding array of books on the topic. [Click on the title's link to read more.]