Literature Review

Healey Brothers’ Foundation donates $50K to area hospice The Chronicle, Goshen, NY; 10/13/24 Healey Brothers’ Driven to Give Foundation has donated $50,000 to Hudson Valley Hospice and Hospice of Orange & Sullivan, with each nonprofit organization receiving $25,000. The funds will be used to provide care and comfort to patients with a short life expectancy in the region. According to the company, the money was raised through the Third Annual Driven to Give Foundation Golf Outing held Oct. 4 at the Osiris Country Club in Walden. ... Jason Healey, chief marketing officer at Healey Brothers [said],“These Hospice organizations offer essential, thoughtful support for patients in the final stages of life and their families, with a focus on care and comfort. They are well-respected organizations that safeguard the efficient use of donor dollars while partnering with families when it matters most. ..."

If you love the work you are doing, then you will love Tuesday! ~ Catherine Pulsifer

Breaks for caregivers: Atlanta nonprofit helps parents of medically fragile children GPB PBS - NPR, Atlanta, GA; by Ambria Burton; 10/14/24 ... The Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) defines medically fragile children as children with "medical status that can rapidly deteriorate, resulting in permanent injury or death; one that requires medical care and/or technology to maintain health; and/or a condition that requires extraordinary supervision and observation." The Georgia-based Fragile Kids Foundation reports that there are about 13,000 medically fragile children in Georgia, and the Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP) requires a waiver to provide services to medically fragile children with multiple system diagnoses, including nursing and personal care support services at homes and communities. The National Center for Pediatric Palliative Care Homes (NCPPCH) aims to provide a pediatric respite home in every state, and Life House Atlanta is a nonprofit public charity aiming to open the first pediatric palliative care home in Atlanta — the first in the Southeast overall.

7 reasons leadership soft skills are imperative for growth Forbes; by Brent Gleeson; 10/11/24 In high-performance organizations, leaders often prioritize technical know-how and measurable metrics. But dismissing soft skills as unimportant is a critical mistake that can lead to team breakdowns, missed opportunities, and poor results. According to a 2023 Harvard Business report, 76% of respondents identified empathy, communication, and the ability to manage conflict as essential leadership skills for driving team effectiveness, especially in diverse and remote work environments. Leaders who lack these soft skills may struggle to build trust and create psychologically safe workplaces, which are essential for team cohesion and innovation in high-performance settings​. But organizations must adopt a deliberate, strategic, and deeply integrated approach to developing soft skills in order to maximize ROI, ensuring that these efforts are aligned with the company’s culture, core values, and business objectives. ... [Click on the title's link for its list.]

A new Hope(West CEO): HopeWest CEO resigns, assures smooth transition The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, CO; by Jace Dicola; 10/13/24 HopeWest is on the search for a new Chief Executive Officer.According to current HopeWest CEO Cassie Mitchell, her departure is bittersweet, but the 30-year-old or ganization couldn’t be in better shape for a smooth transition. Mitchell will remain CEO until the end of this year after her successor is selected. HopeWest is a nonprofit provider of the county’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly and regional hospice, palliative and grief services. “It’s been a good two and a half years,” Mitchell said. “The organization is in a really strong place: quality is good, sustainability is good and we’re still 100% committed to our nonprofit, community-based mission.” The departure from HopeWest — to return to her home state of Kentucky — stems from a job opportunity in Mitchell’s old stomping grounds that will allow her to help with her faraway family’s “pressing” needs. She will serve as COO for another serious-illness health care provider currently amid a merger between two nonprofits. 

Hospice in a hurricane: How Empath Health responded to back-to-back disasters Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/11/24 Hospice providers in the southeastern United States are reeling from the impacts of two massive hurricanes that have occurred during the past two weeks. ... The Florida-based hospice and senior services provider Empath Health saw the majority of its service region affected by [Hurricane Milton], which caused substantial damage to infrastructure in many communities. Empath reported no major injuries among its employees, according to CEO Jonathan Fleece. However, some employees did lose entire homes or experienced significant damage, as well as cars and other essentials. ... “We do our best through pre-storm planning to come up with our communication plans with our patients and their families, ...” Fleece told Hospice News. “When we can’t reach people by phone, once we have any kind of access to roads, we will do our very best to do some sort of a check in.” These efforts are coordinated through an emergency management team, led by commander Matt Chaloux, that engages in disaster planning and response, Fleece said. Building on lessons learned from Hurricane Ian in 2022, Empath also established a mobile response unit — a vehicle designed to provide clinical, communications and logistical support during catastrophic events. The unit is modeled after similar vehicles used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Empath Health has set up a fund to aid employees who were affected by the hurricanes, helping to provide them with housing, transportation, child care and other needs, according to a statement posted by Fleece on LinkedIn. The organization's board of trustees has pledged to mathc donations dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000.Editor's note: Click here to donate to Empath Helath's fund to aid employees. 

14 president, CEO job openings at large health systems Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 10/10/24 Large health systems are seeking leaders for roles at the top of their hospitals across the U.S. Below are job listings active on the job boards of St. Louis-based Ascension, Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health and King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services as of Oct. 10 for president and CEO positions with their hospitals or subsidiaries, organized by role. 

Clinical scenario: Patient care through POLST  The Hospitalist; by Mihir Patel, MD, MPH, FACP, CLHM, SFHM; 10/10/24 Physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) forms are crucial tools in ensuring that patient treatment preferences are respected and followed, particularly during medical emergencies. As hospitalists, integrating POLST into patient care can significantly enhance decision-making processes, aligning treatments with the patient’s wishes. Here, we present a clinical scenario demonstrating the application of POLST in a hospital setting, emphasizing the importance of electronic documentation in the patient’s medical record. ... [Click on the title's link for this Case Study, which includes the Case, Hospitalist Actions,Outcome, and Conclusion.]

National Health Investors announces $121.3 million acquisition, largest deal since 2020; pipeline at $305 million McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 10/10/24 National Health Investors is acquiring a portfolio of 10 assisted living and memory care communities in North Carolina for $121.3 million in what the real estate investment trust says is its largest deal since 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic started. The Murfreesboro, TN, REIT announced the transaction Thursday morning in a business update. The properties, which have a combined 522 units, will continue to be managed by Spring Arbor. NHI says that the portfolio bears “no material impact” from Hurricane Helene.

How poor health literacy can diminish access to palliative care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/11/24 Low health literacy among seriously ill patients can impede access to palliative care and complicate efforts to improve health equity. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions, according to the Institute of Medicine. A health illiterate patient may have a strong overall ability to read or have an advanced education but have a limited understanding of information specific to health care. ... The issue deepens when it comes to palliative care. An estimated 71% of adults in the United States are unaware that palliative care exists, studies have shown, even though nearly 80% of consumers who received background information on palliative care say they would choose it for themselves or their loved ones. 

Why recent outages are a wake-up call for healthcare and regulators Forbes; by Chris Bowen; 10/11/24 When the CrowdStrike outage first started to show itself in the early hours of that hazy July morning, it was hard to believe that this wasn’t a hack or cyberattack. I was driving in my car that morning and looked up to see a digital billboard glitch into the "blue screen of death" before my eyes. Flights were grounded, travel was delayed, and nearly every Windows machine in the world was unusable. It was total mayhem. Clearly, this was an outage of major proportions, as millions of Windows systems worldwide essentially cratered. Caused by a faulty misconfiguration, we saw firsthand how the very digital advancements that have helped transform and modernize our world also expose us to more vulnerabilities than ever. ... In healthcare, this event laid bare the vulnerabilities we cannot overlook—the gaps that directly threaten patient care and safety. It’s a clear reminder of our industry’s utmost responsibility to patient privacy and well-being. ...

Hurricane Milton challenges home-based care's adaptability Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 10/9/24 [Note, posted just prior to landfall, Wed. Oct. 9.] Hurricane Milton is set to test the resilience of home-based care providers along the west coast of Florida. While hundreds of healthcare sites reported evacuations ahead of the hurricane, some companies that provide care to patients where they live, including CenterWell and Medically Home, continued to send staff into patients’ homes in the hours before the storm hit. Many home-based care companies are ready to activate contingency plans to keep providing care to patients during and after the hurricane. ... Here is how some home-based care providers prepared for Hurricane Milton. ...