Literature Review

The role and professional standards of the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner in hospice and palliative careJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Heather Coats, PhD, APRN-BC, Kelly Henrichs, Kelly DNP, RN, GNP-BC; 6/24The adult/gerontology (gero) nurse practitioner (NP) delivers primary and/or specialty palliative care to persons and their families who live each day with a myriad of serious illnesses. In this role, the adult/gero NP uses their skill set to address the whole person (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual/existential) to improve the quality of life for persons they care for. This article is the fourth in a series of 6 highlighting the different roles of the adult/gero NP and the advanced certified hospice and palliative registered nurse, and how these 2 roles overlap. The purpose of this article was to provide details of education and certification pathways for these NP roles, describe the overlaps in clinical care, and illustrate how the adult/gero NP in palliative and hospice care can contribute to leadership in program development for care of persons and their families who live with serious illness.

Exposure to a loved one’s death and advance care planning: Moderating effects of ageAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Peiyuan Zhang, MS, Sarah Clem, MSW, Roderick Rose, PhD, John G. Cagle, PhD; 6/24Despite documented benefits of Advance Care Planning (ACP), it is still under-utilized in the U.S. Our study aimed to examine whether experiencing a loved one’s death is associated with one’s own ACP behavior among adults in the U.S. and the potential moderating effect of age. ... Exploring an individual’s previous experience with a loved one’s death might be an effective way to broach the concept of ACP among adults of all ages. This strategy may be particularly useful in facilitating discussions of end-of-life medical wishes with doctors among younger adults than older adults.

Mapped: The highs and lows of the world’s happiness landscapeBigThink.com; by Frank Jacobs; 6/3/24The Gallup World Poll reveals regional peaks and valleys of happiness across all of the continents. At a glance, we see that happiness levels are relatively high across the Americas, in Europe and Oceania, and generally lowest across Africa and South Asia. In North America, Canada (6.9) came out on top, happier than the U.S. and Mexico (both 6.7). The least happy country in North America is the Dominican Republic (5.8) — perhaps unfairly, as its bad-to-worse neighbor Haiti wasn’t surveyed.

Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care grieves the death of hospice leaderThe Times Weekly; by Times Weekly Staff; 6/6/24 One of the former CEOs of Joliet Area Community Hospice, now known as Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care, has died. Duane Krieger was instrumental in the efforts to acquire land and build the first hospice residence in Illinois. Until this time, hospice care in this state was provided in patients’ homes and facilities. “Duane’s passion and dedication to building a free-standing hospice facility in Joliet was unwavering, said Mary Kay Sheehan, CEO of Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care. “Duane understood the need and knew who to talk to, in both the private and public sector, to secure funding and pass the regulations to build this hospice home and elevate the level of and access to hospice care. Duane always went above and beyond to ensure the residents of Joliet and the surrounding area had access to the care they needed. He was an inspiration and a true leader who will be missed.”

Forcura and HealthRev Partners announce Ecosystem Partnership Business Wire; 6/4/24 Forcura, a healthcare workflow management company, announces a strategic ecosystem partnership with HealthRev Partners, a prominent provider of revenue cycle management services for the home health, hospice, and palliative care sectors. This collaboration focuses on enhancing the referral process for agencies operating in these critical healthcare segments. 

Montana system cuts services (including an inpatient hospice facility), reduces workforce by 9%Becker's Post-Acute Report; by Mariah Taylor; 5/30/24Billings, Mont.-based RiverStone Health is closing two facilities, reducing other services and cutting nearly 9% of its workforce, KFF Health News reported May 30. The hospital is shuttering an inpatient hospice facility, closing a center for patients managing high blood pressure, reducing the clinic's behavioral healthcare team, removing a nurse who worked within rural schools and reducing the number of staff focused on serving patients without housing. Among the staff layoffs are several senior leadership and management roles, according to a May 10 system news release. The cuts come after a $3 million loss in Medicaid revenue this fiscal year.

Kickbacks and medically unnecessary treatments: Five major qui tam settlements from May 2024 JD Supra; by Geoff Schweller; 6/5/24 Under the FCA’s qui tam provisions, a crucial tool in combating healthcare fraud, whistleblowers have the power to file suits on behalf of the federal government if they possess the knowledge of an individual or company defrauding the government. The government may choose to intervene and take over the suit, but if a qui tam lawsuit results in a successful settlement, the whistleblower is eligible to receive between 15-30% of the monies collected. The settlements announced in May cover a wide range of alleged misconduct that violates the FCA, including cases concerning kickbacks and the billing of federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary treatments. Each settlement represents a victory in the ongoing battle against fraud. ... [Non-hospice examples followed by this hospice case] $4.2 Million Settlement with Elara Claring for Allegedly Billing Medicare for Ineligible Hospice Patients ...

How fraudulent hospices evade regulators Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/5/24A slew of fraudulent hospices in California are dodging consequences by shuffling patients around between provider numbers. That’s according to multiple sources who spoke with Hospice News, expressing their concerns about patterns of fraud continuing even as government regulators crack down on the sector. Since 2021, numerous media and government reports have emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. Despite the best efforts of regulators and law enforcement, hospice leaders are concerned that many bad actors are slipping through the cracks. 

The Aging Revolution: Growing old in America becoming more dignified, but with senior population booming, is nation’s health system prepared?BusinesssWire; 6/4/24A half-century after renowned gerontologist, psychiatrist and author Dr. Robert Butler ridiculed the nation’s medical establishment for ignoring the suffering of older Americans, Northwell Health today announced the publication of The Aging Revolution: The History of Geriatric Health Care and What Really Matters to Older Adults, which chronicles the significant advancements made in improving the physical and emotional health of the nation’s rapidly aging population. 

It pays to know: What 100 looks like!Rafu Shimpo; by Judd Matsunaga, Esq; 6/5/24Not too long ago, seeing a person 100 years of age was a rare thing. Now, they’re becoming more commonplace. There are an estimated 90,000 centenarians living in the U.S. It’s still a small percentage of the population, but it’s a number that’s expected to keep increasing. By 2060, there could be about 600,000 people who are 100 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Is there a secret recipe for a longer life? What’s it take to get there? That’s a question geriatrician Thomas Perls, M.D., has been investigating for decades with the New England Centenarian Study. ...

Leading healthcare transformation: Strategic growth through generative AI Forbes; by Ashu Goel; 6/5/24 When ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, most of us experienced a “wow” moment. Its capabilities seemed magical. Generative AI (GenAI), led by ChatGPT, has taken the industry by storm, emerging as one of the most disruptive technologies of our era. Given the widespread discussion around GenAI, it's clear that its impact is profound and far-reaching. Yet, adopting generative AI has been a significant challenge for many organizations. Gartner's insight highlights this struggle, predicting that at least 30% of generative AI projects will be abandoned throughout the next year due to issues like poor data quality and unclear business value. This prediction alone paints a picture of the adoption hurdles. ... Editor's Note: This is not not a black and white right-wrong, good-bad conflict. Notice in numerous articles we post the valid concerns expressed by hospice and palliative clinical professionals. Practical, effective implementation must reconcile these differences.

NAHC President Bill Dombi reflects on tenure: We Went ‘To War’ on behalf of our providers Home Health News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 6/4/24 For more than 40 years, William A. Dombi has been one of home-based care’s fiercest advocates. He became the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) vice president for law in 1987, and has been a key player in many of the advancements and milestones that have moved the industry forward. Those include the growth of the home health benefit under Medicare, the implementation of the home health prospective payment system in 2000 and much, much more. ... Home Health Care News recently caught up with Dombi to look back at his time at NAHC, and on what he believes to be the biggest accomplishments during his tenure.