Literature Review

Steward to sell 'highly desired' physician group to Optum Becker's Hospital CFO Report, by Alan Condon; 3/27/24 Dallas-based Steward Health Care plans to sell its physician group to UnitedHealth Group's subsidiary Optum, The Boston Globe reported March 26. The proposed sale of Stewardship Health is part of the 33-hospital system's plan to shore up its finances amid ongoing challenges, including falling behind in paying bills and rents. If approved, physicians who work at Steward facilities across nine states would be employed by Optum, the largest employer of physicians in the U.S.

Fall prevention for the elderly: 13 strategies to keep them safe U.S. News & World Report, by Claire Wolters, ed. by Christine Comizion, MPH; 3/26/24Falls are the leading cause of injury in adults 65 and older – with reports showing about 14 million adults fall each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... According to the CDC, falls are also the leading cause of injury-related death in the 65-and-older population – and the fall death rate is growing.Here's what to know about what increases risk for falls in older adults, and get familiar with fall prevention tips and safety measures that can help reduce the risk.Editor's Note: This U.S. News article primes the pump. Preventing falls matters especially for vulnerable hospice patients as their disease progresses, and as they and/or family want the person to be as mobile as possible. What do your Incident Reports tell you about falls? What falls-specific education do you provide for your interdisciplinary teams? On-call staff? Family caregivers? Volunteers? What QAPI programs have addressed falls? 

Enhancing interoperability in home health and hospice careMcKnights Home Care, by Tim Smokoff; 3/26/24In the dynamic realm of home health and hospice care, the seamless flow of information across care settings stands as a crucial element for ensuring quality patient outcomes and efficient workflows. Recent advancements in electronic health record (EHR) solutions within this sector have not only fostered enhanced care-team collaboration, but have also addressed challenges posed by evolving reimbursement models and workforce shortages.

Bon Secours Mercy Health posts $123.9M operating loss; new CFO to begin July 1 Becker's Hospital CFO Report, by Alan Condon; 3/26/24 Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health reported a $123.9 million operating loss (-1% margin) in 2023, improving on the $323.5 million operating loss (-2.9% margin) in 2022, according to financial documents published March 25. ... Agency costs declined from $504.1 million in 2022 to $256.2 million in 2023. ... Debbie Bloomfield, PhD, will retire as CFO at the end of 2024 after more than three decades with the health system. She will begin transitioning from her CFO role on July 1 and shift to financial leadership oversight of the system's subsidiaries. Travis Crum, senior vice president of finance, will take over as CFO on July 1. 

M&A volume may shift from hospice to home health Hospice News, by Jim Parker, 3/26/24 Though many expect a hospice M&A rebound in 2024, the scales are tipping in favor of home health companies among buyers. Generally, signs point to heightened buyer activity this year, particularly among private equity as interest rates start to come down. 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Hospice Payment Rate Update Proposed Rule (CMS-1810-P)CMS email; 3/28/24The FY 2025 hospice payment update percentage is 2.6% (an estimated increase of $705 million in payments from FY 2024). ... The proposed FY 2025 rates for hospices that do not submit the required quality data would be updated by the proposed FY 2025 hospice payment update percentage of 2.6% minus four percentage points, which results in a -1.4% update. ... The proposed hospice cap amount for the 2025 fiscal year is $34,364.85 (FY 2024 cap amount of $33,494.01 increased by the FY 2025 hospice payment update percentage of 2.6%). The proposed rule can be viewed at the Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.

New Orleans nurses rally before union contract negotiations Healthcare Journal of New Orleans; 3/26/24Nurses rallied on March 25 at University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans as they began negotiations on their first union contract with LCMC Health, the hospital’s management. Nurses at UMC made history in December when they overwhelmingly voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), becoming the first unionized private-sector hospital in the state of Louisiana and members of the largest nurse’s union in the United States. 

Nurse arrested after morphine, other stolen medical drugs seized in Owensboro14 News WFIE, by Aaron Chatman; 3/26/24 Eight suspects were arrested and facing numerous charges after a massive drug bust in Owensboro. That’s according to the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, who says they opened an investigation after receiving dozens of tips about a drug trafficking operation at the home of Pamela Bartimus. Deputies say Bartimus was an employee of Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Kentucky and had been stealing medication at her job.

Hospitalists more likely to recommend hospice than specialists: Study Becker's Hospital Review, by Mariah Taylor; 3/27/24 A New Haven, CT-based Yale School of Medicine study [published in the American Cancer Society Journals] suggests oncology hospitalists have better hospice utilization and reduce hospital stays for cancer patients compared to oncologists. Researchers compared referrals for hospice settings from hospitalist-led services and oncologist-led services. Hospitalist-led services referred 11.8% of patients to inpatient hospice settings, nearly double the referral rate of oncologist-led services (5.8%). The adjusted average length of stay before inpatient hospice care was 6.83 days for hospitalist-led care and 16.29 days for oncologist-led care. 

Here’s what a doctor says actually happens when you die United Business Journal, by Nidhi Dhote; 3/26/24Death is the great equalizer; it’s a subject that intrigues and terrifies us in equal measure. Throughout human history, we’ve pondered what lies beyond the threshold of life, seeking answers in religion, philosophy, and science. Yet, despite all our advancements, the mystery of death remains largely intact. ... In this article, we’ll delve into what happens to our bodies when we die, as explained by medical professionals.

EnforceMintz - False Claims Act statistical year in review Mondaq - Mintz; by Kevin M. McGinty, Laurence Freedman, Karen Lovitch and Brian Dunphy; 3/27/24 Mintz's annual report on False Claims Act case activity analyzes data from the DOJ and the firm's Health Care Qui Tam Database, and explores the 2023 spike in FCA case activity, the ongoing moderate decline in health care–related activity, and continuing robust recoveries in health care cases. ... Also interesting is the absence of hospice care facilities from this year's table. In a number of recent years, those entities had been a growing category of FCA defendants in our internal data.

Meaningful conversations to have with your loved oneMediaFeed.org, by Merritt Whitley; 3/27/24“One of the most important concepts in the field of grief and loss is that people drift in and out of the awareness of dying,” says Kenneth Doka, a senior consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America, and professor emeritus of gerontology at the graduate school of The College of New Rochelle. “Sometimes they do talk about it, sometimes not. The dying one should control the agenda. Don’t force conversations on them.” When your loved one feels ready to talk, the following suggestions can be comforting ways to begin a conversation: ...