Literature Review

Hospice of the Western Reserve targeting $75,000 grant to address racial disparitiesCleveland.comDecember 15, 2023Lakewood, OH—For the better part of the last decade, Hospice of the Western Reserve has been focused on dispelling misperceptions within minority communities related to hospice care. “If you look at statistics across the board, traditionally African-American and Hispanic communities tend not to utilize hospice services,” Hospice of the Western Reserve Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Heidi L. Barham said. “A lot of that is based on historical mistrust, so doing the outreach work helps us to break the stigma of the H-word—that hospice is not a death sentence.” That’s why Hospice of the Western Reserve applied for and recently received a Three Arches Foundation grant, with the intent to address healthcare inequity.

After six months of study, Kentucky certificate of need task force says more study neededKentucky LanternDecember 15, 2023Lawmakers wrapped up a six-month study of Kentucky’s certificate of need law Thursday by saying more study is needed before they can make solid recommendations for reform.

Southern Utah man admits to trying to kill wife in hospice to ease her suffering, charges sayKTVX-TV (Salt Lake City, UT)December 14, 2023Washington County, UT—A southern Utah man is facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly admitted to investigators that he tried to kill his wife two years ago to ease her suffering from terminal cancer.

Rural hospitals embrace ‘grow your own’ approach to staffingModern HealthcareDecember 15, 2023Always on the hunt for staff, some rural hospitals have been trying a less common recruitment setting: K-12 classrooms. The hospitals hope that by interesting local children in healthcare careers and investing in their education, the students will one day return to work as full-fledged providers. It’s a long game, but one that could help rural hospitals better compete for clinicians with urban health systems that have the budgets for higher salaries and bigger sign-on bonuses.

Creative Role Development, Organizational Culture Keys to Battling 2024’s Staffing HeadwindsHospice NewsDecember 15, 2023The worst of the staffing challenges is far from over for embattled hospice providers seeking fruitful recruitment and retention strategies in 2024. Operators will continue to reckon with clinical capacity strains next year as hospices contend with rising demand from a swelling aging population, according to Nick Westfall, CEO of VITAS Healthcare, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. ... These taxed clinicians can find a variety of opportunities in the different interdisciplinary roles of hospice care that they might not otherwise have in hospitals or health systems, according to St. Croix CEO Heath Bartness.

Kansas Senate president says he’s open to discussing medical marijuana—but not recreationalKCUR-FM (Kansas City, MO)December 14, 2023During the upcoming legislative session in Kansas, medical marijuana is expected to be back for debate. Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover, fought the bill last year because he said it was too close to fully legalizing marijuana in the Sunflower State. However, Masterson told KCUR’s Up To Date on Wednesday that he is open to a discussion. 

Family caregiving doesn’t always mean poor mental health, study findsMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 15, 2023Caregiving may be stressful for some people, but it can have mental health benefits for others, according to a new study. The author said people should not automatically categorize caregiving as a chronic stressor and would like to see more balance in the way it’s portrayed. 

‘Tougher Every Day’—Nursing Home Operators, CCRCs Weigh in on Future of Skilled NursingSkilled Nursing NewsDecember 14, 2023Operating a skilled nursing facility today is considered a “tough business” with regulations and reimbursement woes making the space “tougher every day.” Other operators say they regularly budget a loss for skilled nursing services, and if it weren’t for other lines of business, skilled nursing would be unsustainable. 

Falling short—99% of Mississippi nursing homes don’t meet new staffing regsMississippi TodayDecember 13, 2023... In Mississippi, all but two of the 200 skilled nursing facilities—those licensed to provide medical care from registered nurses—would need to increase staffing levels under federal regulations the Biden administration proposed in September, according to data analyzed by Mississippi Today, USA TODAY and Big Local News at Stanford University. That’s in line with the national trend: Over the first quarter of 2023—from January to March—less than 1% of skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. met the draft rule’s two core standards of provider care. 

Greener nurses enter field as workforce demand continues to spikeMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 15, 2023Job openings in healthcare and social services have risen sharply in the last several years, and healthcare providers are taking on less-experienced registered nurses to handle the pressure. At the beginning of 2018, the average nurse’s tenure was more than six years of experience, according to a recent workforce report by the ADP Research Institute. In the five years since, however, high turnover rates and a corresponding abundance of job opportunities deflated a nurse’s average tenure to about five years of experience. 

Funerals Are More Expensive Than Last YearNewsweekDecember 12, 2023The cost of nearly everything is rising in the U.S., but economic circumstances are grim enough that even funerals are more expensive. Funeral costs surged 4.8 percent since last year, according to Consumer Price Index data released Tuesday, another indication the impact inflation is having on Americans. ... Since funerals and items like coffins are already expensive, this adds to the burden grieving families carry. 

‘You can continue a conversation’—Letters to the dead arrive at this P.O. box in L.A.Los Angeles TimesDecember 14, 2023Mail gets sent to the dead all the time—ads, renewal notices, unpaid bills. But if you want to send a letter to someone you’ve lost with the chance that they’ll actually receive it, there’s a box at a Los Angeles post office that carries a mysterious power. Postal Service for the Dead, started by artist Janelle Ketcher, provides the living with a way to physically send letters to those who have exited this realm. The letters are stored, and if so desired, shared with the public.