Literature Review

Brightspring Health Services, Inc. enters into definitive agreement to divest Community Living business to Sevita; reports preliminary 2024 financial results and provides 2025 guidance excluding Community Living The MarCom Journal, Louisville, KY; by Leigh White; 1/20/25 BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. (“BrightSpring” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BTSG), a leading provider of home and community-based pharmacy and health services for complex populations, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Community Living business, namely ResCare Community Living, to Sevita, a leading provider of home and community-based specialty health care, for $835 million in cash consideration, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in 2025, pursuant to regulatory approvals and typical closing conditions. Following the divestiture, BrightSpring’s Provider Services will be comprised of Home Health and Hospice, Personal Care, Rehabilitation Services, and Primary Care. 

Respiratory virus activity remains 'high' in US and will 'continue for several more weeks': CDC ABC News; by Mary Kekatos and Youri Benadjaoud; 1/20/25 Respiratory viruses are continuing to spread across the United States, sickening millions of Americans. Overall respiratory illness activity -- including flu, COVID-19 and RSV -- continues to be listed as "high" nationwide and is causing people to seek health care "at a high level," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Jan. 17, two states -- Hawaii and New Hampshire -- are listed as having "very high" activity while another 15 states are listed as having "high" activity, CDC data shows. 

University of Rochester Medical Center plans hospital-at-home program Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 1/21/25 Rochester, N.Y.-based UR Medicine plans to launch a hospital-at-home program in summer 2025. CMS approved the health system's flagship Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for acute hospital care at home in June 2024. The six-hospital system has since taken a "pragmatic and deliberate approach" to building the initiative, said Justin Hopkin, MD, chief of hospital medicine at University of Rochester Medical Center. "We are listening closely to what community members want and need, while observing how other health systems overcome challenges as they scale up their hospital-at-home programs," Dr. Hopkin told Becker's.

Justice Department sues Walgreens over alleged part in opioid crisis Becker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley; 1/17/25 The Justice Department on Jan. 16 filed a civil complaint against Walgreens Boots Alliance and its subsidiaries alleging unlawful dispensation of millions of prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, also alleges that Walgreens sought reimbursements from federal health programs in violation of the False Claims Act, according to a Jan. 17 news release. The Justice Department alleges that Walgreens knowingly filled millions of invalid controlled substance prescriptions since August 2012, including excessive opioid quantities, early refills and a "dangerous and abused combination of drugs" ... The complaint suggests pharmacists at Walgreens filled the prescriptions "despite clear red flags" indicating the prescriptions were likely unlawful, ignoring other internal data and evidence from pharmacists about dispensing unlawful prescriptions. 

If you’ve overcome these 9 challenges in life, you’re more resilient than you think Personal Branding Blog; by Lucas Graham; 1/21/25 Resilience isn’t always about being unshakable or invincible. Sometimes, it’s just about surviving the chaos, picking yourself up after the mess, and somehow finding the courage to keep going. In the moment, it’s hard to see how strong you really are—you’re just trying to make it through. But when you pause and look back, you realize the grit it took to get here. ... [If] you’ve been through these nine challenges and made it out, you’re way more resilient than you give yourself credit for.

Enclara Pharmacia announces patient record integration with FireNote Hospice EMR NCN - Nebraska News Channel; Business Wire Press Release; 1/21/25 Enclara Pharmacia, ... [a national] pharmacy solutions provider for the hospice and palliative care sectors, announces the launch of a new interface with FireNoteTM, an innovative hospice electronic medical record (EMR) platform. This integration enables patient demographics and medications to flow seamlessly from FireNote to Enclara’s E3 ProTM medication management system. The new software interface enables timely admissions and medication access for patients while reducing the administrative burden on nurses, a key priority for both Enclara and FireNote.“ 

2025 ushers new era in physician unions Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 1/17/25 While unionization among healthcare workers and professionals is a familiar phenomenon, resident physicians and fellows joining unions has only grown in recent years. Indeed, since the start of 2025 alone, at least five groups of resident physicians and fellows have opted to form unions at their health systems. "Physician unionization has massively increased since 2020, especially among interns and residents," Rebecca Givan, PhD, associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J., told Becker's. ... Dr. Givan pointed to an increasing number of staff physicians unionizing as well. In 1998, the American Medical Association estimated that between 14,000 and 20,000 physicians belonged to unions. That number grew to 46,689 in 2014, and reached 67,673 in 2019. 

DeKalb library to host memorial pillow workshops Jan. 25 Shaw Local News Network, Dekalb, IL; by Kate Santillan; 1/19/25 The DeKalb Public Library will partner with Northern Illinois Hospice to host two workshop sessions for patrons to create pillows out of a loved one’s shirt. ... Participants can create up to two pillows out of a T-shirt or button-down shirt. Seamsters will be available to assist. Attendees should not bring jackets, thick fabrics or denim. Bereavement support and information will be provided.Editor's note: Do you know that healing grief actually begins with "accepting realities" and its later, ongoing "Task of Mourning" is to develop "enduring connections" or "continuing bonds" with the person or thing that has been lost? [J. William Worden, Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy; 5 editions since 1982] Similar memorials have been created by other hospices using the deceased person's clothing (ie., teddy bears, etc.). This simple, practical method can be adapted easily, with years of meaningful connection and generations of storytelling ahead.

Medicare spending, insurance claim denials top concerns: KFF poll Modern Healthcare; by Hayley Desilva; 1/17/25 A majority of individuals, regardless of their political leanings, say the federal government needs to spend more on healthcare programs, according to a KFF Health Tracking Poll released Friday. The survey of 1,310 people earlier this month highlights several areas in healthcare where the public would like to see things done differently. The results were published three days before a new administration is set to take over in Washington, D.C. 

CMS announces updated Medicaid eligibility standards for 2025 McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 1/17/25 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Friday released an informational bulletin with updated federal poverty level standards applied to eligibility criteria for Medicaid. The 2025 guidelines reflect a 2.9% price increase between calendar years 2023 and 2024, the agency said. For 2025, the poverty guideline in all states except Alaska and Hawaii is $15,650 for a one-person family/household and $21,150 for a two-person family/household. The 2025 standards for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid: [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

‘No One Dies Alone': How KMOX's Dave Glover turned personal loss into a mission of hope NBC 5, St. Louis, MO; by Mike Bush; 1/19/25 For 25 years, Dave Glover's voice has been a familiar presence on KMOX radio, but it was a personal tragedy that led him to his most meaningful role yet – as a volunteer bringing comfort to those in their final hours. ... While spending countless hours at his mother's bedside, Glover discovered something remarkable – an organization called NODA (No One Dies Alone). When his family was exhausted from their bedside vigil, the nursing staff told them, "You need to go home. And we have this organization of volunteers, called NODA." Julie Strassman, manager of Support Services with Bethesda Hospice Care, explains NODA's mission: ...

Hospice agency changes of ownership: An analysis  of publicly available ownership data Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy; 1/10/25 ... Over time, the number of both Medicare enrollees receiving hospice care and hospice providers has grown. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of Medicare enrollees receiving hospice care grew by approximately 50%, while the number of hospice agencies grew by 69%. Growth in the hospice provider market was driven predominantly by a 125% increase in for-profit hospices, which represent a growing share (approximately three-quarters in 2021) of the hospice provider market. The shift toward for-profit ownership in the hospice industry has been driven not only by newly enrolling hospices, but also changes of ownership. For example, acquisitions of nonprofit hospice agencies by publicly traded corporations and private equity firms have contributed to the increase in market share of for-profit hospices.

$250K grant to develop more diverse long-term care leaders McKnights Long-Term Care News; by James M. Berklan; 1/15/25 Declaring that “more people of color at every organizational level” are needed in long-term care, a leading provider association on Tuesday unveiled a quarter-million-dollar grant that will jump-start a program to boost more diverse nonclinical leaders. The new fellowship reflects a partnership between LeadingAge and UNCF (the United Negro College Fund). The $250,000 grant flows from the Next50 Foundation, which battles aging-bias and promotes better treatment of seniors.