Literature Review

Hope Hospice employee brightens holidays with gifts for New Braunfels seniorsHerald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, TX), 12/21/23New Braunfels, TX—For the last six years, New Braunfels resident Julie Hubertus has played “Secret Santa” to area senior citizens, bringing smiles to their faces and brightening their holidays. Hubertus works as the medical records specialist at Hope Hospice, a nonprofit that provides hospice and community grief services. Through her job, she has witnessed residents who do not have anyone to visit them or bring them presents around the holidays. Some of them have outlived their family members or do not have any family nearby. Some of the seniors also have dementia or Alzheimer’s and resort back to childhood, Hubertus said, so seeing a Christmas gift for them is like being a kid again. ... Hubertus gathers and puts together Christmas gifts through community donations, picking a different facility each year. This year, she provided about 90 gifts to seniors at EdenHill’s skilled nursing facility.

End-of-life care 'no better than it was 70 years ago'The Guardian (United Kingdom)/Yahoo! News, 12/21/23Loneliness afflicts the majority of people at the end of their life, according to a report that found palliative care has not improved in 70 years. Poverty, social isolation and not being able to die where they want are all common issues causing “considerable hardship” for people as they die. Despite advances in healthcare since 1952, the “end of life care system has not kept pace”, the charity Marie Curie concluded in an analysis comparing care today with 70 years ago. It found that 97 per cent of carers were looking after patients who were lonely at the end of their life, while less than a third said people they cared for were always able to die where they wanted.

Beloved Buffalo Hospice campus cat passes awayWGRZ-TV (Buffalo, NY), 12/22/23Buffalo, NY—Buffalo Hospice & Palliative Care shared the sad news that a cat who wandered onto the property during the pandemic has passed away. The campuses beloved black cat 'Biggie Smalls' had become the unofficial mascot of the care facility in the spring of 2020 when he showed up at their doors. Biggie welcomed patients along with their family, friends, and caregivers on a daily basis.

Hospice tech helps Scottsdale patientScottsdale (AZ) Progress, By Lin Sue Flood, 12/22/23ALS has changed John Rosso’s life, but not in the way one might imagine. The cheery-natured Scottsdale resident doesn’t focus on what he can no longer do. Instead, the 73-year-old channels his energy into pushing boundaries and overcoming challenges posed by the neurodegenerative disease. ... Hospice of the Valley’s unique Pulmonary Resource Program supports patients with neuromuscular diseases, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, COPD and other conditions that affect breathing.[Editor’s Note: The author is Director of Community Engagement for Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, AZ.]

St. Francis Medical Center workers fired 5 days before ChristmasLos Angeles Daily News, 12/22/23Striking workers at St. Francis Medical Center who have openly complained of understaffing and inadequate patient care were fired Wednesday, Dec. 20, just five days before Christmas.

Hospice Staff Promotions and Additions Announced This Week

Chatty robot helps seniors fight loneliness through AI companionshipAssociated Press/Washington Post, 12/22/23Coral Springs, FL—Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. A few miles away, the same voice comforted 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died. In central New York, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent, who is blind and in hospice, and in Washington state, it helps 83-year-old Jan Worrell make new friends. The women are some of the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to alleviate the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans. “It’s entertaining. You can actually talk to her,” said Loaiza, 81, whose ElliQ in suburban Fort Lauderdale nicknamed her “Jellybean” for no particular reason.

Baptist Health eliminates leadership positionsSouth Florida Business Journal, 12/21/23Baptist Health South Florida eliminated 190 leadership and non-clinical positions through voluntary separation and other labor reduction measures in recent months, according to the health system’s report to bond investors. The Miami-based nonprofit, the largest hospital operator in South Florida, filed its report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

Las Vegas teen leads holiday donation for kids in hospice careKLAS-TV (Las Vegas, NV), 12/21/23Las Vegas, NV—A 14-year-old Las Vegas teenager is doing what she can to make the holiday a little merrier for children in hospice care. Aiyana Castro led her third Christmas donation drive with her mother for hospice patients in the Las Vegas valley. ... The donation drive team is focusing on children being treated by ProCare Hospice of Nevada, ... “Doing this stuff is not just helping the kids that are on our service,” ProLife Child Life Specialist Brooke Kowalski said. “But it’s helping everyone who is involved in their medical journey.”

What to know about home healthcare and home careModern Healthcare, By Diane Eastbrook, 12/19/23Home healthcare and home care are often confused with each other. Both play an increasingly important role in the healthcare.

AJN Books of the Year 2023American Journal of Nursing, in the Palliative Care and Hospice category, first-place winner: The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing, edited by William E. Rosa and Betty R. Ferrell. 2nd edition. New York City, Oxford University Press.

Award-winning ‘Music With Movement’ program arms caregivers with tuneful tool to treat dementiaMcKnights Senior Living, By Aaron Dorman, 12/19/23One recent music and movement intervention program designed for seniors combines a number of different technologies, including augmented reality, to help them combat depression and anxiety from their condition, researchers say. Music, and music therapy, have been recognized as a way to help enrich life for senior living community residents.

OSHA, NAHCA alliance aims to protect CNAs from safety and health hazardsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 21, 2023A new alliance between the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Association of Health Care Assistants aims to help protect certified nursing assistants in Missouri from exposure to safety and health hazards. The agreement, signed by OSHA’s regional office and NAHCA last month, provides the framework for a new alliance.