Literature Review

HSPN Staffing Summit: Leveraging technology for person-centered care Hospice News; by Sophie Knoelke; 12/9/24 This article is sponsored by CareXM. This article is based on a virtual discussion with Kathleen Benton, President and CEO of Hospice Savannah. ... Dr. Benton has a master’s degree in medical ethics and a doctorate in public health. She has offered and reviewed many publications relevant to the topics of palliative care, ethics, hospice, and communication. [Dr. Benton:] I was schooled in clinical ethics and really mediating ethical dilemmas in health care. Looking at, is this in the best interest of the patient? Are we truly following the patient’s wishes? Many of the dilemmas, I would say a good 90%, occur at the end of life. ... [At] the root of [really trending] cases was one missing element. That element was the lacking area of communication. What do I mean by that? I believe that health care does the worst job of probably all other areas of communicating with folks. We have really taken what it is to be human out of what it is to treat a patient and a person. [Click on the title's link to continue reading this insightful discussion.]

Why repeat offender nursing homes elude accountability Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook and Tim Broderick; 12/10/24 Fallbrook Rehabilitation and Care Center stands out as one of the worst among the more than 1,200 nursing homes in Texas and the nearly 15,000 facilities nationwide. Over a three-year period at the skilled nursing facility in Houston, one patient died after staff did not notice her ventilator had disconnected.  ... The Texas Department of Health and Human Services cited Fallbrook for more than 50 other health and safety violations. Fallbrook was fined about $640,000 between April 2021 and July 2023, according to Modern Healthcare analysis of April 2024 CMS data. The amount was among the top 30 fines paid by nursing homes nationally and was more than six times the average fine other Texas nursing homes with CMS one-star ratings were assessed during that period. Yet the 200-bed nursing home collected more than $20 million in reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance companies in 2021 and 2022, ... The ownership groups can control facilities through convoluted webs of individuals, private equity investors, limited liability companies, real estate investment trusts and other trusts that often transfer money to related companies or third parties with ownership interests in the nursing homes. The Human and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General has identified this as a problem.

Hospital-at-home, telehealth, DME reimbursement top year-end home care priorities McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 12/9/24 Home care advocates are advancing numerous home care advocacy priorities in the final days of 2024. They are focusing on telehealth, hospital-at-home and durable medical equipment (DME). Last week, the Long-Term Post-Acute Care Health Information Technology (LTPAC Health IT) Collaborative, which includes LeadingAge as a member, sent a letter to Congress asking for an extension of telehealth flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. These flexibilities, which allow providers to furnish virtual care services over state lines, among other capabilities, will expire Dec. 31 without congressional action.

Design work to prevent burnout: A new model for improving work design supports change that increases employee engagement and reduces stress MIT Sloan Management Review; by Sharon K. Parker and Carline Knight; 12/10/24... In the U.S., 67% of workers report feeling disengaged from their work, and 49% intend to leave their current job. ... In this article, we’ll introduce readers to our SMART Work Design model. This model captures and synthesizes the most important characteristics for worker well-being and performance from both the Jobs Characteristics and Job Demands-Resources models into five dimensions: stimulating work, mastery, autonomy, relational work, and tolerable demands (thus the SMART acronym). HR leaders, managers, and employees can use the model to identify aspects of work that lead to disengagement and burnout and then create a healthier work environment and improve performance. (See “A Model for Making Work Smarter.”)

20 Ways our healthcare system wastes money and prioritizes profits over patients World of DTC Marketing - Healthcare Insights; by Richard Meyer; 12/8/24 Every year, over a half million Americans go bankrupt—often losing pretty much everything they’ve worked their entire lives for—because someone in their family got sick. In 2018 alone, the United States wasted $ 256 billion on “administrative expenses” associated with for-profit health insurance, including multimillion-dollar salaries and armies of bean counters who scour claims looking for reasons to reject payment of hospital, doctor, and pharmaceutical bills. Our healthcare system wastes money and puts patients’ lives at risk. [The list includes:]

Forcura and Axxess announce palliative care software integration Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Jacksonville, FL; Business Wire; 12/9/24 Forcura, a healthcare workflow management company, announced a strategic partnership enhancement with Axxess, the leading global technology platform for healthcare at home, by expanding connectivity to Axxess’ palliative care platform. Consequently, Axxess’ palliative care client organizations now can manage the workflow associated with onboarding and coordinating care for patients through a bi-directional API integration with Forcura. Together, Forcura and Axxess can provide shared home health, hospice, home care and palliative care clients a seamless interoperable experience.

The change leadership strategy that costs nothing Forbes; by Jane Sparrow; 12/5/24 ... [Often] the most successful strategies for change management are the easiest ones to implement. And one strategy, in particular, is in every leader’s gift. I’m talking, of course, about leading with kindness. I was speaking recently during my podcast to Andrew Moultrie, the CEO of BBC Studioworks, about the one thing he would advise leaders to focus on when going through change. There was no hesitation. Andrew said: “Underlined, kindness is the fundamental tenet of every emotional state that people can commit to. And if your actions are coming from a position of kindness, then your ability to manage change will be far more effective and fulfilling for those people you’re managing. ..."

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. ~ Carol Burnett

Kaiser's Risant Health to become $35B system in 5 years: 14 things to know Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 12/5/24 Risant Health, a nonprofit formed by Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, has acquired two health systems in the last 10 months and plans to acquire three to four more systems over the next five years to grow into a company with $30 billion to $35 billion in annual revenue. Fourteen things to know: [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

A healthcare system’s moral bankruptcy goes viral MedCity News; by Neal K. Shah; 12/5/24 Brian Thompson's murder was chilling, but the social media response of this tragedy was equally shocking, if eye-opening. It shows a massive collapse of public trust in our healthcare system, a system so broken that it bankrupts families, denies life-saving care, and treats death as an acceptable cost of doing business. When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel ..., something chilling happened: thousands of Americans responded not with horror, but with dark jokes and scathing comments about the health insurance industry. People shared stories of being denied coverage by the company and drew parallels comparing the CEO’s death to the ways they’ve been mistreated by America’s healthcare system. ... The tragedy of Thompson’s death is compounded by a cruel irony: He was rushed to Mount Sinai  — a healthcare system whose hospitals UnitedHealth removed from its network only a few months ago, leaving thousands of patients scrambling. Even in death, he couldn’t escape the byzantine system his company helped create.

The International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care has a new website IAHPC, The International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care; Email communication; 12/3/24 The IAHPC team is delighted to announce the launch of our brand-new website. It’s quite a change from the old one! We think this is a great way to close out a very fruitful year that included the implementation of several research projects, new online courses, public webinars, and multiple news bulletins about the accomplishments of our members worldwide.... [Content]  is organized around our four core areas of work: Advocacy, Education, Research and Communications. And as before, you can learn About Us, explore Resources, and the get to know Members through the topline tabs. This design allows you to navigate more easily to the topics that interest you and lets us keep you better informed about our progress in those areas.

Nearly 5,000 Providence workers authorize strikes Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 12/5/24 Nearly 5,000 nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals at nine Providence bargaining units represented by two unions have authorized strikes. Members of the Oregon Nurses Association and Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association from 13 hospitals and clinics across Oregon voted over the past two months, according to a Dec. 4 news release shared with Becker's. Union representatives and Providence have been in contract negotiations for more than a year, and many bargaining units remain without agreements, the release said. ...  Strike authorizations do not mean strikes will occur. If leaders of individual bargaining units set a strike date, a 10-day notice will be issued to Providence's management.

How hospice CNAs provide comfort in end-of-life care Intelligent Living; by Jennifer Barns; 12/8/24 End-of-life care is one of the most challenging yet meaningful services that healthcare professionals can offer. During such a delicate time, the role of a hospice CNA becomes essential. ... Table of Contents: