Literature Review

The DEI Dilemma: Separate teams or embedded methods? Clinical Leader; by Denise N. Bronner, PhD; 8/28/24 In recent years, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a focal point in many industries, with the pharma sector being no exception. As political forces shift the societal climate to be increasingly DEI-averse, pharma sponsors face critical decisions regarding the implementation of DEI initiatives: Should DEI efforts be managed by a separate, dedicated DEI team or woven into the fabric of existing processes and departments? To answer that question, we must examine the advantages and drawbacks of both strategies, focusing on key factors like resource allocation, implementation efficiency, cultural integration, and the long-term impact on trial inclusivity. ... Integrating DEI into all aspects of a business is a complex task that requires careful planning and coordination. Without a clear strategy, efforts can become fragmented and ineffective.Editor's Note: While this DEI discussion is written to the pharma industry, its DEI structures, strategies and outcomes apply to hospice and palliative care services. 

VNA Hospice and Don Quijote supports Meals on Wheels with annual benefit dinner GreatNews.Life, Valparaiso, IN; by Garrett Spoort; 8/27/24 Don Quijote Restaurant hosted its fourth annual VNA Hospice NWI Meals on Wheels benefit dinner on Sunday, August 25. The event serves as a traditional fundraiser while educating the community and sharing stories about the program. Bob Franko, CEO of VNA Hospice NWI, has high anticipation every year as this event inches closer. “This is something that we look forward to every year,” Franko said. “We have about 250 people in our Meals on Wheels program. Every $125 that we raise today will feed a senior for a month. Food scarcity has become more of an issue in our community for the seniors, so this event is really important for us.” Don Quijote has supported the mission for VNA Hospice’s Meals on Wheels program. The restaurant covers all of the event costs, allowing all of the funds raised to go directly to feeding seniors in need.Editor's Note: What a wonderful community partnership. Typically, nonprofit organizations are raising money for their own services. This initiative has a larger, collective purpose and community engagement that benefits all involved.

5 books to make caregiving a little more manageable DNYUZ; 8/19/24Tina Sadarangani, a geriatric nurse practitioner in New York City, has spent years working with older adults and their families. She counsels patients on the medications they should take, the eating habits they should change and the specialists they should see. But it wasn’t until her own father became seriously ill — requiring a slew of medications, deliveries, physical therapy and more — that she understood the experience from what she calls “the other side of the table.” ... Here are five titles, recommended by health care providers and other experts, to help those who help others.

Virtual reality tech takes hospice patients to faraway places Yuma Sun; by Alex Ebrahimi; 8/18/24 Hospice patients take trips to those faraway places they never got to visit or simply see the faces of family again no matter where in the world they are. These "trips" are made possible with the use of free virtual reality headsets offered by Southwestern Palliative Care and Hospice. The first patient to wear the VR headset had worked all his life out in San Diego as a crane operator. The paychecks didn't go beyond the roof over his family's head. Now he's able to see some of the places he never got to see in real life.Editor's Note: To read more examples, click on the title's link.

Reimagining end-of-life practices: Setas Eternal Living’s MyCoffin offers a sustainable legacy Franklin County Free Press; 8/13/24 In the heart of Pennsylvania’s countryside, a quiet revolution is taking place that promises to transform our end-of-life practices. At Setas Eternal Living, innovation and sustainability are at the forefront, offering an eco-friendly alternative to traditional burials through their unique MyCoffin. MyCoffin is designed to biodegrade the human body in under three years, and their pet coffin will biodegrade your pet in under two. This initiative aims to honor life while promoting environmental stewardship, reflecting a profound respect for nature’s cycles. ... The eco-friendly burial market is gaining momentum as more people become aware of the environmental impact of traditional burial practices. According to industry projections, the U.S. coffin and casket manufacturing industry is shifting towards greener alternative. ...

‘The Last Ecstatic Days’ one day screening strives to teach the world how to die without fear Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME; by BDN Community; 8/13/24 Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County invites Greater Waldo County to a single night screening on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. Post-screening, there will be a Community Conversation with Hospice and Palliative Care Physician Aditi Sethi, MD and Director of the Center for Conscious Living & Dying/Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County’s Flic Shooter. Sethi, MD’s end-of-life palliative work is featured in the film. “The Last Ecstatic Days” focuses on a young man with terminal brain cancer (Ethan Sisser) as he sits alone in his hospital room. When Sisser starts live-streaming his death journey on social media, thousands of people around the world join to celebrate his courage. Still, he envisions more–to teach the world how to die without fear. To do that, Sisser needs to film his actual death. What unfolds next is a rarely-glimpsed perspective of how a community of strangers helps a young man die with grace.Editor's Note:  This movie has been featured on PBS. The Boston Globe describes, "... courageous end-of-life chronicle, which overflows with compassion." The Louisiana Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization shared this as a viewing and discussion at their July 2024 conference. For the trailor and more information, click here. 

Grandad rehearsed his funeral 10 years ago – Now his final wishes come true after his passing Good News Network; 7/28/24 A British senior who pre-planned his funeral and rehearsed it on TV in 2013, had his final wishes come true after peacefully passing away in June. Malcolm Brocklehurst, who is a renowned aircraft expert, commissioned an orange airplane-shaped coffin ten years ago from Crazy Coffins, an offshoot of a Nottingham-based traditional coffin and urn maker in England that helps people customize their funeral. The grandfather-of-nine was filmed sitting in the coffin on Channel 5’s Bizarre Burials, which also featured a rehearsal of the ceremony that the former aerospace engineer coordinated to the last detail. The plane was aptly called Tango One and numbered with MB 1934—his initials and year of his birth. He also announced that he wanted the funeral procession to leave from the stadium pitch where his favorite football team, Blackpool FC, plays. ... But speaking about the rehearsal in 2013, he said it was all “light-hearted fun.”

A rabbi shares what he’s learned speaking with people in their final moments of life: Exploring the final moments before death is a reminder of what really matters in life  Forward - Jewish. Independent. Nonprofit.; by Rabbi Daniel Cohen; 7/28/24  I have been at the bedside of many people in their final moments on earth. The experience can be either haunting or inspiring. Ironically, my first experience of saying goodbye to someone I loved was as a 9-year-old boy. My grandfather was dying from lung cancer ... I remember the final moments as if they were yesterday. ... I have seen people call out to loved ones in the days or moments before their body and soul separate. I have seen people wait for a loved one to arrive at their bedside, further testimony that the body may be dying but the soul is very much alive. ... In truth, exploring the final moments before death is not intended to be depressing, but a reminder of what really matters in life. ... Looking at the day of death can awaken us to invest more fully in life. Each of us possesses an inner voice beckoning us and pushing us towards greatness. Do we hear that voice and do we invest in it?

Fallen nurses are honored by ‘guards’ in white uniforms, capes and caps Radio Iowa; by Radio Iowa Contributor; 7/17/24 A hospital in southwestern Iowa is joining a national volunteer organization that pays tribute to nurses who have died or who are in hospice care. Registered nurse Sara Beth Jones spearheaded the effort to launch a local chapter of the Nurses Honor Guard at Cass Health in Atlantic. Jones says part of their uniform is to wear a cape that’s black on one side and red on the other, much like those worn by nurses who tended to soldiers in the 1800s. ... The Nurses Honor Guard is a comprised of current and former nurses. In addition to the funerals of nurses, they attend parades, honor walks and living tributes. Besides the cape, Jones says Honor Guard participants don the traditional white uniform and cap. 

Palliative care training initiative launches to improve quality among incarcerated populations Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/12/24 The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation’s Medical Facility (CMF) has launched a new palliative spiritual care training program aimed at improving services for incarcerated individuals. The new two-week spiritual training program was recently provided to palliative care service workers and volunteers to assist CMF’s clinical and nursing staff caring for patients at the facility’s hospice, correctional treatment center and memory care units. A dozen trainees recently completed the program, with CMF planning to provide an annual refresher course to all of its palliative care service workers, according to California Correctional Health Care Services CEO Joseph Garland. 

Gen Z prefers burial over cremation, reversing decades of preferences trending toward cremationPR Newswire; by National Funeral Directors Association; 7/9/24 There is no shortage of social commentary on how Gen Z is redefining norms and challenging older generations to think differently, from fashion to workplace culture. But what about their perspective on death and dying? A first-of-its-kind survey conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) offers definitive data to show how Gen Z thinks differently about end-of-life matters for themselves and their loved ones – as well as similarities with older generations. Notable differences between the generations highlight Gen Z's unique perspective, even compared to Millennials who are the closest in age, highlighting a pivot in end-of-life preferences to come:

[Consumer Reports] The last goodbye: How to plan a funeral Consumer Reports; by Janet Siroto; 7/7/24 A complete guide to giving loved ones the right send-off--from traditional services to new green burials. Six years ago, Kelly Avery and Kristin Harper, sisters from Birmingham, Ala., gathered their families by the sky-blue ocean waters of Destin, Fla., to memorialize their mother, Barbara Harper. ... They shared funny stories and music, and shed some tears as they spread their mother’s ashes from the deck of a large boat.  ... The experience not only gave the family a meaningful way to pay tribute to Barbara but also got the sisters thinking about their own memorials. The key is making some choices well beforehand, which more people appear to be doing. For instance, according to an April 2024 Consumer Reports nationally representative survey (PDF) of 2,042 adults in the U.S., 50 percent said they planned or intended to plan ahead either for their own funeral or for someone else’s. Read on for a rundown of possibilities and costs. ...