Literature Review

Amazon Wish List for 3 hospices impacted by Hurricane HeleneWe have gathered a list of items needed by each of our member organizations that were significantly impacted by Hurricane Helene.  If you are interested in donating items, please click on the links below to make a purchase.  The items will be shipped directly to the member organization(s).  Wish lists from member organizations:

Heartless activist who took selfie with woman’s dying father in hospice shows no emotion upon learning of her fate following sick harassment campaign What'sNew2Day; written by "Jack," with another author listed "Bethan Sexton for Dailymail.com"; 10/5/24 An activist who snuck into a hospice and took a selfie with a woman’s dying father because he opposed her support for LGBTQ rights showed no emotion as he was sentenced for his sickening campaign of harassment. Bubba Pollock, 35, was sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty to criminally harassing Britt Leroux, 38. Pollock, from London, Ontario, openly protested the drag queen stories and was seen on video promising to pay people up to $500 to sabotage events. He had a fierce debate with Leroux, which culminated in him driving 120 miles to the Windsor hospice where Leroux’s father, Andre Leroux, was receiving palliative care and taking the photograph in an attempt to mock his victim.Editor's note: What social media Policies and Procedures do you have in place for any and all persons who might abuse the privacy and rights of the persons and families you serve? Based on this incident--which could be replicated easily--what might you need to write, educate, and enforce in order to protect your patients and their families?

World Hospice & Palliative Care Day - Saturday October 12, 2024 WHPCA - Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance; webpage retrieved 10/7/24 World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. WHPCD has been marked every year for the last 20 years. Join us on Saturday 12 October to advocate for better hospice and palliative care services around the world. The WHPCD theme for 2024:Ten Years Since the Resolution: How are we doing? The year 2024 marks 10 years since the World Health Assembly (WHO’s Governing Body) passed the only stand-alone resolution on palliative care, calling for all countries to “strengthen palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course.” This is what inspired the theme for 2024. [Click on the title's link for this article and to download a wealth of resources.] 

PACE Programs emerge as ‘natural allies’ to home-based care providers Home Healthcare News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 10/4/24 Home-based care providers and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations are in a unique position to strengthen the work one another is doing to care for seniors. No one understands this better than Alivia Care, a home-based care provider that also has PACE programs under its umbrella. In 2021, Alivia Care opened up Jacksonville, Florida-based The PACE Place. “We thought No. 1, it related to the type of care that we gave, in terms of chronic elderness, geriatric frailty, many of the things that we see in our hospice patients, so we felt that we had some core competencies there,” Alivia Care CEO Susan Ponder-Stansel told Home Health Care News. ...

'Trying not to cry:' Helene's wrath sets new normal in battered western North Carolina townCBS WBTW-13, Florence, SC; by Adrianna Lawrence; 10/8/24 Kyle Katona has lived through his share of hurricanes. But nothing could ready him for the wrath Helene unleashed across the idyllic valleys of western North Carolina. "I've never seen the amount of devastation that Hurricane Helene caused in the mountains," the Four Seasons hospice store driver said. He wasn't alone. "I don't think anybody was prepared for the level of catastrophe that was going to occur," said Rikki Hooper, Four Seasons' clinical operations officer. Traumatized residents awoke to the sound of water coursing into their homes before the sun came up -- taking everything and, in some heartbreaking instances, everyone, with it. ... At Lake Lure -- a beloved vacation spot minutes from Chimney Rock -- mud stands in for where water once flowed. Instead, officials and first responders were providing medical treatment. Military helicopters flicked across the sky and bulldozers cleared out areas. If it sounds like a warzone, that's because it was as close as it could be to one, Pixie Moore [a resident] said. Editor's note: Click here to donate directly to Four Seasons' hurricane relief needs; or Amazon Wish List. Click here for our 10/2 interview with TCN leaders about Helene's devastation and hospice needs for Four Seasons, Amorem, Compassionate Care of Western North Carolina (CCWNC), and Carolina Caring. 

Florida officials rush to evacuate vulnerable patients ahead of Milton The Washington Post; by David Ovalle and Sabrina Malhi; 10/9/24 at 6:31pm EDT An armada of ambulances, buses and helicopters this week have ferried thousands of sick and vulnerable people to safer ground in a medical evacuation unparalleled in Florida history as monster Hurricane Milton neared landfall. Assisted-living facilities across the Tampa Bay region shuttered as patients were transferred to homes away from the churning Gulf of Mexico and its potentially lethal storm surge. Government-run shelters for special-needs patients and their caregivers were filling to capacity in high schools and community centers across the peninsula. Ambulance crews from as far away as California and New Hampshire transported patients — some on ventilators — to hospitals sometimes hours away. “This storm is pretty unprecedented,” said Ed Powers, a regional manager for Global Medical Response, which deployed about 400 ambulances to Florida. “This is one of the largest, if not the largest, deployments we’ve ever done.” ...Editor's note: Though this news is now "old," it paints a vivid picture for healthcare Emergency Disaster Preparation, policies, partnerships, training of staff, and communication systems. What risk assessments, preparations, and systems do you have in place? What can you improve? 

Helene will likely cause thousands of deaths over decades, study suggests USA Today; by Doyle Rice; 10/2/24 [Note the 10/2 date of this article. Helene's death toll is now 230+ and rising. Hurricane Milton's predictions were new.] A new study ... says that hurricanes and tropical storms are far deadlier than initial death tolls suggest. ... Overall, the death toll of a tropical cyclone may be a broader public health issue than previously thought, as disasters frequently trigger a domino effect of other threats to affected populations. ... Researchers found that these excess deaths were due to causes such as diabetes, suicide, sudden infant death syndrome or another cause that was not recorded. Cardiovascular disease was the next most common cause, followed by cancer. Official government statistics record only the number of individuals killed during these storms. Usually, these direct deaths, which average 24 per storm in official estimates, occur through drowning or some other type of trauma, according to the study. "People are dying earlier than they would have if the storm hadn't hit their community," said senior study author Solomon Hsiang, a professor of environmental social sciences at Stanford University. Looking at the death and destruction from Helene, Hsiang told the Associated Press that "Watching what’s happened here makes you think that this is going to be a decade of hardship on tap, not just what’s happening over the next couple of weeks.”

Sixty-four Fla.-based healthcare facilities report evacuations  Healthcare Purchasing News - Regulatory; by Janette Wider; 10/8/24 Ahead of Hurricane Milton the Agency for Health Care Administration initiated an event in the Health Facility Reporting System. ... Health care providers have been requested to provide information on census, available beds, evacuation status, accepting evacuees and generator needs from counties declared under EO-24-114. This information allows AHCA to assist health care providers in transferring patients if needed and ensure that health care providers in impacted areas have the necessary resources and adequate power. 64 health care facilities have reported evacuations. This includes:

Temporary regulatory relief for South Carolina health care providers responding to Hurricane Helene Baker Donelson; Alissa D. Fleming; 10/4/24 South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a State of Emergency on September 25, 2024, to prepare for Hurricane Helene. On September 29, 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a Federal Major Disaster Declaration (FEMA-4829-DR) for South Carolina. On September 30, 2024, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency in South Carolina, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued several blanket waivers to provide greater compliance flexibility and continuity of care while responding to Helene in the geographic area covered by the President's declaration. These waivers [detailed in the article] provide health care facilities with flexibility in service delivery, staffing, and patient care, aimed at alleviating the strain caused by Helene. Further, HHS, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), and other regulatory bodies have announced relief efforts, all aimed at reducing administrative burdens so providers can continue to care for and treat those in need. ...7. Hospices Assessment Timeframe Extension: CMS is extending the timeframe for updating comprehensive hospice patient assessments from 15 to 21 days, though initial and ad-hoc assessments must still be completed based on patient needs. ...Editor's note: Click on the title's link to continue reading. Other CMS waivers are defined for 1. General ... for Health Care Facilities; 2. Critical Access Hospictals; 3. Hospital and Long Term Care Facilities; 4. Skilled Nursing Facilities; 5. Home Health Agencies; 6. DME, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies; 7. Hospice (above); 8. Practioner Licensure and Enrollment ... HIPAA; Disaster Relief

Empath Health established Hurricane Helene Assistance Fund to support colleagues South Florida Hospital and Heaclthcare Report; by Victoria Tanner; 10/6/24 At Empath Health, we believe that caring for our colleagues is just as essential as caring for our patients and families. In response to the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, we have established a special Hurricane Helene Assistance Fund within our Colleague Assistance Fund (CAF) to offer immediate financial relief to colleagues who have been impacted by the storm. This fund is designed to help those facing unexpected expenses, such as temporary housing, home repairs, and other essential needs that have arisen in the wake of the hurricane. By creating this targeted fund, we aim to ensure that our team members can access the resources they need to recover and rebuild during this difficult time. “Our colleagues are the heart of our mission, and in times of crisis, we stand by them just as they stand by our patients,” said Jonathan Fleece, President and CEO of Empath Health. “This fund allows us to help those who give so much to others, ensuring they have the support they need when it matters most.” ... Hurricane Helene, which impacted West Central Florida on [September 26], stands as the most severe storm to hit the region in over a century. Empath Health, with over 3,000 colleagues, serves communities across 20 counties, stretching from Collier County in the south to Marion County in the north. Editor's note: We understand that contributions are made by Empath's colleagues. For other, hospice contributions (especially links where the general public can contribute to hospice staff and/or hospice needs, please contact us via these links, Editor and/or Publisher. Thank you.

Introducing the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool [CMS webinar]CMS press release; 10/2/24The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training course that provides an overview of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool and how it relates to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) as described in the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Hospice Final Rule. This training is intended for all hospice providers. The 30-minute course can be viewed on demand and includes interactive exercises to help you understand and apply the content presented. While it is intended that these eight lessons be completed in sequential order, you may also jump directly to any topic of interest.

Helene and Hospice: "We're seeing such personal sacrifices ... It's heartwarming and heartbreaking ..."Hospice & Palliative Care Today; Zoom meeting with Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN), Chris Comeaux and Tina Gentry; 10/2/24[These excerpts are from a Zoom meeting between TCN's leaders Chris Comeaux (Hendersonville, NC just outside of Asheville, NC) and Tina Gentry (Fort Mill, SC) and this newsletter's leaders Cordt Kassner and Joy Berger. Click here for the longer transcription. Continue reading for ways you can help.] Chris Comeaux: There's great tragedy, great devastation, and there are beautiful miracles occurring at the same time. … I know I'm going to keep using words like historic, unprecedented, devastating. There are not even words to describe what we’re seeing. ... Tina Gentry: It's just heart wrenching. You want to be able to go and fix things and you just can't do it, right? You don't feel like you can do enough. And knowing that there are certain limitations and that we have to rely on other resources to help support our teams. We have to do what we can and then trust that others will do what they can to help.  ...Chris Comeaux: All of our all staff is accounted for. Some are still without water, electricity. [Some] staff at Four Seasons [Hospice], CCWNC [Community Care of Western North Carolina], Amorem staff … have completely lost their homes. They’re gone. We have a wonderful partner that serves many of our hospices. Yesterday, they found the body of their dear neighbor. They can't even get to their house. It would be a 10-mile hike through things that today--in modern days--you would go, “How is that possible?” … I've always heard the word, “aftermath.” I now understand what people mean by “aftermath.” ...Tina Gentry: … We’re seeing such personal sacrifices from those team members on the ground. It’s really heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. ...Chris Comeaux: … What I've seen is, sometimes you have friendly rivalries in the hospice and palliative care world. That's gone. We're all family right now and that--I just, whew--that moves me to tears. That's the type of stuff that's like, you know what? Ok, that gives me hope that we are going to get beyond this. ... [See this in Today's Encouragement.]Key Themes: