Literature Review

Startup Guaranteed looks to improve end-of-life care Healthcare Brew; by Cassie McGrath; 11/6/24 After losing her father, Jessica McGlory founded a startup to improve end-of-life care. In August 2019, Jessica McGlory got a call that her father had had a double heart attack and was admitted to a hospital in Chicago. As his health declined, McGlory became his caregiver and healthcare proxy. But she said she never got the opportunity to discuss her father’s end-of-life care or his wishes. “I thought it was going to be an opportunity to really focus on my loved one, but instead, [I] had to focus on everything else and really didn’t get the support [I] expected from the hospice,” she told Healthcare Brew. Hospice is palliative care that typically includes counseling, physical care, medicine, and equipment for patients with terminal illnesses. Two years later, despite having no previous experience in healthcare, McGlory decided to take action. In 2022, she launched Guaranteed, a New York-based hybrid end-of-life care startup that works to support people with terminal illness as well as their loved ones and caregivers. ... Guaranteed has raised $10 million to date and is looking to expand into three more states next year, she said.

Gilchrist’s commitment: Bridging the gap in hospice care for minority communities Afro News - The Black Media Authority; 11/11/24 Equitable access to hospice care remains a critical issue, particularly in minority communities where disparities persist. Black Americans, for instance, continue to be underrepresented in hospice and palliative care services despite ongoing efforts to bridge the gap. Gilchrist, a trusted provider of end-of-life care for more than 30 years, is committed to addressing this inequity head-on. ... Veterans also face disparities in hospice care, especially African American veterans, who make up 12.4% of the veteran population, ... At the heart of Gilchrist’s commitment to serving Black communities in Baltimore lies the William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Gilchrist Center Baltimore. Named after two African American pillars of the local community, this state-of-the-art facility at Stadium Place on East 33rd Street serves as a beacon of hope for residents of Baltimore City and their families.

Community carolers share love with Bartlesville's 'Santa' on his final journey home Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters - Bartlesville, Oklahoma; by Nathan Thompson; 11/9/24 He's been known as Bartlesville's very own Santa for more than three decades, and on Saturday night dozens of community members showered Ron Adams with the blessing of love and Christmas carols as he faces the final moments of his life.  Earlier this year, Adams was diagnosed with stage-four liver cancer. His health has rapidly deteriated and he is in hospice care at The Journey Home between Bartlesville and Dewey. Debbie Neece, a friend of the family, says she received a phone call from Adams' daughter, Lindsey, Saturday morning with a special request.  Neece made it happen as a fitting tribute to a Bartlesvile icon and his family. ... Saturday's love from the community gathering and singing more than 20 minutes of Christmas carols had a profound impact on Ron, his wife Debi and his daughter Lindsey. Lindsey came outside and in tears, thanked the gathered crowd. A small blessing of Christmas music. A large outpouring of love from the community. But not as large as Ron Adams' heart and his devotion to bringing joy as Bartlesville's Santa.

Quality hospice researchers seek to untangle possible relationships between tax status and outcomes Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 11/8/24 ... More private equity (PE) investors have stepped into the hospice and home health space in recent years. This trend extends across the broader health care continuum, as certain types of owners — notably private equity entities — have come under scrutiny from lawmakers. Providers’ tax status may be among the potential risk factors of fraudulent hospice spending. For-profit business and operational infrastructures can differ from nonprofit hospices, which have historically represented much of the providers in the industry. But research has found that the tide is shifting. Private equity transactions represented half of all home health and hospice deals in 2018 and 2019, resulting in a 300% increase in patients enrolled under PE-backed providers, according to research published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. ... Live discharges occur in less than 10% of patients at nonprofit hospices, study author Lauren Hunt indicated. This compared to an overall 20% of live discharge rates among patients of for-profit hospices. 

Cynder Sinclair: Calling nonprofits and donors to prepare for Giving Tuesday [Dec 3] Noozhawk, Santa Barbara, CA; by Cynder Sinclair; 11/7/24 Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the internationally recognized day to contribute to charity, is upon us. It’s time for all nonprofits and donors to get ready. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday invites us to improve our community by donating to causes that resonate with us. ... Preparing for Giving Tuesday can significantly boost a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. Here are some key steps to get ready:

Why Judy Faulkner believes in 'yin-yang' leadership Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 11/4/24 Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner says effective leadership teams typically consist of people who balance each other out. She pointed to the definition of "yin and yang" as "complementary and at the same time opposing forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts and the parts are important for cohesion of the whole," she wrote in a Nov. 4 blog post. Ms. Faulkner has often noticed that two people in leadership roles have great success together because they're so different.

The drivers of new C-suite role creation Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch and Kristin Kuchno; 11/5/24 In creating new C-suite roles within healthcare, hospitals and health systems have cited reasons as varied as seeing new opportunities for growth or finding gaps in coverage as their motivation. At least 31 new leadership roles have been added to healthcare organizations since February 2024. Among the new roles are chief health equity officer, chief decarbonization officer and chief experience officer. Here is why four organizations added new roles to their executive leadership teams.

How hospices can leverage palliative care to ‘stay relevant’ in value-based care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/6/24 U.S. health care is moving steadily towards value-based reimbursement, and having a robust palliative care program can help hospices ensure they are not left behind. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working to ensure that 100% of Medicare beneficiaries are aligned with a risk-based payment model by 2030. This can include Medicare Advantage (MA) and Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs. With hospice reimbursement confined to the traditional Medicare benefit, a palliative care program is a likely entry point for those providers to access value-based reimbursement, Sue Lynn Schramm, a partner of the hospice and palliative care consulting company Confidis LLC, said in a presentation at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Annual Leadership Conference. This may be even more the case now that the hospice component of the value-based insurance design model (VBID), often called the Medicare Advantage Hospice Carve-In, is ending on Dec. 31, Schramm said.

Your overall leadership success comes down to 2 simple strategies, say experts: These strategies should be top of mind as you plan ahead for 2025. Inc.; by Marcel Schwantes; 11/5/24 In 2001, Anne Mulcahy suddenly found herself in charge at Xerox as its CEO right when the company was going through a major financial crisis. In previous interviews, she mentioned that one of the first things she did was pick up the phone and call Warren Buffett for advice. Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, told Mulcahy: “Focus on your customers, and lead your people like their lives depend on your success.” Buffett’s advice was exactly what helped Xerox pull through. The first part of this two-part strategy—focusing on customers—was key. Mulcahy often quotes Xerox founder Joe Wilson, who said, “Customers decide whether we have jobs or not. Their attitude is what makes or breaks us.” But the second part of Buffett’s advice often doesn’t get enough attention. Regarding good leadership, taking care of your employees first is the best way to win over your customers. Happy employees lead to happy customers.

Why home health deserts are spreading across rural states Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 11/1/24 Home health deserts are increasing at an alarming rate across some rural states as home health companies close or reduce services due to financial challenges. Home health companies in Maine, Nebraska and Minnesota say a proposed Medicare rate cut, low Medicare Advantage reimbursements and workforce shortages are forcing them to make difficult business decisions — leaving many communities with limited access or no access to post-acute care in the home. ...  Approximately 800 home health providers have closed over the past five years, according to the National Alliance for Care at Home, a trade group that represents the industry. Alliance CEO Dr. Steve Landers mostly blames a Medicare home health payment model that went into effect in 2020 for reducing Medicare reimbursements and causing financial stress for providers. “While closures are significant, we are also getting reports that providers are restricting the territory they serve as a first step to addressing their financial stresses,” Landers said in an email. “This appears to be especially concerning in rural areas where no other provider is available to step in.”

Hopeful for the hospice house Gillette News Record; by Jonathan Gallardo; 11/2/24 Last week, Campbell County Health and the Northeast Wyoming Community Health Foundation announced that they were working together to look at bringing back inpatient services to the Close to Home Hospice House. For many, I’m sure the announcement came as a surprise. The split between the two sides was so public and was drawn out over a couple of years. Bridges had seemingly been burned, never to be crossed again. But wouldn’t you know it, those bridges appear to be on the mend. In their announcements, CCH and the foundation both said they’ve been in talks about what it would take to reopen Close to Home. “Our primary focus is the well-being of our community, and we are committed to transparency as we engage in these preliminary discussions,” CCH said in a press release. 

Longer hospice stays among dementia patients save Medicare dollars Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 11/4/24 Hospice utilization has tripled among patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) during the past two decades. The trend has ignited concerns about these patients’ lengths of stay, as well as praise for hospices’ cost-savings potential. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers analyzed Medicare fee-for-service claims spanning between 1999 and 2019, including data on hospice billing, patient enrollment, hospitalizations, health costs and chronic condition indicators. Roughly 14.7% of ADRD patients utilized hospices services in 2019, nearly triple the 4.4% of patients who received this care in 1999, according to the research, which was published in the National Bureau of Economic Research. The research compared billing claims among nonprofit and for-profit providers to explore spending associated with longer hospice stays among dementia patients. ...