Literature Review

Health system C-suites channel 'hospitality energy' for next year Becker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 11/27/24 Health system C-suites are taking their organizations "back to the basics" next year to focus on improving quality outcomes and creating an elite patient experience. This means prioritizing a culture of service and training staff in hospitality. Cliff Megerian, MD, CEO of University Hospitals in Cleveland, said the system has focused on reducing variation in care pathways and optimizing clinical services for maximum quality, safety and efficiency this year, an effort that will continue into 2025. University Hospitals is also doubling down on its reputation for compassionate care, said Dr. Megerian. "The goal is for our patients – our guests – to feel truly cared for at each touchpoint along the patient journey, with clinical and non-clinical caregivers alike both bearing the responsibility to make this happen," he said. "The word 'hospitality' has at its root the word 'hospital' — it's our goal to work to bring that 'hospitality' energy to our work in healthcare, always informed by world-class science."Editor's note: The Latin root word described is "hospitium," which branched into contemporary words "hospitality," European "hostels" for travelers, "host," "hotels," and yes, "hospice." At its core, hospitium refers to travelers on a significant life journey, tended by compassionate hosts who provide rest and nourishment. Click here for more information, which emphasizes the relationship between the host and the guest.

NUMC partners with Hospice of New York to offer hospice servicesLong Island Press; 11/27/24 The Nassau Health Care Corporation, which represents Nassau University Medical Center, and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility have announced a partnership with Hospice of New York to offer hospice services for the first time for patients, regardless of their ability to pay. ... Megan C. Ryan, NHCC interim president and CEO [said,] “Hospice of New York’s proven expertise ensures that this initiative will provide the highest standard of care to patients and their families, including those from low-income and at-risk populations. Bringing this kind of care to those at their most vulnerable is why NUMC exists and why this partnership is so groundbreaking for both our institution and Hospice. We welcome the Hospice team to the NUMC family.” Ryan announced the appointment of Simon Ulubabov to the recently-created position of executive vice president for Hospital and Palliative Care Services at NUMC. 

No One Dies Alone: new Parker hospital program offers companionship to those at the end of life Parker Chronicle; by Haley Lena; 11/27/24 Katherine Wiley, a volunteer at AdventHealth Parker, was in the hospital’s emergency department when she saw first-hand how being alongside a stranger during their final moments of life can have a profound impact on those around them. Wiley sat with an elderly woman who was dying with no one around. The patient’s sons were trying to get to the hospital from Colorado Springs but didn’t make it in time. “When they got there, I told them that I had been with their mom so she was not alone and they were very grateful,” said Wiley. Wiley shared this story with the CEO of the hospital, Michael Goebel, at the annual volunteer luncheon last year, and the following week, the No One Dies Alone program was being set up. “We can provide companionship to patients in the dying process who are truly alone,” said Wiley. “In doing so, (it) provides a gift of respect and dignity to another human being at the end of life.” The volunteers of the program are called “compassionate companions.” They do not provide medical care, but they assist with comfort care measures – they sit beside the patient, hold their hands, play soothing music or read to the patients. For as many circumstances there are that lead a person to be hospitalized, there are also as many reasons why a patient is alone. The patient could have outlived other family members and friends, said Wiley, or are estranged from their family. It could be because the patients themselves don’t want to have their family see them die, but don’t want to be alone. Or they could be a John/Jane Doe who was in an accident. “We want to be there for them, whatever those reasons are,” said Wiley. “This sort of thing feeds my soul.”

Empassion achieves $34 million in savings in novel Medicare program serving high needs patients Globe Newswire, New York City; 11/21/24 Empassion Health, Inc., the nation’s largest managed care provider of high-quality end-of-life care for adults living with serious illness so that they can have more good days, today reported near-record results for four Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) serving Original Medicare lives in 35 states.  Specifically, Empassion achieved total gross savings of $34.1m in the High Needs Population Track of ACO REACH for Performance Year 2023 while managing a record number of lives – nearly 9,000 across 35 states – in total cost-of care arrangements.  This includes a 50-percent reduction of unnecessary hospital stays.  Empassion also earned the highest quality scores for provider communication and care coordination.  “While we are enormously proud of the $34 million in Medicare savings, more important is that Empassion provided high-quality end-of-life care for adults living with serious illness so that they had more good days,” said Robin Heffernan, the CEO of Empassion. “These outcomes are specific to Empassion and its unique model. ..." 

The Alliance applauds Gerald’s Law passing through Congress National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance; formerly NAHC and NHPCO); Press Release; 11/19/24 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) celebrates the historic passage of H.R. 8371, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act in the U.S. House of Representatives last night with a bipartisan vote of 389-9. This landmark legislation includes Section 301, Gerald’s Law, which addresses a critical gap in benefits impacting seriously-ill veterans and their families receiving hospice care. The story of Gerald “Jerry” Elliott, a U.S. Army veteran, underscores the importance of this legislative achievement. Diagnosed with cancer, Jerry was admitted to his local Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in 2019 before transitioning to VA hospice care at home to be surrounded by his family. After his passing, his family discovered they were ineligible for full burial and funeral financial support because Jerry died outside of a VA facility.

Valley Health's 'hospice in hospital' program expands to another hospital Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 11/19/24 Hospice in the Hospital, a collaboration between Winchester, Va.-based Valley Health and Winchester-based Blue Ridge Hospice, has expanded to Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, Va. The Hospice in the Hospital program provides hospice care services to hospitalized patients who meet general inpatient hospice criteria, according to a Nov. 18 news release. The patients receive emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual care from a team of social workers, music therapists, chaplains and volunteers. The program originated at Winchester Medical Center in 2020 and expanded to two additional Valley Health hospitals earlier this year. With its launch at Warren Memorial, all of Valley Health System's hospitals in Virginia now incorporate the Hospice in the Hospital program. 

New Health Equity Guide from Center to Advance Palliative Care provides a roadmap to transform care for black patients with serious illness Cision PRWeb; by Center to Advance Palliative Care; 11/13/24 Having medical concerns dismissed, not being believed when reporting pain, and facing multiple barriers to care are just three of the experiences reported to Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) in a focus group of Black patients with serious illness. In fact, when Black people in the United States are living with a serious illness like cancer, heart failure, or dementia, they experience disproportionately high suffering compared to white patients—often due to poor pain management, low-quality communication from their care teams, and high family caregiver burden. To address these inequities, CAPC has released a new, comprehensive guide, Advancing Equity for Black Patients with Serious Illness, to equip palliative care leaders and health equity change agents with practical tools to implement meaningful change. Drawn from research, examples of health equity initiatives from across the country, and the wisdom of health equity leaders, the guide provides a practical roadmap for transforming care for Black patients, and their families and caregivers.

Onslow Caregivers Inc. donates $400,000 to Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville for hospice care WITN, Jacksonville, NC; by Olivia Dols; 11/12/24 One eastern Carolina hospital received a donation to help it continue serving the community with hospice services. Healthcare centers like Onslow Memorial Hospital are used daily for a plethora of services, including hospice care. That’s why Onslow Caregivers Incorporated donated $400,000 to the hospital to continue helping the community. Thomas Giffin who is the Executive Director for the Onslow Memorial Hospital Foundation says this gift is all about the community. “It’s more than just a great $400,000 gift,” said Giffin. “It opens up a number of doors in a number of different directions.”

Long-term care market to grow by USD 394.8 billion from 2024-2028, as aging population drives demand with AI impact on market trends - Technavio Cision; by PR Newswire; 11/8/24 Report on how AI is redefining market landscape - The global long-term care (LTC) market size is estimated to grow by USD 394.8 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of over 3.21% during the forecast period. Growing demand for long-term care from aging population is driving market growth, with a trend towards expansion and growth of several healthcare domain. However, lack of skilled nursing staff for long-term care  poses a challenge.Key market players include Abri Health Care Services LLC, Amedisys Inc., Brookdale Senior Living Inc., CareOne Management LLC, Diversicare Healthcare Services Inc., Extendicare Canada Inc, FCP Live In, Genesis Healthcare Inc., Honor Technology Inc., Illumifin Corp., Kindred Health Holdings LLC, Life Care Centers of America Inc., Revera Inc., SeniorLiving.org, Sonida Senior Living Inc., Sunrise Senior Living LLC, and Wickshire Senior Living.

Clinician staffing and quality of care in US health centersJAMA Network Open; Q. Wilton Sun, BA; Howard P. Forman, MD, MBA; Logan Stern, DNP, APRN; et alBenjamin J. Oldfield, MD, MHS; 10/24In this cross-sectional study of 791 US health centers, 5 distinct clinician staffing ratio models were identified, and models emphasizing physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician associates were positively associated with distinct sets of individual quality metrics. Clinician staffing may be associated with certain aspects of care quality, underscoring the importance of strategic, tailored staffing to optimize primary care delivery. In this cross-sectional study of health centers, physician FTE [full time equivalent] ratio was associated with higher performance in cancer screening, infant vaccinations, and HIV testing; APRN FTE ratio was associated with higher performance in preventative health assessments; and PA FTE ratio was associated with higher performance in infant vaccination.

‘Stop Requested’: To Lakeview, Oregon’s ‘Mile High City’ OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting); by Lillian Karabaic; 10/27/24 Lakeview isn‘t close to much, but locals figure out how to get ’er done. ... OPB “Weekend Edition” host Lillian Karabaic and producer Prakruti Bhatt experience the joys and difficulties of rural transit and talk to many people along the way. ... To reach Lakeview, we turn to the Lake County Cloud, a transit service run by the Lakeview Senior Center. Lake County Cloud doesn‘t have any fixed route services. Its crew of eight part-time drivers mostly do by-reservation trips to medical appointments and a few shopping trips. This became even more important after Lakeview’s only specialty clinic and hospice closed in 2023. ... Because the nearest city is Klamath Falls, more than 90 miles away, Lake County Transit puts in a lot of miles. It also goes up to Medford, down to California, and even all the way to Portland for chemotherapy. “We do about 30,000 [or] 40,000 miles a month … it’s a lot for a little town and little crew," says Linda Mickle, transportation coordinator for Lake County Transit.

After extensive renovation, original Wright-Patt Fisher House expected to reopen soon Dayton Daily News, Dayton, OH; by Thomas Gnau; 10/28/24 Renovation ends in time to mark home’s 30th anniversary. The original Fisher-Nightingale house at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been renovated, and an open house in December is expected to mark its reopening, the executive director of the Fisher-Nightingale Houses in the Dayton area said. The house itself is expected to reopen to serve families in a few weeks. ... The Fisher House Foundation is a national organization, building comfortable homes where active-duty military and veteran families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in a hospital or in nearby hospice care.

Safety first: How to ward off health care facility violence SmartBrief; by Julia M. Johnson; 10/23/24Panelists on an American Hospital Association webinar highlight ways in which hospitals and practices can protect their patients and themselves. ... The American Hospital Association recently hosted a webinar about what hospitals and practices need to know to protect themselves, staff members and patients. “Understanding Origins of Violence in Health Care Facilities” featured Jason Grellner of Evolv Technology and Drew Neckar of Cosecure. Both panelists spoke candidly about technology, terminology and steps that can be taken to dial down the danger at health care facilities.