Literature Review

The curious joy of being wrong – intellectual humility means being open to new informationKansas Reflector, by Daryl Van Tongeren; 12/30/23Four main aspects of intellectual humility include being:

The power of music in healing life-threatening illnesses and keeping hope aliveMedium, by Jess Whorton; 12/27/23Music has long been recognized for its therapeutic effects on the mind and body. Research has shown that music can lower blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, reduce cardiac complications, increase immune response, and boost natural opiates. Let’s explore the power of music in healing life-threatening illnesses and keeping hope alive...

Assisted living residents surprised on Christmas Day—’Value these beautiful lives’WTVR-TV (Richmond, VA); 12/29/23Henrico County, VA—Residents at an assisted living community in the West End received a surprise on Christmas Day thanks to workers at a Richmond Hospice service. Debbie Johnston, a registered nurse at Serenity First Hospice, said her team members adopted Morningside in the West End to give residents a “fairytale” for some residents who have not had a Christmas gift for years. As a result, the hospice workers shopped for gifts and promoted a present drive over the past few weeks. Additionally, business and members of the community made donations.

Lawsuit—Minnesota’s free training hurt nursing assistant schoolsStar Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)December 26, 2023A group of nursing assistant training schools has sued Minnesota, saying their business has been undercut by the state’s free training program. With its no-cost training for would-be nursing assistants, Minnesota’s two-year-old Next Generation Nursing Assistant training program has been hailed as a solution to the state’s worsening health care labor shortage. But providers left on the outside of that program say they have struggled. 

Saint Louis University Hospital readies for 2-day nurse strikeBecker’s Hospital ReviewDecember 26, 2023Nurses represented by National Nurses United are set to begin a two-day strike at Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. Dec. 27. ... The union said the strike is in response to hospital management’s “persistent union-busting and outsourcing of RN jobs.” This is the second strike the union has called this year at Saint Louis University Hospital, with the first taking place in September.

Carolina Caring empowers hospice patient to revisit favorite pastimeMcDowell (NC) News, 12/22/23Carolina Caring’s compassionate hospice and palliative care empowers patients to make the most of each day as they navigate serious illness. Our patient, Barbara, has been under hospice care with Carolina Caring and has shared much about her life with her favorite Nurse, Kelly Avery, and Social Worker, Megan Elmore. She shared that her fondest memories were of fishing with her family on Lake Hickory. ... Avery and Elmore coordinated with the Carolina Caring Volunteer and Foundation Departments to secure fishing licenses and gather together a spread of Barbara’s favorite foods at Dallas Park & Recreation ponds.

The Corvallis group singing by the bedsides of the dying and grievingCorvallis (OR) Gazette-Times, 12/23/23Nearing the end of a long career as an educator at Corvallis’ Garfield Elementary, Susan Breckenridge began searching for post-retirement activities that she could do with others and still be in service to her community. Around this time, a friend who played the harp for a hospice organization told her about the Threshold Choir. Breckenridge had never heard about it before, but that evening she went online to read about the group. The volunteers sing at the bedsides of the dying and grieving, to be a source of comfort. “I was like, that’s it! That’s what I’ve been looking for: something that I can be in service to others and use my singing voice,” Breckenridge said on a Zoom call. Now-retired physician David Grube said he’d first learned about the choir while attending a “compassion and choices” lecture in Portland.

Hospice patient granted wish of meeting penguin at Mystic AquariumWTNH-TV (New Haven, CT), 12/22/23Mystic, CT—Mystic Aquarium played host to a special visitor on Wednesday to give her a every special experience. It’s been more than 30 years since Denise Oliver has been to Mystic Aquarium. Visiting and being able to pet a penguin, she said, made her “like a kid.” “Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m actually touching a penguin,” she said. Oliver is on hospice care at Civita Care Center at West River in Milford. “People kind of see [hospice] as the last little bit of their life, but it’s supposed to bring a celebration for all that they’ve done, and be able to enjoy the things that they like to do,” said Tayler Klein, the director of social services at the Civita Care Center.

OSHA, NAHCA alliance aims to protect CNAs from safety and health hazardsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 21, 2023A new alliance between the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Association of Health Care Assistants aims to help protect certified nursing assistants in Missouri from exposure to safety and health hazards. The agreement, signed by OSHA’s regional office and NAHCA last month, provides the framework for a new alliance. 

Patriot Hospice in Trumbull County takes patient on one last ‘hunt’WFMJ-TV (Youngstown, OH)December 20, 2023Patriot Hospice in Trumbull County gave one of their patients a special present just before the holidays this year. Through a program called “A Moment in Time with Patriot,” the organization took patient Richard Ansback on a special day where he got to ‘hunt’ through the new Bass Pro Shop in Niles. ... During the tour, Ansback got the chance to shoot a crossbow at a target in a special room built specifically for shooting.

Report—Death rates in older adults dropped overall prior to pandemicMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 20, 2023Death rates for adults 65 and older fell from 2000 through 2019, according to a new report that analyzed death rates among older adults prior to the pandemic. The National Vital Statistics Report was published on Dec. 15. Data in the report came from the National Center for Health Statistics between 2000 and 2019. 

Survey finds rampant discrimination in health carePublic News ServiceDecember 19, 2023In a new poll, 25% of voters say they have “personally experienced or witnessed discrimination in health care due to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion or sexual orientation.” The poll, sponsored by Compassion & Choices, an end-of-life care advocacy group, included more than 1,600 voters from California and across the United States. “It was striking that one-quarter of voters report that they personally experienced or witnessed discrimination in health care, with an even higher 35% among Black people, 29% among Hispanics and 41% among people who are LGBT,” said pollster Amy Simon, a partner at Goodman Simon Strategic Research. 

After bitter strike, nurses ratify new three-year contractNJ.comDecember 16, 2023The nurses union at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital ratified a new contract Friday, two weeks after reaching an agreement with the hospital following a bitter strike.