Literature Review

An unimaginable year for UnitedHealth Becker's Payer Issues; by Jakob Emerson; 12/30/24 The year 2024 will be remembered as one full of unprecedented challenges and turmoil for the nation's largest healthcare company. From the tragic and targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to a crippling cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group has faced a cascade of crises that affected the entire healthcare industry. These major events, compounded by legal battles and heightened public scrutiny, have exposed systemwide vulnerabilities and sparked a broader reckoning about the role of insurers within healthcare. ... Adding to the turbulence, the Justice Department is actively investigating the relationship between UnitedHealthcare and Optum, while also suing to block the company's planned $3.3 billion acquisition of home health provider Amedisys. 

‘Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable’: Coloradans gather at Death Cafes to discuss mortalityKUNC; by Gabe Allen; 1/1/25 On the first Sunday afternoon of each month, a cozy table tucked between bookshelves in the back corner of the Bean Fosters coffee shop in Golden becomes a portal to the other side. Agroup of people, some newcomers and some regulars, gather to eat homemade baked goods, drink tea and coffee and talk about the ultimate taboo: death. Karen Keeran, a death doula and former hospice aide, organizes the Golden Death Cafe. ... “It’s an open forum,” she said. “We’re here to talk about anything related to death and dying.” The discussion never strayed from mortality, yet there was a lightness and optimism to it. Death Cafe, a loosely affiliated international organization, claims to have no guiding ethos or philosophy, yet its participants are united by at least one shared idea. The belief that death is just another part of life — and we should talk about it a whole lot more.

[Hospice] Volunteer coordinator whose husband unexpectedly died gets touching surprise from a Secret SantaEast Idaho News; by Nate Eaton; 12/31/24A local Secret Santa is giving [money] to deserving people in eastern Idaho this holiday season and the East Idaho News elves are helping out. Every day since Nov. 1, we’ve posted a Secret Santa surprise, and today have our last video with a wonderful woman named Gwen. Gwen currently works as the volunteer coordinator for a home health and hospice agency in Rexburg. Having her own mother on hospice, Gwen understands the grief and hardship people experience with anticipating death. Gwen is passionate about service, and cares very deeply about every resident that she sees. 

The year in review: Influential people who died in 2024 AP International - Chicago's Very Own WGN 9; by Bernard McGhee; 12/30/24 ... [Jimmy] Carter was the nation’s longest-lived president when he died Sunday at age 100. But he was just one of many noteworthy people who died in 2024. ... The year also brought the deaths of several rights activists, including the reverends Cecil L. “Chip” Murray and James Lawson Jr.; Dexter Scott King; Hydeia Broadbent; and David Mixner. Business leaders who died this year include: Indian industrialist Ratan Tata, The Home Depot co-founder Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, financier Jacob Rothschild and Daiso retail chain founder Hirotake Yano. ... [Noteworthy] sports figures who died include: basketball players Jerry West and Dikembe Mutombo; baseball players Willie Mays and Fernando Valenzuela; and gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi. The music industry lost a titan in producer Quincy Jones, who died in November. ... Here is a roll call of some noteworthy figures who died in 2024 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available): [Click on the title's link to read more.]

Sierra Hills employees strike for safer conditions to live and work Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, WY; by Noah Zahn; 12/26/24 Employees at Sierra Hills Assisted Living protested Thursday outside the facility after Edgewood Healthcare, which owns Sierra Hills, has refused to budge in negotiations for safer working conditions for employees and residents after more than 10 months of negotiation. “We did include many things in our contract proposal that we feel will really benefit the residents,” said Taylor Ewig, who has been a CNA at Sierra Hills for around 10 years. ... There are currently between 70 and 80 residents at the facility and around eight under hospice care. Ewig and other CNAs participating in the strike said that many of the Sierra Hills residents are supportive of the strike. The issues began at the facility when Sierra Hills implemented a hospice care service a few years ago, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The company hires hospice nurses who are only on the facility about two hours per week, according to Sierra Hills staff. The rest of that time, the burden of care for the resident falls to the staffed CNAs and RNs.

“I had no words”: The patient gifts doctors never forgetMedscape; by Sarah Yahr Tucker; 12/19/24[Three unforgettable gifts...]

Bellingham nonprofit introduces barnyard animal therapy for hospice patients, families The Bellingham Herald, Whatcom County, WA; by Rachel Showalter; 12/25/24 From bunnies and chickens to full-sized horses, a new Whatcom County program is offering mobile farm animal therapy to hospice patients. Bellingham nonprofit Animals as Natural Therapy (ANT) started the Rainbow Bridge program this fall. Volunteers bring barnyard animals to visit seniors in care facilities across Whatcom County in an effort to bring joy and comfort to local hospice patients, bereaved families and hospice staff. It’s the latest program addition for the nonprofit which has offered animal-guided mental and behavioral health programs for youth, veterans, families and seniors since 1999. “ ... Barnyard animals may have a specific effect, according to the nonprofit. “For many people from older generations who grew up with backyard chickens and goats, the animals also bring a warm sense of nostalgia,” the ANT said in the announcement.

Vancouver non-profit offers hope for the bereaved during holidays [The Wishing Tree] KOIN, Portland, OR; by Anthony Kustura; 12/19/24 The holiday season is a wonderful time of year for many — but for those who recently lost a loved one, it can bring lots of heartache. In Portland, The Wishing Tree near Northeast 7th Avenue and Northeast Morris Street is a towering elm that carries hundreds of paper tags with people’s hopes and dreams all year long. ... With the tie of a bow, McCoy’s wish joins a long list of others, including ones that say “I wish to be loved” and “I wish for my kids to be happy and healthy. McCoy and her husband, Jordan Jackson, know what it’s like for the holiday season to be a solemn reminder of what’s missing. “Back home, my grandfather is in hospice care right now,” Jackson said. “You know, we miss family, so it’s always like… it would be nice to be around family, celebrate with family …,” added McCoy. [Click here to view photos of "The Wishing Tree" in Portland, OR.]

'A sacred event': Why interest is growing in natural burials San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX; by Richard A. Marini; 12/15/24 Proponents of green burials say they are better for the environment and more personal than conventional funerals. Diane Holick has long known she doesn’t want to be buried in a box after she dies. Nor does she want to be cremated. Instead, she wants what’s known as a natural burial, a type of funeral that eschews many of the familiar trappings of today’s burial practices. ... Proponents say natural burials represent a return to what funerals and burials used to be. Natural burials strip away what they see as unsustainable, harmful and expensive practices of what’s sometimes referred to as “the funeral industrial complex.” [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

University of Michigan Health-Sparrow nurses authorize strike as contract negotiations continue CBS News, Detroit, MI; by Elle Meyers; 12/12/24 Union officials representing the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow nursing staff have been working for months for an improved contract, but leaders say they're not close to a deal. "The hospital so far is not making offers that are going to keep up competitive. It's not going to allow us to make sure we maintain our level of care or quality of care," said Jeff Breslin, a registered nurse and the president of the Professional Employees Council of Sparrow Hospital. The University of Michigan bought Sparrow last April. Bresil says he was hopeful for positive change. "They had promised to come in and build new facilities, improve other facilities that we have, which is great, but you've got to take care of the people as well, and frankly, I'm disappointed that this is the direction things are taking," he said. Breslin said contract negotiations between the nurse's union and the hospital began last August. Their contract expired in October, and they still haven't reached a deal. He says nurses want to see more competitive pay, better staffing levels and an improved health plan. 

15 most, least charitable states Becker's Hospital Review; by Andrew Cass; 12/6/24 Wyoming is the most charitable state, with residents spending an average of 33 hours per year volunteering and donating nearly 4% of their adjusted gross income, according to WalletHub.   WalletHub analyzed the 50 states by comparing them across 17 key indicators of charitable behavior, such as the volunteer rate and share of income donated. ... Most charitable: 1. Wyoming 2. Utah 3. Minnesota 4. Maine 5. Delaware 6. Maryland 7. Oregon 8. Colorado 9. Pennsylvania 10. Nebraska 11. Virginia 12. Illinois 13. New York 14. Iowa 15. North Dakota Least charitable: 1. New Mexico 2. Arizona 3. Nevada 4. Rhode Island 5. Mississippi 6. Louisiana 7. West Virginia 8. Florida 9. Alabama 10. Hawaii 11. California 12. Oklahoma 13. South Carolina 14. Tennessee 15. Wisconsin

Home health adds 16K jobs in November, leading healthcare workforce gains McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 12/6/24 The home health sector added 16,000 workers last month, making it one of the fastest-growing healthcare segments by hiring rates, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Employment Situation report. The monthly report measures employment gains and losses across all sectors of the economy. In healthcare, hospitals added the most jobs of any single category in November with 19,000. Home health, which falls under the ambulatory services category, followed with 16,000 new jobs. These employment gains compared with healthcare fields such as nursing and residential care facilities (11,900), outpatient care centers (9,500) and physicians’ offices (1,900). Home healthcare has been one of the fastest-growing healthcare workforces in recent months. The segment added 12,300 jobs in October, 13,000 in September and 5,500 in August.