STAFF SHORTAGES CAUSE SOME HOSPICES TO “ASK NEW PATIENTS TO WAIT” An article in New York Times, written by Paula Span, is titled “Short on Staff, Some Hospices Ask New Patients to Wait.” The article opens with the story of 89-year-old Anne Cotton who was told by Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care, which serves […]
DIGNITY THERAPY FOCUSES ON MAKING LAST WORDS COUNT An article in Knowable Magazine addresses the history of dignity therapy (DT), the importance of the therapy, the helpfulness patients and staff report, and the rarity of how often it is used in the US. Some people who are dying “wish for death and contemplate suicide.” […]
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS CONCERNED WITH VBID DECISION BY CMS Both the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Association of Home Care have shared their dissatisfaction with CMS’s announcement to move forward with the implementation of the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID). NHPCO called for a delay of this action […]
ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX REFLECTS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF DYING “Most of the time death won’t follow our script, says Zen teacher and end-of-life expert Joan Halifax. A Lion’s Roar interview features Halifax and her interview with Melvin McLeod. The idea of “good death” has become quite popular. Halifax says, however, that “the journey of […]
HOSPICE AND PALLITIV CARE PROVIDERS URGED TO CLAIM THEIR VALUE A IN EVOLVING HEALTHCARE SYSTEM While hospice providers understand the value they offer, people outside the hospice field “may see hospice and palliative medicine as a niche service for the last few days of life.” “This disconnection,” asserts an article in NHPCO’s Newsline Fall, […]
STRONG CULTURAL SENSITIVITIES NEEDED TO OVERCOME CULTURAL BARRIERS IN PALLIATIVE CARE An article in McKnight’s Senior Living explores “Overcoming barriers to palliative care among culturally diverse communities.” Terri Maxwell, PhD, explores some of the barriers that impede access to care, and offers insights into cultural differences that may help providers be more successful. […]
AUTHOR ISSUES CHALLENGE FOR PROIVIDERS TO OFFER CAREFUL ATTENTION TO SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF PATIENTS AND FAMILIES One of Betty Ferrell’s (PhD, FAAN, FPCN) titles is editor of Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. In the latest issue of the publication, Ferrell issues a challenge. She notes that “palliative care nurses are centrally involved in […]
RESEARCHER ASKS “WHY PSYCHEDLICS AND DYING?” Megan Miller is founder of the Creative Dying Project which works “to start conversations about death, encourage end-of-lie planning and establish a network of inclusive, community-based, psychedelic-friendly dying centers and home care options.” She is also author of “Creative Dying: Why Psychedelics and Dying?” The article is on […]
GROUP WORKS TO FACILITATE END-OF-LIFE PLANNING WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS “A team of human-centered designers created Famous Last Words, a toolkit to activate agency and intentional connection during the lonely COVID-19 period.” That sentence is the subtitle of “Reimagining End-of-Live Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Natasha Margo Blum, founder of Blumline, thought about the […]
SURVEY OFFERS INSIGHTS ON IMPROVING REFERRALS Transcend Strategy Group conducted a national survey of office managers at physicians’ offices. The focus of the survey was to better understand the managers’ practice of referrals to home-based providers. Of all responders, 81% say “they see little to no difference among providers of hospice, home health and […]
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE OF DEATH AND DYING CONTINUES TO CHANGE An article in The Pilot, in Southern Pines, SC, offers “The Way We Process Death, Grief has Come a Long Way in History.” Columnist Michael Smith reflects on American cultural attitudes toward death and dying. He recalls a 2013 Twitter post saying, “Cremation is my […]
NEW TOOL HELPS TRAIN DOCTORS ON END-OF-LIFE CONVERSATIONS University of Rochester researchers unveil SOPHIE, a virtual patient who could help train doctors in better explaining end-of-life options. SOPHIE is not a real patient, but a computer-generated avatar produced through the collaboration of computer scientists, palliative care specialists, and practicing oncologists. Their goal was to […]
PALLIATIVE CARE PAYMENT MODEL COMING SOON? “Palliative care payment model is on the not-so-distant horizon, advocates believe,” appears in McKnight’s Senior Living. NHPCO’s president and CEO, Edo Banach, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily that NHPCO “ began talks about a demonstration project in early 2020 with CMMI under the Trump administration, and those talks […]
CONSUMERS SAY HOSPICE COMMUNICATION WITH PATIENTS AND FAMILIES NEEDS IMPROVEMENT A recent survey of 300 family caregivers of hospice patients revealed that hospice communications are not meeting the needs of many caregivers. Only 43% of the family caregivers reported that they were “very satisfied” with the hospice providers in the areas of: “(1) communication […]
STUDY REVEALS BEREAVED FAMILIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO SAY LOVED ONES RECEIVED “TOO LITTLE” CARE RATHER THAN “TOO MUCH” CARE AT LIFE’S END There are sometimes concerns about patients receiving too much aggressive medical care as they are dying. A study in Journal of Palliative Care focused on examining next-of-kin perceptions about the medical […]
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE NURSES ASSOCIATION ISSUES POSITION STATEMENT ON MEDICAL CANNBIS Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), issued a new position statement on medical cannabis. The statement says “that palliative nurses should be familiar with the current literature about medical cannabis to facilitate effective communication about medical cannabis with patients and families.” This includes […]
THE TOLL OF CAREGIVING—AND LESSONS LEARNED– THROUGH THE EYES OF A GERITRICIAN Geriatrician Dr. Rebecca Elon, familiar with issues impacting aging people, has experienced a year like no other Her sister died, her husband died, and she took in her elderly mother who has dementia. This year has taken her, she says from talking about […]
NHPCO SURVEY FINDS HOSPICE PROVIDERS INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING NHPCO’S EFFORTS TO PROVIDE NEW RESOURCES NHPCO recently completed a survey focused on understand “how many of its members have already developed, or are interested in developing, medical group practices.” When hospices want to participate in new care models, says NHPCO, those who have a medical […]
ARTICLE EXPLORES FRAUD AND KICKBACKS IN CALIFORNIA HOSPICES Reform proposals are emerging in California that are focused on addressing “widespread fraud, kickbacks and other abuse in an industry meant to provide comforting care for the dying. . .” A bill being considered in the state Senate, if approved, would create a one-year moratorium on […]
ARTICLE EXAMINES THE PUSH TO EXPAND PALLIATIVE CARE A STATELINE article from Pew Charitable Trusts examines the push to expand the use of palliative care. “Long-Haul COVID Renews Push to Expand Palliative Care” explores the efforts of providers of palliative care, as well as medical organizations, in pushing for expansion of palliative care to […]