January, 2024

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Hospices Struggle to Balance Costs, Patient Needs in Medication Deprescribing

Hospice News

When deprescribing medications for hospice patients, providers have to navigate a complex web of factors. But according to some clinicians, the prospect of cost savings often takes precedence over clinical outcomes. Medication costs are among hospices’ biggest expenses, and deprescribing some medications deemed “curative” or “unrelated” to the patient’s terminal diagnosis is a standard practice.

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Substance Use Disorder in Aging and Serious Illness: A Podcast with Katie Fitzgerald Jones, Jessica Merlin, Devon Check

GeriPal

Summary Transcript Summary The CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain excludes those undergoing cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care. In doing so, it seems to give the impression that pain seen in cancer is inherently different than pain seen in other conditions and that those with cancer may not have the same risk for opioid use disorder as compared to other conditions.

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Fighting Stigma with Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Life & Death Matters

What is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month? Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is an annual campaign organized by the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The campaign takes place throughout January and aims to educate the public about the impact of these conditions on individuals, families, and communities.

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Preparing for Winter Weather with Older Loved Ones

Aging Life Care Association

Severe winter weather is descending across the United States, which greatly impacts the safety and well-being of the elderly, especially when the weather event is unexpected or comes fast. Here are some tips from the experts in aging well® to help your older loved one prep for winter weather. Before a Storm • Stay informed: … Continue reading Preparing for Winter Weather with Older Loved Ones → The post Preparing for Winter Weather with Older Loved Ones appeared first on Aging Life C

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3 Reasons to Retire Pagers from Healthcare Settings

Let's discuss the trusty pager—an old favorite that’s losing its shine in hospitals and clinics. While once a staple in hospitals and clinics, pagers now present significant limitations that hinder rather than facilitate communication among healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals are constantly on the move, and they need communication tools that can keep up with their fast-paced lives.

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10 ways to manage stress in winter

HopeHealth

There’s a reason you’re more vulnerable to stress in winter. Luckily, there are also simple ways to lift the winter blues — including tiny changes you can start today. The post 10 ways to manage stress in winter appeared first on HopeHealth.

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Launching a Business While Caregiving

Sustainable Caregiving

If you read this title and have an adverse visceral reaction, I get it. Please read on before deciding that this is yet another example of toxic positivity. I am not suggesting that, as a caregiver, you have the time, energy, or motivation to embark on an entrepreneurial expedition. Actually, that is exactly what I […] The post Launching a Business While Caregiving appeared first on Sustainable Caregiving.

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What is going on with MAID in Canada? Bill Gardner, Leonie Herx, & Sonu Gaind

GeriPal

Summary Transcript Summary Four percent of deaths in Canada are due to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). Four percent. The number of people who have used MAID in Canada since it was legalized in 2016 has increased year on year from about 1,000 people in the first year to over 13,000 people in 2022. California, which has a similar population size as Canada and legalized MAID around the same time, has fewer than 1000 deaths per year from MAID.

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The New LDM Digital Library. A Game Changer for 3 Reasons

Life & Death Matters

The new LDM Digital Library has been in the works for months and we are so happy that we could incorporate many of the features that students and Instructor have been asking for! Let’s take a look at how this new library will will change the way students use the LDM resources in their educational […] The post The New LDM Digital Library.

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Falls: Prevention and What to Ask Your Older Loved One

Aging Life Care Association

Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal, trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. For many elders who have a fall, this is often the beginning of a deleterious cascade of ill health that will lead to trauma, hospitalization, decreased mobility, depression, and in some cases, even death. … Continue reading Falls: Prevention and What to Ask Your Older Loved One → The post Falls: Prevention and What to Ask Your Older Loved One appe

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Meet a Champion of Nursing Diversity: Dr. Selena Gilles

Minority Nurse

Selena Gilles, DNP, ANP-BC, CNEcl, FNYAM, is a Clinical Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Programs at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She’s also an Affiliate Faculty member of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (HIGN), where she serves as Co-Director of the HIGN Scholars Program, an Affiliate Associate Professor at Howard University College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, and a Volunteer Associate Professor for the State University o

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Real-Life Examples of HIPAA Violations and How to Avoid Them

Speaker: Jack Clough, Chief Growth Officer

Download our 30-minute webinar where we delve into real-life examples of HIPAA violations and preventative measures every organization should know! You will learn: The critical factors that lead to HIPAA violations and how to identify them. Three compelling real-life cases of organizations that faced severe HIPAA penalties. Proven strategies to safeguard YOUR organization against HIPAA violations.

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Is Nursing Heading for Collapse?

Daily Nurse

Concerns of a nationwide nursing shortage have loomed for decades, and the COVID-19 pandemic only fast-tracked the profession toward crisis. Nursing is integral to safe healthcare delivery, and the threat of a nursing shortage should concern everyone. When it comes to patient safety, nurses are the nervous system of a hospital. They sense, perceive, connect, communicate, and solve.

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Grief Care’s 2024 Outlook in Hospice

Hospice News

Finding the right balance of support and career development for bereavement care professionals is key to recruitment and retention as hospices combat labor strains. Grief care specialists take on challenging roles as they help families navigate the financial and emotional aspects of a loved one’s loss. The weight of providing bereavement care can take a heavy toll on staff and impact turnover rates, according to Jennifer Kincaid, chief people officer at Hospice of the Piedmont.

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RCT of Palliative Care for Heart Failure and Lung Disease: David Bekelman and Lyndsay DeGroot

GeriPal

Summary Transcript Summary In a JAMA 2020 systematic review of palliative care for non-cancer serious illness, Kieran Quinn found many positives, as we discussed on our podcast and in our editorial. He also found gaps, including very few studies of patients with lung disease, and little impact of trials on quality of life. The article we discuss today, also published in JAMA , addresses these two gaps.

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Our Palliative Presence: Inspirational Wisdom from Henri Nouwen

Life & Death Matters

Written by Michelle O’Rourke Much is written about the ‘science’ of good palliative care. This includes elements of pain and symptom management, principles of disease management, and an understanding of the psychological and social implications for the patient and their loved ones with regards to loss and grief. We would all agree that it is important […] The post Our Palliative Presence: Inspirational Wisdom from Henri Nouwen appeared first on Life and Death Matters.

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The Ultimate Guide to Improving Caregiver Engagement & Retention

Want to learn how to retain your caregivers & improve caregiver retention X3? The home care industry is experiencing turnover rates of over 80%. How are you ensuring your agency is retaining caregivers? This FREE eBook from Smartcare Software is packed with industry secrets needed to keep your caregivers happy, engaged, and retained, unlocking the full potential of your agency.

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Sense of Place

Chicago Caregiving

Studies show that hearing loss increases a person’s risk of falling. Why might that be — and what can you do about it? No matter where Louis is — working downtown, riding his bike, traveling — his thoughts drift to his 95-year-old mother. More than anything, he worries about her falling. Louis (whose name has been changed for privacy) has seen his mother go from sitting on a couch, to sliding off.

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Enough! Why the Claudine Gay Resignation Hurts

Minority Nurse

What we all feared just happened when Claudine Gay, the first Black president of Harvard University, announced that she was stepping down after only six months on the job—the shortest stint ever for the university’s president position. The latest news about Claudine Gay admittedly dredged up some all too familiar and saddening experiences for me and many executives like me when I heard the news.

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Practicing Antiracism in Nursing with Actionable Allyship

Daily Nurse

Racism in nursing affects all of us—whether we have witnessed it, experienced it firsthand, or examined our own biases rooted in race. Likewise, confronting racism that is decades in the making requires collective action. In the summer of 2022, the American Nurses Association (ANA) unanimously voted “yes” to adopt the ANA Racial Reckoning Statement.

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To Affiliate or Acquire: Trends in Nonprofit Hospice Consolidation

Hospice News

Recent years have seen an uptick in consolidation activity among nonprofits in the hospice space. Increasingly, nonprofits are pursuing acquisitions and affiliations, as well as forming regional collaboratives. To achieve these kinds of growth, hospices must consider whether they should affiliate or buy another company outright. Each approach comes with benefits and risks.

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Best Practices for Sharing Protected Health Information (PHI)

Explore essential topics in this ebook, including what constitutes PHI and how to identify it using 18 indicators. Gain insights into the importance of safeguarding PHI to protect patient privacy and learn about the severe consequences of HIPAA violations. Discover practical strategies for securely exchanging PHI within your healthcare organization, including assessing risks and implementing effective safeguards.

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Brushing away the risk: The crucial role of daily toothbrushing in preventing hospital-acquired pneumonia

Rehab Realities by Renee Kinder

A phenomenon that skilled nursing teams have long appreciated was recently highlighted in a recent article published in JAMA Internal Medicine , researchers Ehrenzeller and Klompas shed light on a critical yet often overlooked aspect of healthcare — oral hygiene and daily toothbrushing. The article, titled “Daily Toothbrushing to Prevent Hospital — Acquired Pneumonia — Brushing Away the Risk,” emphasizes the significance of routine oral care in preventing hospital-acquired pneumonia

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Unveiling the Roots of our Fear of Dying and Dead Bodies

Life & Death Matters

Guest Contributor: Misha Butot Given that dying and death are as natural as birth, why do people become fearful about being with a dead body or providing care for a person’s body after death? Even mentioning these topics here is likely to have some readers shivering and feeling some distaste. Where do fears of death […] The post Unveiling the Roots of our Fear of Dying and Dead Bodies appeared first on Life and Death Matters.

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AI and Nursing: Are We Ready?

AJN Off the Charts

Three considerations about nursing and AI. Lisiane Pruinelli In my role as a nursing professor under the University of Florida Artificial Intelligence Initiative ( ai.ufhealth.org ) and in leading several national and international efforts, I apply what I’ve learned in years of clinical and educational experience to articulate the implications of AI for the nursing profession.

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Nursing Scores High Points for Care

Minority Nurse

Nursing has long held a top spot in Gallup polls of most-trusted professions, and a recent survey gave nurses another professional boost. A Gallup 2023 Health and Healthcare survey , conducted Nov. 1-21, landed nurses at the top of the list of excellence of care. Eighty-two percent of survey respondents to the Gallup poll reported that nurses provide “excellent or good” medical care.

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The Essential Guide to HIPAA-Compliant Messaging for Home Care Teams

Explore the risks posed by non-compliant consumer apps like Instagram and WhatsApp in healthcare settings. Learn about potential HIPAA penalties and use a self-evaluation flowchart to determine your organization's need for HIPAA-compliant messaging. Discover straightforward steps to implement secure communication solutions efficiently, ensuring compliance and protecting patient data effectively.

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Fostering Teamwork and Collaboration Among Nursing Staff

Daily Nurse

In an evolving healthcare landscape, many hospitals and health systems have a diverse nursing staff of tenured employees, contractors, specialists, and more. While this can be a recipe for a dynamic and collaborative environment, it also has the potential to become precarious without proper management. Disorganization and lack of communication ultimately trickle down to patients.

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Research Finds Home-Based Care Among Top End-of-Life Trajectories for Americans

Hospice News

A recent study dug into the most common care setting trajectory patterns among older adults in the United States approaching the end of life. Many elderly Americans follow one of three place of care trajectories during the last three years of life, researchers from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, found in a study recently published in BMC Geriatrics.

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Understanding the Stages of Dementia

Caring Senior Service

As dementia progresses, it can be difficult and heartbreaking for a senior and their family. Since the disease attacks parts of the brain, symptoms will only get worse over time. However, it's important to understand how the disease progresses in order to provide the best care possible.

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NHS financial reset sends worrying message to seriously ill children and families

Together for Short Lives

As reported yesterday in the Health Service Journal, NHS England has told integrated care boards, the NHS bodies responsible for planning and funding care in England, that they can spend some ring-fenced budgets meant for specific services elsewhere, as part of its financial reset. One of those areas is the children’s palliative care match funding […] The post NHS financial reset sends worrying message to seriously ill children and families appeared first on Together for Short Lives.

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The Cost of Inefficient Communication in Home Care & Beyond

This eBook explores the critical issues of using consumer-grade messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and SMS in healthcare, especially home care. It highlights the negative impacts on patient care quality, data security, and HIPAA compliance and provides practical solutions to enhance communication efficiency! You will learn how to: Consolidate Messaging Platforms: Streamline communication by reducing the use of multiple apps, improving efficiency in patient care.

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Once Upon a Caregiver

Chicago Caregiving

Caregiving requires a lot — a lot of heart, passion, drive, energy, strength…. As any caregiver knows, the list goes on. Yet, caregivers also need a lot — information, resources, support — and many are too much in the thick of their role to come up for air and ask for any of those things. Today, more than 53 million adults in the U.S. are caregivers — 1 in 5 people.

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Putting Cervical Health in the Spotlight

Minority Nurse

Thanks to vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) and increased screening rates, cervical cancer is now less common and less deadly than it was a few decades ago. With January’s designation as Cervical Health Awareness Month , nurses can take this month as an opportunity to talk about cervical health and the great strides in helping raise awareness about how women can protect their own bodies.

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Boosting Nurse Wellbeing with Continued Professional Development: A Path to Skill Enhancement, Job Satisfaction, and Burnout Reduction

Daily Nurse

Continued professional development is crucial to help nurses grow their skills, improve job satisfaction, and prevent burnout. Nurses working in hospitals that implement burnout-reduction strategies — including professional mobility opportunities, wage increases, and educational opportunities for learning and leadership — typically experience a 20% decrease in burnout and stay in their roles for longer (3.5 years on average, compared to just 2.9 years for nurses without access to burnout-reducti

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Provider Partnerships Driving Palliative Care Growth

Hospice News

An increasingly diverse base of health care providers have taken an interest in the palliative care space, a trend that could be indicative of how strategic growth is taking shape in the field. As they build out their palliative care programs, many of these organizations are pursuing partnerships to foster coordination and growth. A range of palliative care joint ventures , care collaborations and partnerships have evolved in recent years as more health care providers work to address the needs o

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The Secret to Supercharging Your Organizations Communications

Effective collaboration among all care team members is critical to delivering better patient outcomes. A key element to achieving effective collaboration is through the implementation of a clinical communication and collaboration platform. In a fast-paced, high-stress and critical environment, people tend to do whatever gets the job done. Therefore will scramble and use the systems, people, or processes around them to get an outcome more quickly - which can often be at the expense of quality.