February, 2025

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Hospice of the Valley: Redefining the End-of-Life Care Delivery Outlook

Hospice News

Rising competition in the hospice space has fueled pivotal changes in end-of-life care delivery both for better and for worse, according to Arizona-based Hospice of the Valley Executive Director Debbie Shumway. Healthy competition can be a good thing, driving innovation and quality improvement, Shumway stated. More providers can also mean greater access during a time of growing demand among swelling aging populations.

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How to Make an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis in Primary Care: A Podcast with Nathaniel Chin

GeriPal

Summary Transcript CME Summary Things are changing quickly in the Alzheimers space. We now have biomarkers that can reasonably approximate the degree of amyloid build-up in the brain with a simple blood test. We have two new FDA-approved medications that reduce that amyloid buildup and modestly slow down the progression of the disease. So, the question becomes, what, if anything, should we do differently in the primary care setting to diagnose the disease?

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How Palliative Care Training Programs Make a Difference in Healthcare Delivery

Life & Death Matters

Providing excellent care is about seeing individuals as persons, not just patients. This approach, championed by Kath Murray, Founder of Life and Death Matters, emphasizes person-centered care and is the foundation upon which palliative care is based. Nurses play a crucial role in delivering compassionate care, and palliative care training programs enhance their ability to […] The post How Palliative Care Training Programs Make a Difference in Healthcare Delivery appeared first on Life and

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Reimagining Nursing: The Path to a More Resilient Healthcare System

Daily Nurse

Healthcare is at a turning point, with persistent challenges threatening the system’s sustainability. Workforce shortages projected to exceed 100,000 healthcare workers by 2028 and increasing clinician burnout highlight the urgent need for a more sustainable and effective approach to care delivery. Integrated care models are emerging as a vital solution, blending advanced technologies, redefined clinical roles, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to meet our healthcare providers’

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The Evolution of Communication in Healthcare Settings

Healthcare communication has evolved from handwritten notes and paper charts to digital tools like EHRs, telemedicine, and AI-powered platforms. This blog explores how these advancements improve patient outcomes, streamline care delivery, and enhance provider collaboration. Learn about the role of mobile health (mHealth) apps, secure messaging, and social media in bridging communication gaps.

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Navigating the Emotional Struggles of Compassion Fatigue in Nursing

Minority Nurse

Nursing is one of the most rewarding yet emotionally demanding professions. Nurses are on the front lines of patient care, often providing comfort during some of the most critical moments of people’s lives. However, the constant emotional toll of caregiving can lead to a phenomenon known as compassion fatiguea form of burnout tied explicitly to the emotional strain of caring for others.

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Human Metapneumovirus: Another Important Cause of Respiratory Illness

AJN Off the Charts

Photo by Maria Kovalets/Unsplash Respiratory viruses are part of our surrounding ecology, with rates increasing and decreasing across seasons and in accordance with the individual virus environmental preferences and human interactions. The SARS-CoV2 pandemic heightened international concern regarding respiratory virus presence and continues to serve as a stark reminder that illness anywhere in the world can have a profound impact on health in the United States.

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Plenary Abstracts at AAHPM/HPNA: Yael Schenker, Na Ouyang, Marie Bakitas

GeriPal

Summary Transcript CME Summary In todays podcast we were delighted to be joined by the presenters of the top scientific abstracts for the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine ( AAHPM ) and the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Nurses Association ( HPNA ). Eric and I interviewed these presenters at the meeting on Thursday (before the pub crawl, thankfully).

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Climate change and nursing; catalysing sustainability in healthcare

Evidence-Based Nursing - BMJ blogs

This weeks blog has been written by Ebenezer Akore Yeboah, a nurse and PhD candidate at Coventry University, UK, specialising in nursing, climate change, and sustainability. He is a member of the UK Florence Nightingale Foundation’s sustainability expert group. Climate change is having a widespread impact on all forms of life, leading to shifts in weather patterns, increased disease burdens, and economic struggles across the globe 1.

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Trailblazers in Scrubs: Celebrating Black Nurses Who Changed History and Inspire the Future

Daily Nurse

Nurses are not just caregiversthey’re advocates, educators, and changemakers. This Black History Month, let’s take a moment to reflect on the incredible contributions of Black nurses who broke barriers, faced adversity head-on, and paved the way for a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system. These stories are not just history but a call to action for every nurse to honor their legacy by fostering equity and empowermen t in our profession.

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The Importance of Diversity in Nursing: Black History Month Reflection

Diversity Nursing

As we celebrate Black History Month , its essential to recognize the contributions of Black Nurses and the crucial role diversity plays in healthcare. A diverse Nursing workforce isnt just about representation, its about improving patient care, addressing health disparities, and fostering a more inclusive healthcare system. Why Representation in Nursing Matters The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse, yet the Nursing workforce does not always reflect this diversity.

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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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Better Sleep, Better Health: Tips for Seniors and Caregivers

Community Home Health Care

A good nights sleep is vital for physical health, mental clarity, and emotional well-beingespecially for seniors. According to Sleep Foundation , aging often brings sleep challenges like insomnia, disrupted sleep patterns, or health-related issues that interfere with rest. For caregivers, supporting a senior loved ones sleep health is equally important for their overall quality of life.

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Blue Ridge Care Hospice Partners with Local College to Bolster Clinical Workforce

Hospice News

Blue Ridge Care Hospice is partnering with Laurel Ridge Community College to provide greater exposure to hospice care to students in its emergency medical services and nursing programs. The Virginia-based nonprofit expects the partnership to help bolster the hospice clinical workforce. Blue Ridge and the college have entered into a clinical affiliation agreement that will enable students to gain hands-on experience working with hospice patients.

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Follow the H.E.A.R.T

Today's Caregiver

Valentines Day can create challenges for relationships in which a loved one has dementia. Because of the illness, they cannot express themselves or remember things as they did before.

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Harriet Tubman’s Forgotten History as a Civil War Nurse

Minority Nurse

Harriet Tubman lived a life of advocacy, courage, and fearlessness as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, a system of safe houses and escape routes from slavery across America during the Civil War. However, not many people know that she also was a nurse at one point. She often took care of her passengers on their way to freedom, and this experience helped her serve as a Civil War nurse, where she cared for hundreds of wounded soldiers and nursed them back to health.

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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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Future-Proofing Healthcare: The Unexpected Tools Enhancing Nurse Efficiency

Daily Nurse

Healthcare faces growing demands, and nurses often manage the brunt of them. It’s common for nurses to have to juggle heavy workloads, complex patient needs, and time-intensive tasks every day they clock in. These challenges put pressure on efficiency and patient care quality. Fortunately, technology is stepping in as a powerful ally, offering tools and innovations that streamline workflows, reduce stress, and empower nurses to focus on delivering exceptional care.

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Elder Abuse: Signs To Look for and How to Help

Caregiver Support Services

Caring for older adults comes with immense responsibility. At times, navigating the complexities of their care can expose vulnerable individuals to harm. Elder abuse, encompassing physical harm, emotional manipulation, financial exploitation, or neglect, often occurs in silence. Understanding the warning signs and taking action to address elder abuse is critical for caregivers.

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H5N1 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Update for Nurses and Other Health Providers

AJN Off the Charts

Influenza is a clever virus and one that deserves respect. Current concerns with the H5N1 avian influenza virus strain demonstrate why public health around the world continues to watch and monitor for impact on human health. Although the situation is not one that currently affects us on a day-to-day basis, it is important that we have a basic understanding of why this remains newsworthy.

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How Palliative Care Can Better Support Transplant Patients’ Caregivers

Hospice News

Family caregiver support is lacking across organ transplant centers nationwide. The trend represents significant unmet needs that some say palliative care providers are well-positioned to fill. Transplant caregivers navigate a complex range of medical and nonmedical needs, and often receive fragmented support, according to Yadira Montoya, programs director at the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) While family caregivers typically receive medically-focused education, they can lack exposure t

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The Role of Technology in Remote Patient Monitoring

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is transforming healthcare by enabling providers to track patient health outside traditional clinical settings. This blog explores the role of technology in RPM, including wearable devices, mobile apps, and connected medical tools that collect and share real-time data. Discover how RPM expands care access, improves outcomes, enhances patient engagement, and reduces costs by shifting from reactive to proactive care.

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Courageous Conversations: Tackle Tough Talks to Build a Healthy Workplace

Healthy Workforce Institute

As leaders, one of the most challenging yet rewarding skills we must develop is having courageous conversations with our employees. These are the conversations we dreadthe ones that make our stomachs flip. But when we avoid these discussions, we trade short-term discomfort for long-term dysfunction. Diane Salter , one of our brilliant consultants at the Healthy Workforce Institute , recently shared her strategies for tackling tough talks during a live call with our team champions in our Departme

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Leading the Charge: Black Nursing Leaders Shaping the Future of Healthcare

Minority Nurse

Nurses are no strangers to leadership in action whether at the bedside, in the classroom, or within boardrooms. But leadership doesn’t look the same for everyone. For Black nursing leaders, advancing the profession means tackling systemic challenges head-on, amplifying voices that have historically been silenced, and creating pathways for the next generation.

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A Nurse’s Instinct: How Joey Straw’s Attention to Detail Saved a Veteran’s Life

Daily Nurse

For most nurses, every shift is a routine filled with patient checks, assessments, and procedures. However, for Joey Straw, an acute care nurse at the Nashville VA , one ordinary day turned into a life-saving moment that highlights why he was named Daily Nurse’s Nurse of the Week. Never Overlooking a Step Straw stepped into his patient’s isolation room, prepared for what should have been a standard evaluation.

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A Glance at Informed Consent in Healthcare

Caregiver Support Services

When it comes to healthcare, few concepts are as criticaland often misunderstoodas informed consent. At its core, informed consent is the process by which patients are given the information they need to make educated decisions about their care. Whether youre a patient, a loved ones caregiver, or a healthcare provider, understanding informed consent is critical.

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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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Embracing Diversity in English Language Expression

Evidence-Based Nursing - BMJ blogs

This weeks blog has been written by Dr Victor Kpandemoi Abu, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, London South Bank University, London, UK. Non-native English speakers face the challenge of communicating the standard form of English in publications or academic works. Attention has been drawn to my English linguistic deficit in these areas.

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Early Telepalliative Care Can Reduce Caregiver Burden, Improve Quality

Hospice News

Wider utilization of telepalliative services could help ease family caregiver burdens and improve quality among seriously ill patient populations, research has found. Researchers have increasingly dug into the quality impacts of virtual palliative care delivery and how telehealth outcomes compare to in-person care. Telepalliative care models helped to improve experiences among lung cancer patients family caregivers in similar ways to in-person services, according to a recent study published by t

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A Guide to Heart Health

Freedom Home Care and Medical Staffing

Each February, American Heart Month raises awareness about heart disease and encourages people to adopt heart-healthy habits. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for one in four deaths. However, with preventive measures, it is largely avoidable. Start the new year by prioritizing your heart health and supporting those affected by heart disease.

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Discover New Ways to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimer’s

Responsive Home Care

You ask an easy question: What would you like for lunch today? But instead of a response, you are met with hesitation, bewilderment, and a long pause. You have probably experienced occasions such as this while being a caregiver for someone with Alzheimers, where words seem just out of reach and conversations feel more like […] The post Discover New Ways to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimers appeared first on Responsive Home Care.

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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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UMMS Rolls Out Virtual ‘NEST’ to Support Bedside Care Teams in Labor and Delivery Units Across the System

Daily Nurse

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) has launched NEST ( Neonatal Outcomes Impacted by Escalation Safety Telemetry). This groundbreaking remote fetal monitoring center offers continuous, real-time monitoring of critical elements of labor and delivery across System hospitals. NEST is led by a medical director and a team of highly specialized nurses who bring over 200 years of combined experience safely delivering thousands of babies.

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Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: The Legacy of Army Nurse Corps Pioneer Nancy Leftenant-Colon

Minority Nurse

Nancy Leftenant-Colon, the first Black woman to join the U.S. Army Nurse Corps after its desegregation in the 1940s, passed away on January 8 at the age of 104. Her remarkable life, shaped by resilience, service, and humility, has left an indelible mark on nursing, military history, and the fight for racial equality. Known affectionately as “Lefty,” Nancy Leftenant-Colon quietly shattered barriers during her trailblazing career. “She never created waves when she was doing all t

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A Nurse’s Call to Action: Supporting DEI in Healthcare

Diversity Nursing

Despite the clear benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in healthcare, recent political opposition has posed significant challenges. The term DEI has come under scrutiny, with some political leaders arguing against these initiatives, often framing them as unnecessary or divisive. This pushback has resulted in reduced funding for DEI programs and even bans on diversity training in some institutions.

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WTWH Healthcare, a WTWH Media Company, Announces 2025 Aspect Awards Winners

Hospice News

WTWH Healthcare, a WTWH Media company, is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Aspect Awards. With nearly 50 submissions across the categories of Behavioral Health, Home Health & Home Care, Hospice & Palliative Care, Senior Housing & Senior Living, and Skilled Nursing (SNF), the focus on innovation and creativity in the areas of marketing and advertising is sharper than ever before.

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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.