Palliative Care
A lasting lesson from Barbara Bush
June 08, 2018For many patients and their families, the notion of choosing to stop life-prolonging treatment is unthinkable. Disagreements over when to "give up" can tear families apart, precisely at a time they should be coming together. It doesn't have to be this way.
'Omni-mom' Barbara Bush gives providers a gift
April 18, 2018The tributes to former First Lady Barbara Bush will wash over the media landscape for at least a few news cycles, as well they should. But then, unfortunately, the world will go back to its twisted ways and the airwaves will be dominated by tantrums, tweets and twits.
Could end-of-life care be getting worse?
October 11, 2017With more providers and patients than ever focusing on palliative and hospice care, shouldn't the quality improve at least a little bit? Not necessarily.
Palliative care meetings do not ease anxiety, depression more than regular care, study finds
July 05, 2016Structured meetings led by palliative care specialists did not provide appreciable reductions of depression or anxiety in family members of patients with chronic critical illnesses, compared to routine family meetings conducted by ICU teams, researchers say.
The key business principle always applies, even with death
June 30, 2016No matter how you slice whatever you do for a living, you are employed to provide one thing: good customer service. Knowing what your "customer" wants and needs, and then getting it to him or her, is the route to success. That's why I was so intrigued with new study results this week pertaining to end-of-life care.
Hospice joins Synergy in Denver
April 12, 2016Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care in Colorado Springs will be affiliating with Care Synergy, a not-for-profit organization. Other affiliates include The Denver Hospice, Halcyon Hospice in Mead, CO, and Pathways Hospice in Fort Collins, CO.
A good book's unintended lesson and tears for a great friend
April 27, 2015One of the best signs of a good book is its unplanned lessons. While its title might profess how to fix this or do better at that, a high-quality book also will lead the reader to enlightenment for reasons a PR agent might not promote. Such is my personal experience with Atul Gawande's "Being Mortal."
Ask the treatment expert ... about palliative wound care
April 06, 2015Palliative care is focused on the relief of symptoms with a goal to improve the quality of the individual's life.
Caregivers may be focusing on 'futile' measures: Brown study
March 22, 2015New research concludes that nursing home caregivers well-versed in palliative care tend to focus less on possibly futile "aggressive" life-saving measures.
Tomorrow's nursing homes must integrate palliative care
January 09, 2015Palliative care, a form of patient-centered care focused on quality of life for the seriously ill, should be the standard of practice for all elderly patients with complex illness in nursing homes.
Best practices to advance palliative care and hospice training
July 23, 2014The goal of palliative care is to provide patients of all ages and in any stage of illness with relief from the pain and stress they're experiencing.
Accepting what nurses cannot fix
July 17, 2014Like perhaps many of you, I come from a long line of "fixers." Multiple people whose schedules are conflicting? We'll coordinate. Someone isn't able to find a job? We'll provide help on their resume and introduce them around. A friend needs a boyfriend? Let me show you my multi-step PowerPoint plan.
Relias Learning adds palliative care courses
May 27, 2014Relias Learning has added more than 90 palliative care courses to its library, the company announced.
Medicare hospice payments set to increase; Washington Post ties payment system to lack of care for suffering patients
May 06, 2014A troubling proportion of hospices fail to provide skilled nursing care to patients approaching death or who are experiencing a crisis such as increased pain, according to a lengthy Washington Post article published Saturday. The Post report appeared one day after the government proposed increasing Medicare hospice payments in 2015.
Hospice, curative care paid together in new program
May 01, 2014Seniors will not have to stop curative care to receive hospice benefits under a new demonstration program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced.
Long-term care nurses often 'scramble' to get family members' blessing for palliative care, research shows
April 24, 2014Nursing home residents might not transition to full palliative care until they are very near death, at which point nurses and family members act in a state of crisis, suggests recently published research out of Canada.
Palliative possibilities: Therein lies the rub
April 22, 2014When a patient is referred to therapy, and they are receiving hospice care, then therapy needs to seek permission from the hospice company to provide any treatment. Hospice is required to reimburse the facility for the therapy services since the treatment also is included in the bundled payment rate from Medicare Part A. And, therein lies the rub.
Asking about end-of-life care when patients can still answer
April 16, 2014It's a scene at plays out all too often in hospitals across the United States. A stroke leaves a frail senior incapacitated, lying in a hospital bed. Family members gather around, but no one can say for sure what their relative wants for her end-of-life care, and no advance directive or healthcare power of attorney is on file for her.
US dementia strategy overlooks transitions into and out of nursing homes, analysts find
April 10, 2014The U.S. national strategy for tackling dementia fails to address late-stage transitions into long-term care facilities from a person's home or the hospital, according to a recently published analysis in Health Affairs.
Stroke patients should have access to robust palliative care, American Heart Association urges in first-of-its-kind statement
March 31, 2014Stroke survivors have "enormous" palliative care needs, and healthcare providers should ensure they can provide these services, according to a scientific statement released Friday by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
Most long-term care workers think relatives of dying residents 'interfere,' survey shows
January 27, 2014Relatives of dying residents make end-of-life care worse, according to a majority of long-term care professionals.
Nursing home quality could improve with better palliative care interventions, large-scale trial shows
January 23, 2014By following practices that are common in home-based hospice care, nursing homes can improve the comfort and dignity of residents who are dying, according to new study results.
What the family wants
April 18, 2013When it comes to talk about palliative care and rehospitalizations, what should a provider do when the family is insistent on sending their loved one back to the hospital?
Updated palliative care guidelines: Providers should increase coordination, embrace QAPI
April 15, 2013Palliative care should follow care coordination and quality improvement processes called for by the Affordable Care Act, according to updated guidelines from the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care.
Palliative care legislation proposes $44 million in education fellowships for nurses
March 26, 2013Recently introduced bills in the House and Senate seek to strengthen palliative and hospice care by expanding education programs and providing fellowships for healthcare professionals to train in these areas.
Palliative care can reduce emergency room visits, study finds
December 11, 2012Palliative care reduces the number of visits seniors in long-term care settings make to emergency rooms, a new study finds.
Medicare enrollees choose nursing homes over hospice for end-of-life care, research shows
October 02, 2012Palliative and hospice care should be included in Medicare's nursing home benefits, according to authors of a new study.
Panel endorses quality measures of palliative and end-of-life care
February 16, 2012The National Quality Forum voted to endorse 14 quality measures regarding palliative and end-of-life care for patients and their families. The quality measures focus on areas of care including pain management, weight loss and depression.
Advance directives mean more palliative, less costly care, study shows
October 07, 2011Individuals with advance directives are more likely to receive palliative care and are less likely to die in a hospital, a new study finds.
Physicians unhappy with palliative care act
June 08, 2011New York State's Palliative Care Information Act, which was passed last summer and implemented in February, is meeting resistance from doctors who treat patients at the end of their life.
