Why is Hospice Still A Tough Call–Even for People Who Know?

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As Our Parents Age So Do We

When a person is approaching the end of life, we can find no easy answers, no solution that fits every person’s or family’s situation, even when they know a lot about the options available to them.

To illustrate this you will want to read For Hospice Pioneer, Still a Tough Call, by Paula Span at the New York Times New Old Age Blog. She describes the end-of-life period for Paul Brenner, age 73, who spend years organizing and leading hospice organizations around the country. Despite all of this experience, it was still challenging for Mr. Brenner and for his family to engage with hospice.

Over and over I hear from friends and acquaintances how a loved one uses hospice for the last several days or perhaps a week at the end of life, and I am sometimes puzzled about how difficult it seems to be to decide to…

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For-Profit Hospices May Prefer Certain Types of Patients: Study

For-Profit Hospices May Prefer Certain Types of Patients: Study
They’re more likely to admit people that require less intense care, but a longer stay

 

From a February 1, 2011 Health Day news item

TUESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) — End-of-life care facilities run for profit are more likely to have patients who require less-skilled care on the part of the hospice, or patients who need longer times in hospice care, research reveals.

Under the current Medicare reimbursement system — which pays hospices a flat daily rate, regardless of care needs — such patients would likely cost less to care for, according to the study.

“We found that for-profit hospices had more patients with non-cancer diagnoses, especially dementia, that were associated with fewer visits per day from hospice nurses and social workers,” noted the study’s lead author, Dr. Melissa Wachterman, a general medicine research fellow, and a palliative care physician at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

“There was a difference in the distribution of diagnoses. Non-cancer diagnoses were more common in for-profit hospices. And, under the current reimbursement system, those patients may be more profitable,” she explained.

More reassuring for families, however, is the finding that patients’ care needs were met in both for-profit and non-profit hospice programs, Wachterman noted.

Results of the study appear in the Feb. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association….

 

 

End-of-Life Library Receives Award

 

 

From the Cornflower announcement

By Suzanne Earle, MLS, AHIP

End-of-Life Library

The Hospice Institute

Hospice of the Western Reserve

Cleveland, OH

The End-of-Life Library at Hospice of the Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio, has received the 2010 Rose & Sam Stein Award, the highest hospice honor which can be given in the state of Ohio. Library services were recognized for making significant, innovative, and extraordinary contributions to hospice and end-of-life care. The award highlights support which has significantly contributed to the greater hospice community, patients, families and team members. The library effectively collaborates across disciplines and enhances the delivery of services as part of the larger agency.

The award was accepted by Suzanne Earle, MLS, AHIP in Columbus, Ohio on November 12, 2010 at the annual Ohio Hospice and Palliative Care Conference.

Connect at: http://www.hospicewr.org/library

This library’s request form has a literature search option which seems to be open to the public.

A few End-0f-Life online resources

• End of Life Issues (MedlinePlus) links to Web pages under topics as Overviews, Specific Conditions, Coping, Directories, Organizations, Financial Issues, and Patient Handouts
• End of Life : Helping with Comfort and Care (National Institute on Aging) is an online handout with resources
• National Association of Area Agencies on Aging has resources (type end of life in the search box) as well as a Web page to find local Area Agencies on Aging

Meeting End-Of-Life Needs (A Hospice Library)

The Hospice Institute of Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio has created a specialized library to meet end-of-life educational needs. According to a news item, the library collection of over 1,500 items is accessible to the public. Librarians offer free personalized library services. An online form is available here.

The library has several Web based offerings

**Book Lists

**Pediatric Care Guide

** Bereavement Support Resources