News
Tech Startup Autumn Launches Death Care Digital Marketplace
Tech startup Autumn has developed a death care digital marketplace to connect bereaved families with services. The company launches today following a $600,000 pre-seed funding round led by the investment firm Bullish Inc. To build its marketplace, Autumn has aggregated more than 500,000 local service providers, the startup reported. These include accountants, appraisers, attorneys, funeral […]
Read MoreSocial Workers Leaving Hospice, Health Care in Record Numbers
Hospice have lost social worker employees at a faster rate than any health care setting in the care continuum. Social workers have left the health care field at record-high rates during the pandemic, according to data from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation Health System Tracker. As of October 2021, attrition rates exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 35%. As far […]
Read MoreWhite House summit revives hopes for Build Back Better
A White House summit Wednesday touting the success of job creation under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act could tee up a renewed push for the administration’s Build Back Better initiative. Vice President Kamala Harris said $40 billion in ARPA funds earmarked for workforce development have helped create millions of jobs in everything from home care […]
Read MoreHome Care Franchisees Increasingly Looking to Launch Home Health Business Lines
J.J. Sorrenti was picked to lead the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Best Life Brands as CEO in April 2020, just a month into the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been ups and downs for the company, which has both home care and home health locations in its portfolio. Yet Sorrenti is optimistic about his company’s future. The […]
Read MoreLooming Provider Choice Home Care Regulations ‘Slap in Face’ to Smaller Providers
A new proposal in Pennsylvania that would create “unnecessary” duplication for how disabled patients choose their home care providers and receive care is causing some angst in the Keystone state. The proposal not only affects providers in Pennsylvania, but could also force patients to rely on out-of-state agencies to provide replacement care if a patient’s […]
Read MoreHome Care Workers Protect the Civil Liberties of People with Disabilities. They Need Protection, Too
At the onset of the pandemic, as most of the country shuttered themselves inside to avoid COVID-19 infection, home health aides remained on the front lines, taking care of our loved ones and risking their lives in the process. These caregivers — the majority of whom are Black and Brown immigrant women — face considerable […]
Read MoreReforming Hospice
Some experts want to see more funding for hospice care in the home. Others say the advantages of hospice in a hospital or nursing home have been underrated. Alexis Drutchas, M.D., does not claim to be a health insurance or Medicare payment hospice expert. Her expertise, says the palliative care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital […]
Read MoreWhat matters most to people who are dying?
As a palliative care physician, I ask people every day what matters most to them. Their answers are as individual as they are, but there’s one thing everyone has in common. People who are dying want us to listen – really listen – to what’s most important as they face the end of their life. […]
Read MoreCOVID-19: Impact on Pediatric Palliative Care
Due to pre-existing high clinical support demands and social engagement constraints, children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening diseases and their families are potentially vulnerable during COVID-19 lockdowns. For a study, researchers sought to investigate the COVID-19 epidemic and lockdowns’ influence on the population. A sub-analysis of a COVID-19-related emerging theme from larger semi-structured […]
Read MoreTriggers for Palliative Care in Advanced Heart Failure
When managing patients with advanced heart failure (HF), a diverse array of factors can indicate it’s time to initiative palliative care, as a new paper highlights. “Currently, patients with heart failure are, unfortunately, either never referred to specialist palliative care or in a delayed manner, resulting in many missed opportunities to address the all-around suffering […]
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