A lack of consistent definitions for palliative surgical procedures may impact patient outcomes and symptoms, a recent clinical study has found. Physicians from Brigham and Women’s Hospital recently examined trends in palliative surgical procedures aimed at alleviating symptoms in patients with serious and life-limiting illnesses. Their clinical research was recently published in Oxford University Press’ British Journal of Surgery (BJS). Palliative surgeries can provide symptomatic relief and reduce health care burdens for certain seriously ill patients alongside goals-of-care conversations an ..read more

Traumatized and abused hospice patients and providers often experience an array of lingering physical, emotional and psychological effects that can fall into a silent abyss of unmet needs. Breaking down the barriers to stronger trauma-informed end-of-life care requires heightened awareness, legislative action and improved care delivery approaches. Some hospice providers have training and education around trauma-informed care delivery, but concerns are mounting about whether these efforts are sufficient to address the unmet and sometimes unvoiced needs among patients and staff alike. “Little is ..read more

Florida-based Big Bend Hospice and the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare system are partnering to provide transitional care to seriously and terminally ill patients. The initiative is designed to ensure smooth and effective transitions of care and to prevent patients from slipping through the cracks in a fragmented health care system. The partnership establishes a network of interconnected health care services intended to facilitate seamless patient transitions between settings, according to a statement from the two companies. “Meeting the healthcare needs of our region necessitates strategic al ..read more

Compassus and Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) have finalized an agreement to form a home health and hospice joint venture. Through the JV, Compassus will operate 10 home health agencies and 11 hospice locations previously managed by BSMH. These agencies are serving patients in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. BSMH is maintaining ownership of associated real estate assets. BSMH and Compassus will each hold a 50% stake. Also, an undisclosed number of the health system’s employees will transfer to work at Compassus. “We recognize the changing health care landscape a ..read more

BrightSpring Health Services Inc. (NASDAQ: BTSG) is positioning itself for further growth, driven in part by acquisitions. During the first quarter of the year, BrightSpring saw net revenue rise 27% year-over-year to $2.5 billion. The Louisville, Kentucky-based provider achieved a gross profit of $369 million, up 10.4% compared to $335 million in Q1 2023, but experienced a net loss of $46 million, up from a $22 million loss in the first quarter of 2023. The company’s health care provider services segment, which includes its hospice business, as well as home health and other services, accounted ..read more

The Pennant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG) has acquired Utah-based South Davis Home Health and South Davis Hospice. The Pennant Group and its independent operating subsidiaries provide health care services through 111 home health and hospice agencies and 51 senior living communities throughout several states. “This acquisition provides us with an opportunity to further expand in the state of Utah, and will complement our agencies throughout central and northern Utah,” said Pennant CEO Brent Guerisol in a statement. “We continue to be the provider of choice in these communities, and this opportunit ..read more

A rash of states are restructuring their medical licensing requirements to allow more trained clinicians from other countries to find employment in the United States. The trend is an aim to address prolific workforce shortages, including in hospice, but could also have impacts on improving diversity, equity and inclusion. Some states have restructured medical licensing requirements for certain international medical graduates (IMGs) to allow more clinical professionals to work in the United States. Driving a push for reform is the rising demand for end-of-life care amid widespread clinical shor ..read more

The impending demise of the hospice component of U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ value-based insurance design (VBID) model has largely been met with a sense of relief by providers as they plan new initiatives for palliative care in 2025. Launched in 2017 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), the VBID demonstration tested new approaches to reimbursement across a variety of health care settings. This included the addition of the hospice component in 2021, which was designed to test coverage of those services through Medicare Advantage. CMMI extended the pr ..read more

End-of-life doulas can help hospices’ efforts to improve health equity in hard to reach settings while also improving quality in the last days of life. The quantity and quality of patient visits during the last days of life is an important quality measure for hospice providers. Having doulas at the bedside during the last days of life has positively affected hospice quality outcomes, including those among underserved populations, according to Diane Sancilio, director of counseling and support at Gilchrist Cares. The home health and hospice nonprofit provider began offering end-of-life doula se ..read more

Premier Physician Network (PPN) has launched an integrated palliative program among its medical group operations, in partnership with agilon health (NYSE: AGL) and its palliative arm Empatia. The program, branded as Senior Health Connect, will provide a palliative care program for Medicare Advantage patients who suffer from serious illnesses. Senior Health Connect is based on agilon’s palliative care model. “Our role there is as a partner. We bring technology. We bring insights. We can bring powerful data and care pathways,” Dr. Benjamin Kornitzer, agilon’s chief medical officer, previously to ..read more