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Caregivers at higher risk for PTSD when cancer patients die in hospital

Cancer patients who die in the hospital or an intensive care unit have worse quality of life at the end-of-life, compared to patients who die at home with hospice services, and their caregivers are at higher risk for developing psychiatric illnesses during bereavement, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

16 Sep 2010

Milwaukee sees fast rise in costs of benefits; N.J. Gov. outlines cuts to public workers' benefits; Hawaii teachers file suit over health changes

"The cost of health benefits appears to be rising at a much faster pace in the Milwaukee area than the national average. Employers reported that the cost of health benefits increased 11% to 13% on average in the Milwaukee area this year, according to the 2010 Greater Milwaukee Employer Health Care Benefits Survey

16 Sep 2010

Guidance allowing children with life-limiting illness to receive both hospice care and curative treatments praised

The families of dying children who are covered under Medicaid or the Medicaid expansion Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will no longer face the choice of stopping curative treatments in order for their terminally ill child to receive quality end-of-life care from hospice.

14 Sep 2010

HealthWyse, Cardiocom partner to integrate patient information into clinical software

HealthWyse, a leading provider of home health and hospice software and services, announced today that it has partnered with Cardiocom, a leader in home telehealth solutions, to seamlessly integrate patient information into HealthWyse's clinical software.

13 Sep 2010

CMS issues hospice benefit guidance for terminally sick kids

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a guidance Thursday regarding a health overhaul mandate that state Medicaid programs allow terminally ill kids to get curative treatment even if they take hospice benefits, The Hill's Healthwatch Blog reports.

10 Sep 2010

Legal and moral reasons prevent most Oregon hospices from participation in 'Death with Dignity Act'

A survey in the latest issue of the Hastings Center Report found that most hospices in Oregon, the first state to legalize physician-assistance in dying, either do not participate in or have limited participation in requests for such assistance. Both legal and moral reasons are identified.

10 Sep 2010

Using opioids at end-of-life care proves effective to control pain

Patients who choose to spend their last days at home with specialized care and monitoring can safely be given opioids to control pain and other symptoms without reducing survival time, according to a study published in Journal of Palliative Medicine (JPM), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

10 Sep 2010

Health law rollout effects: Delivering 'accountable' care, device tax, nursing mothers

Today's updates on the continuing implementation of the health law include Medicare chief Don Berwick's behind the scenes push for 'accountable care organizations,' tax anxiety in the medical device industry, and the promise of new help for pregnant women.

8 Sep 2010

Medicare will experiment with expansion of hospice coverage

In this Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "Many people may not realize that, in some ways, the new health law will expand options for patients at the end of life.

7 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Pawlenty's order against the health overhaul, repealing the health law and more about health care costs

The move can be explained in no other way than in being a totally partisan decision, intended to shore up his conservatism in what will be a 2012 battle of who is more conservative to wear the Republican mantle for president (9/1).

2 Sep 2010

McKesson announces winners of 2010 Distinguished Achievement Awards program

Today McKesson announced Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage, Calif.) and HealthEast Care System (St. Paul, Minn.) as the winners of the 2010 Distinguished Achievement Award competition. The annual awards program recognizes organizations' outstanding use of McKesson's healthcare information technology (IT) solutions to enhance care delivery and improve operational efficiency.

24 Aug 2010

Palliative care prolongs metastatic lung cancer patient’s life: Study

A precedent-setting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, August 19 demonstrates definitively that early referrals to palliative care prolongs life for patients living with metastatic lung cancer.

21 Aug 2010

California radio report examines end of life care

KQED's California Report/Health Dialogues reports on end-of-life care and the roles culture and insurance play. In considering end of life care, "sometimes there's disagreement within a family, and cultural and generational differences can complicate what is already an emotionally fraught situation.

21 Aug 2010

Cancer patients may live longer with palliative and hospice care services: Study

A new study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, those who received palliative care lived, on average, almost two months longer than those who received standard care. Researchers also found that the patients receiving palliative care reported a higher quality of life through the final course of their illness.

20 Aug 2010

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

The New York Times: "In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

20 Aug 2010

Gentiva closes acquisition of Odyssey HealthCare

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., a leading provider of home health and hospice services, today announced the closing of its acquisition of Odyssey HealthCare, Inc. in an all cash transaction for a price of $27 per share of Odyssey common stock, without interest, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.0 billion, including fees and expenses.

18 Aug 2010

HealthWyse announces launch of new web-based program

HealthWyse, a leading provider of home health and hospice agency automation software, announced today that it has launched StartWyse, a web-based program for small Certified Home Healthcare and Hospice agencies. The StartWyse program offers customers an affordable opportunity to rapidly transition to a paperless environment using HealthWyse's clinical and financial software.

12 Aug 2010

Odyssey HealthCare announces stockholder approval for acquisition by Gentiva Health Services

Odyssey HealthCare, Inc., one of the largest providers of hospice care in the United States, today announced that its stockholders have adopted the previously announced merger agreement providing for the acquisition of Odyssey by Gentiva Health Services, Inc.. At today's special meeting of Odyssey stockholders, holders of approximately 80.4% of the outstanding shares of Odyssey common stock entitled to vote at the meeting voted to adopt the merger agreement and approve the merger.

10 Aug 2010

Chemed declares quarterly cash dividend

Chemed Corporation announced today that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 14-cents per share on the Company's capital stock, payable on September 7, 2010, to shareholders of record as of August 16, 2010. This is a 2-cent, or 16.7%, increase over the 12-cent dividend paid in the second quarter of 2010. The previous dividend increase was in August 2009, when the Board raised the dividend from 6-cents to 12-cents per share. This represents the 157th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Chemed in its 39 years as a public company.

7 Aug 2010

The Ensign Group second-quarter total revenue up 19.5%

The Ensign Group, Inc., the parent company of the Ensign group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, home health, hospice care and assisted living companies, today reported record results for the second quarter of 2010.

7 Aug 2010

Hospice News and Research

Caregivers at higher risk for PTSD when cancer patients die in hospital

Milwaukee sees fast rise in costs of benefits; N.J. Gov. outlines cuts to public workers' benefits; Hawaii teachers file suit over health changes

Guidance allowing children with life-limiting illness to receive both hospice care and curative treatments praised

HealthWyse, Cardiocom partner to integrate patient information into clinical software

CMS issues hospice benefit guidance for terminally sick kids

Legal and moral reasons prevent most Oregon hospices from participation in 'Death with Dignity Act'

Using opioids at end-of-life care proves effective to control pain

Health law rollout effects: Delivering 'accountable' care, device tax, nursing mothers

Medicare will experiment with expansion of hospice coverage

Today's Opinions: Pawlenty's order against the health overhaul, repealing the health law and more about health care costs

McKesson announces winners of 2010 Distinguished Achievement Awards program

Palliative care prolongs metastatic lung cancer patient’s life: Study

California radio report examines end of life care

Cancer patients may live longer with palliative and hospice care services: Study

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

Gentiva closes acquisition of Odyssey HealthCare

HealthWyse announces launch of new web-based program

Odyssey HealthCare announces stockholder approval for acquisition by Gentiva Health Services

Chemed declares quarterly cash dividend

The Ensign Group second-quarter total revenue up 19.5%

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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