Hospice Management Advisor Archives – October 1, 2010
October 1, 2010
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Want a marketing bonanza? Hospices use social media
Did you know that you have the ability to reach a potential 500 million people, and it doesn't cost you a dime? Five hundred million is the number of active Facebook users who spend more than 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook. -
Maximize social media through integration
Friends and potential patients of Hospice of Palm Beach County have no problem finding the agency on the Internet. A combination of their agency web site and the use of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and e-newsletters means that an Internet search for "hospice and Palm Beach" turns up more than 200,000 results, with most results on the first page directing you to the Hospice of Palm Beach County sites. -
Your guide to social media
When Papa John's wanted to improve its Internet presence, the pizza company hired teenagers to manage the social media, says Merrily Orsini, MSSW, managing director of Corecubed, an integrated marketing, design, and public relations company based in Louisville, KY. -
Adult day program adds to hospice service
This is the second of a two-part series that looks at the benefits of partnering with adult day service programs. Last month, we looked at the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of collaboration. This month we discuss a hospice that started its own adult day service program. -
When the patient wants to go home to die
It's not unusual for a patient to express a desire to go home from the hospital when facing the end of life, say two experts interviewed by AHC Media, publisher of Hospice Management Advisor. However, the decision-making to allow this move can be fraught with complexity, depending on the patient's medical condition and needs. -
Palliative care program falls short of hopes
There might be no simple one-size-fits-all approach to improving end-of-life care in ICU settings, according to a recent study from some of the world's leading researchers in palliative care. -
Survey sheds light on lack of senior planning
A new survey, conducted by a worldwide company that provides private, in-home care for older adults, suggests that older Americans and their adult children do a poor job of planning for their future needs as health begins to fail. -
More older women receiving care at home
More older women obtain home-based care for chronic health issues than men, according to a study by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). -
Mandated flu shots? Some staff say no thanks
Influenza vaccination of health care personnel is a professional and ethical responsibility, and non-compliance with health care facility policies regarding vaccination should not be tolerated, according to a position paper released by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). -
NHPCO warns: False invoices faxed
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) has received several calls, faxes, and e-mails from members across the country who received a faxed membership dues invoice from an organization called the National Home Care and Hospice Palliative Care Association. The invoice is for 2010 annual dues of $475. The payment address is South Easton, MA. -
GYN cancer patients benefit from hospice
A retrospective review of patients with recurrent or persistent gynecologic cancers shows a longer survival rate for patients who chose hospice care versus those who did not. -
Patients live longer with palliative care
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. -
Hospice volunteers exhibit specific traits
Hospice palliative care female volunteers are more agreeable, open and empathetic than the normal woman, according to a study published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care. -
Hallucinogen appears safe for some cancer patients
A pilot study suggests the hallucinogen psilocybin may be feasible and safe to administer to patients with advanced-stage cancer and anxiety, with promising effects on mood, according to a report published online today that will appear in the January 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the Journal of the American Medical Association journals. -
Doctors' religious faith and end-of-life care
Physicians who are very religious are half as likely to make decisions that potentially could end of the lives of terminally ill patients, according to a study just published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.