Thanksgiving meals bring comfort to hospice families  
DiscoverHealth by Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Spartanburg, SC; by Staff Reports; 11/6/26
Thanksgiving is often a time to gather with family and friends. But when a loved one is receiving hospice care, preparing a traditional holiday meal can feel like one more challenge during an already difficult time. For more than 25 years, Spartanburg Regional Hospice, in partnership with the Spartanburg Regional Foundation, has helped make the holiday a little easier by providing Thanksgiving meals to hospice patients and their families. The meals are made possible through donations to the Foundation and prepared by Cribbs Catering. ... Through the Hospice Thanksgiving Meals program, families can spend less time in the kitchen and more time focused on what matters most— being together and making the most of precious time with loved ones.

VNA Hospice NWI reopens inpatient unit, continuing a legacy of compassionate care 
GreatNews.Life, Valparaiso, IN; by Maxwell Barath; 11/9/26 
For families caring for a loved one at the end of life, access to compassionate, specialized care can make all the difference. On Thursday, November 5, VNA Hospice of Northwest Indiana celebrated the reopening of its inpatient hospice unit in Valparaiso, welcoming community members, staff, and supporters to tour the refreshed space. The six-bed unit at the Arthur B. and Ethel V. Horton Hospice Center provides around-the-clock care for patients whose symptoms cannot be comfortably managed at home. The center offers a peaceful, home-like setting where patients receive specialized care while families focus on spending meaningful time together.

Chris Johnson's wife Brittany opens up about becoming his full-time ALS caregiver 
Blavity HealthStack; by Tyler Chris Daniels; 11/6/26 
Chris Johnson once outran entire NFL defenses. Today, the former Tennessee Titans running back known as “CJ2K” relies on his wife, Brittany, for nearly every daily task. Johnson received an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in May 2025 at age 39. Soon after, Brittany became his full-time caregiver. “My life has changed immensely as a caregiver,” she told People. “It’s nonstop, but I wouldn’t rather it be anyone else taking care of Chris.” Her story mirrors what many families face after an ALS diagnosis. So, what does the work of an ALS caregiver involve, and when does a family need more help? Here is what the Johnsons have shared, plus what doctors and researchers say about caring for someone with the disease.

Medical Aid in Dying: law, ethics, and choice 
American Journal Managed Care | Pharmacy Times; free webinar; 11/9/26 
As medical aid in dying becomes part of the end-of-life care landscape in more states, difficult questions remain about safeguards, patient autonomy, and clinician responsibility. The American Journal of Managed Care® and Pharmacy Times® are partnering to present a multidisciplinary panel spanning medical ethics, psychiatry, law, and patient advocacy. Register for the free webinar to hear expert insights that can help managed care leaders make informed organizational decisions that keep patients’ best interests at the center.

The 2026 award for the top 10 impactful papers in assisted living research 
McKnights Senior Living; by Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD; 11/8/26 
... The national Center for Excellence in Assisted Living at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (CEAL@UNC) Research Award honors innovative and rigorous research demonstrating potential to inform assisted living practice or policy. ... The recipients of the 2026 CEAL@UNC Research Award are Lacey Loomer, PhD, and Kim Dauner, PhD, for their work “A qualitative analysis of safety culture in Minnesota’s assisted living facilities.” ... The work of the 2026 CEAL@UNC Research Award recipient and finalists addresses three general topic areas: quality and care, policies and regulations, and ownership and availability. Brief summaries of the finalists grouped by topic area are presented below. ...

Home health, hospice care & personal care services 
Legal500 | Finance and Banking; by Bass, Berry & Sims PLC; 11/9/26 
Home Health, Hospice Care & Personal Care Services 
Deal activity in the home health, hospice care, and personal care services space steadied in Q3, building on the momentum of the first half of the year. Q3 transactions in the sector centered on established operators, many of them sponsor-backed, using acquisitions to deepen regional density, add scale in core service lines, and move into adjacent home-based care offerings. Regional consolidation continued to define the hospice segment, as smaller and community-based programs joined established providers.

LiveWell Partners acquires Assured Home Health and Hospice 
Home Health Care News; by MK Manoylov; 11/9/26 
LiveWell Partners is expanding its presence in Michigan with another acquisition of a home health and hospice provider. LiveWell announced today that it closed on its acquisition of Detroit-based Assured Home Health and Hospice, a provider of home health and hospice services throughout Southeast Michigan, Home Health Care News has exclusively learned. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Atmore Nursing Center receives therapy dolls for dementia patients 
WKRG Mobile Pensacola, Escambia County, AL; by Akievia McFarland; 11/6/26 
A baby shower hosted in Atmore, but not the kind you might expect. Therapy baby dolls were delivered to a nursing home to help patients with dementia. They're part of 'The Grandbaby Project,' the only dementia doll therapy certification in the country. ... "The importance of the dolls is the core memories that it unlocks for them from as far back as childhood. And we have seen that when we have brought the dolls in, it unlocks those memories that they can share with us, and not only the memories, but it also helps calm agitation," ACG Hospice Liaison Stacey Till said. 

The CIO job description is being rewritten in real-time 
CIO; 11/9/26 
... Because AI makes it possible to rapidly redesign workflows from the ground up, enterprise IT leaders who built their reputations on delivering systems reliably and on schedule are being asked to decide whether the work should exist at all, and who — or what — should do it. How much each CIO adjusts to a rapidly advancing technology space varies widely, but the CIO’s remit is broadening well beyond the technology organization and into how the business itself builds, operates, and grows.

Artificial intelligence and human judgement 
State Nurses Associations | Oklahoma Nurse; by Marianne Matzo, PhD, APRN-CNP, AOCNP-Emeritus, FPCN, FAAN; 11/9/26 
... Oh, Demiris, and Ulrich (2025) examined artificial intelligence in palliative care using the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, and explicability. They discussed applications that include mortality prediction, identification of psychological symptoms, and artificial intelligence systems designed to support caregivers. ... Artificial intelligence may help us understand what is likely to happen to a patient, but it cannot determine what should matter to that patient. ... An algorithm may eventually become good at predicting what is likely to happen medically. But a probability is not the same thing as a preference, a prognosis is not the same thing as a person’s goal, and an algorithm is not the same thing as a person’s values.

Akron, Iowa grants dying mechanic's wish with dozens of cars and one last burnout 
hoodline; by Bobby Mercer; 11/9/26 
The car Suzie Kincaid drove through downtown Akron, Iowa, was one her father had built from the ground up. On a recent Sunday, it carried 78-year-old PeeWee Kincaid, a longtime mechanic in hospice care, around town as dozens of cars gathered on Reed Street for the ride he had requested. According to KTIV, the event was organized specifically as a final wish for Kincaid, and friends, family, and car enthusiasts traveled to Akron from across the region to take part. Kincaid had told people simply, “I'd like to ride around Akron in an old car,” as reported by KCAU9. What came back to him was a street full of vehicles, old and new, parked bumper to bumper in his honor.

It does not require many words to speak the truth. ~ Chief Joseph, Nez Percé Tribe