Victoria Hospice Services, Inc. files Chapter 11 bankruptcy 
BankruptcyObserver.com, Central District of California; Judge Barry Russell; 8/17/26 
Victoria Hospice Services, Inc. is a Whittier, California-based hospice care provider. The company operates a licensed hospice facility, maintains Medicare-certified provider status, and delivers end-of-life and palliative care services to patients throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Regulatory records indicate the organization remained  compliant with the fiscal year 2026 Medicare annual payment update. Victoria Hospice Services, Inc. sought relief under Chapter 11 Small Business of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. C.D. Cal. Case No. 26-16812) on July 8, 2026.

Anonymous donor helps Grace House buy Highland Square’s Leonora Hall 
Signal Akron; Akron, OH; by Shams Mustafa; 8/17/26 
A new chapter is beginning for Highland Square’s Leonora Hall after a nonprofit organization, Grace House Akron, purchased the property with the unexpected help of an anonymous donor. ... The acquisition means the property has a new owner following the closure of the Francesca Residence and the displacement of its mostly elderly residents. In a statement, Grace House representative Jen Boroff said that the nonprofit, which provides end-of-life care and housing for people who are indigent, unsheltered or abandoned, sees potential for the site to strengthen its mission and serve the broader community but that the organization has not yet decided how it will use the property.

Nearly one in five Medicare hospice patients now leaves the program alive rather than through death 
Medical Daily; by Dorothy Brooks; 8/17/26 
Almost one in five people who leave Medicare hospice care each year leaves alive rather than through death, and the share has climbed every year since 2021. Federal data released this spring put the live discharge rate at 19.1 percent in fiscal year 2025, up from 16.9 percent four years earlier. For families, this is the rule almost nobody explains at enrollment. Hospice is not a permanent placement. It is a benefit tied to a prognosis, and when that prognosis changes, the benefit can end while the patient is still living, still ill, and still needing care. Understanding it before it happens is the difference between a planned transition and a phone call that lands like an eviction.

Metal forget-me-nots display remembers hospice patients 
BBC News, West Midlands, United Kingdom; by Susie Rack; 8/17/26 
Nine hundred handcrafted forget-me-nots have been planted in Worcestershire to remember hospice patients and raise essential funds. The display, planted by St Richard's Hospice in the gardens of St Andrew's Spire, Worcester, was created by artist Ed Alvis, from Metal Art UK, whose father was cared for by the charity at home. Sue Fletcher, from Droitwich, had dedicated one of the Celebration Garden flowers to her son Paul, who spent his last weeks in the hospice before he died, aged 34. ... The metal blooms can be purchased by supporters to be brought home at the end of the installation on 31 August. Fletcher said the campaign helped her "cherish memories of a wonderful son" as well as showing appreciation for the compassion of staff.
Editor's Note: Go to the photo. See how one simple, accessible idea creates a meaningful, collective, visible way to remember loved ones, raise funds, and give donors a lasting, tangible connection to the hospice.

45 minutes saved per admission: how one hospice is re-shaping their business
Hospice News; by Jack Silverstein; 8/17/26
When Dar Miller came to Faith Hospice of Arizona two years ago, the organization’s census was just over 100 and their staff worked overtime to enter patient profiles. Now, their average daily census is 135-140, while their nurses have more time available at the bedside and with families. The change? Faith Hospice’s relationship with their pharmacy partner OnePoint Patient Care, whose combination of collaboration, communication, integrated technology and process ensures that hospices are not only getting the best pharmacy service possible, but that their operation is always evolving with the times.

Dementia coach Jeannine Forrest of Through the Forrest recently featured on Close Up Radio 
EIN Presswire, Chicago, IL; by Close Up Television & Radio; 8/17/26 
Jeannine Forrest still remembers the moment her mother looked at her in her own home and said, “I’m living in a house of strangers.” At that moment, as a registered nurse, she realized she was not prepared to understand what her mother was truly experiencing. That realization became her life’s work. More than 30 years later, Forrest is a dementia coach and founder of Through the Forrest, where she works directly with family caregivers. ... Forrest explains that dementia shows up differently in every person, and is much more than memory loss alone. Her approach rests on one idea: When families understand what is happening, have a plan, and feel supported, life can become less frightening and more meaningful for both the person living with dementia and the caregiver.

Healing thyself: managing moral injury in healthcare 
Psychology Today; by Wendy L. Patrick, JD, MDiv, PhD; 8/16/26 
Key Points

• Making difficult healthcare decisions on behalf of patients can lead to perceptions of moral failure.
• Moral distress and moral injury create ethical and clinical stressors for health care professionals.
• Burdensome moral decisions are often made quickly in high-risk or emergency situations.

When a hospice patient comes to the hospital
ICD10monitor; by Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, CMAC, ACM; 8/17/26 
A recent question was posed related to “What happens when a hospice enrolled patient returns to the hospital for emergency or hospital care?” Aside from the initial questions such as “did we even know this patient was on hospice when they roll through the emergency room, or why did they come back to the hospital? The next question may evolve to the following: is the treatment still involving care congruent with the patient’s hospice care plan or has the patient/representative elected to revoke their hospice services? Understanding these distinctions is increasingly important for case management, utilization review, registration, revenue cycle, and especially hospital clinical teams.

HHS decertifies Kentucky organ procurement organization 
Hazard Herald, Hazard, KY; by an Appalachian Newspapers Staff Report; 8/15/26 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in a statement Aug. 5 that it has decertified Network For Hope, the federally designated organ procurement organization serving Kentucky and parts of Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. According to the statement, the move comes after multiple federal reviews found "persistent safety failures despite extensive oversight and despite Network for Hope having been provided repeated opportunities to correct them." The failures, according to the statement, put prospective organ donors and patients awaiting lifesaving transplants at risk.

Detroit teen’s cancer death sparks 5K walk and new Georgia diploma law 
hoodline, Detroit, MI; by Jerry McAllister; 8/16/26 
A Detroit family walked the riverfront near their old neighborhood this week to honor a 15-year-old whose fight with a rare bone cancer ended in his death nearly two years ago but has since reshaped state law hundreds of miles away in Georgia. GaKobe Milton, who once lived in Detroit before his family relocated to Atlanta, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age 13 in 2022 and died on December 10, 2024, after a two-year battle with the disease. His mother, Kuleesha Milton, brought his memory back to the city he called home with a 5K walk at Alfred Brush Ford Park along the Detroit Riverfront. ... Georgia lawmakers signed the GaKobe Milton Act into law in his honor, and Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 1284 on May 5, according to the Georgia General Assembly. The law requires local school boards to petition the State Board of Education within 14 days for graduation requirement waivers, allowing schools to award diplomas to terminally ill students receiving end-of-life care, or posthumously if necessary. The act waives completion of all remaining high school graduation requirements for eligible terminally ill students.

ChatGPT Health now open to all US users 
Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 7/23/26 
OpenAI has expanded Health, a ChatGPT feature that lets users securely connect personal health data, to all eligible users in the U.S. The rollout covers logged-in users age 18 and older on web and iOS across the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, according to a July 23 OpenAI news release. Health lets users connect Apple Health data and supported medical records from U.S. hospital systems, One Medical or Function Health. With permission, ChatGPT can then use that information across any conversation, not just within a dedicated Health tab, to compare lab results, summarize changes since a last appointment, or factor in a recent injury or dietary restriction. ... The expansion comes as OpenAI faces a lawsuit over ChatGPT’s health guidance. A lawsuit filed July 21 claims ChatGPT offered inaccurate medical guidance to a Florida man that resulted in delayed care for a pulmonary embolism, and the plaintiff has asked the court to stop ChatGPT Health from operating until independent evaluators verify its safety. [Red font by Hospice & Palliative Care Today, to raise readers' awareness.]

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.  ~ Thomas Merton