Build, buy, or partner: choosing the right path to strategic growth 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Gloria Brooks; 11/2/26 
For much of hospice's history, leaders benefited from a reimbursement environment that afforded both time and financial flexibility.  As a result, when organizations identified a need, the default response was often to build it themselves.  Whether launching palliative care programs, expanding community bereavement services, creating pediatric hospice offerings, or developing other mission-driven initiatives, organizations often had the resources necessary to design, staff, and sustain these programs internally. Today's reality is different.  Margin pressure, workforce challenges, increasing regulatory complexity, and evolving community needs require a greater level of strategic discipline than ever before.  

Hospice nurse executive: Leaders’ ‘tough balance’ on improving health equity, sustainability 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 11/3/26 
Today’s hospice leaders are balancing several competing demands in the battle of sustainability, according to Altonia Garrett, a registered nurse. ... Hospice News recently sat down with Garrett to discuss the most significant challenges at both clinical and business leadership levels. ... Improving diversity and inclusion in hospice leadership requires more than acknowledging the problem or making a commitment to representation. We must start by looking at how people get into leadership in the first place. It is not enough to say we want more diversity. We must examine how we recruit, develop, mentor, sponsor and promote people, and whether everyone has a fair opportunity to advance. That means investing in people who may not have access to traditional professional networks and giving emerging leaders meaningful opportunities to demonstrate what they can do.

Alderwood of Davidson County invites local faith communities to observe Hospice Sabbath in November 
Alderwood of Davidson County; 11/1/26 
Throughout November, in recognition of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, Alderwood of Davidson County is inviting local faith communities of all denominations to observe Hospice Sabbath. Hospice Sabbath is a special, designated time of remembrance, reflection, and education that brings faith congregations together to honor loved ones who have passed, support individuals and families facing serious illness, and recognize the tireless dedication of caregivers and healthcare professionals. The observance also aims to increase broader community awareness of hospice and palliative care options. 

Lewy Body dementia treatment and management: practical care strategies 
Greater Good; 11/3/26 
... Behavioral and mood changes can be among the most stressful aspects of Lewy body dementia care. These changes may stem from hallucinations or delusions, but also from pain, infections, other illnesses, stress, or difficulty communicating frustration and fear. As a result, the person might resist care or lash out verbally or physically. Caregivers can work with doctors to rule out physical causes, review medications, look for environmental triggers, and only then consider medications for behavior if needed. ... Hallucinations, delusions, and other psychiatric symptoms add another layer of complexity. The person may not recognize that hallucinations are not real and can become frightened or agitated. Caregivers are encouraged to respond to the underlying emotion instead of arguing about facts.

Medicare Program; CY 2027 changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System, Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Dialysis Payment, and ESRD Quality Incentive Program 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Federal Register | Medicare Program; 10/30/26 
Summary: This final rule updates and revises the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System for calendar year 2027. This rule also includes updates to the payment rate for renal dialysis services furnished by an ESRD facility to individuals with acute kidney injury. In addition, this rule updates the requirements for the ESRD Quality Incentive Program. 
Dates: These regulations are effective on January 1, 2027.

Ills of Medi­care Advant­age plans are becom­ing clearer and clearer 
PressReader | The Boston Globe; by Renee McInnes; 11/3/26 
As a pro­vider of home care and hos­pice care, we identify with the struggles of Sarah Iselin, chief exec­ut­ive of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mas­sachu­setts (“Blue Cross elim­in­ates sev­eral Medi­care Advant­age plans, affect­ing 20,000 seni­ors”). Health care lead­ers in every sec­tor are cop­ing with the chal­lenges of our failed sys­tem. But it must be made expli­cit that Medi­care Advant­age is a ter­rible product for patients — as it is now, appar­ently, for the bot­tom line of the state’s largest insurer. A total of $275 mil­lion in losses with these plans in 2024 and 2025 is a remark­able num­ber for Blue Cross to report. However, I would remind the health care com­munity that the home care and hos­pice space is being gut­ted, and the ulti­mate loser in this equa­tion is our patients.

CMS’ emergency request seeks Home Health Review Choice Demonstration expansion to California 
LeadingAge; Press Release; 11/2/26 
Stating that “public harm is reasonably likely to occur if normal, non-emergency clearance procedures are followed,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) via an October 30, 2026 filing to the Federal Register requested an emergency information collection request (ICR) revision for the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) for Home Health Services specifically to expand RCD to California. The agency’s request, scheduled for a November 2 publication, follows years of LeadingAge advocacy for stronger oversight of home health services in California, many of which are linked to fraudulent hospice agencies.

Learning through presence: reflections from a community-engaged course on aging, death and dying 
Michigan State University; Press Release; 11/2/26 
Students and faculty reflect on a community-engaged course on aging, death and dying, where students volunteered in a local hospice as part of their learning.

• Lyman Briggs College students participated in a specialized course on aging, death and dying taught by faculty member Daniel Thiel, pairing academic learning with hospice volunteering.
• Students volunteered as companionship partners at a local hospice facility, helping pre-med and pre-health peers develop a better understanding of end-of-life care.
• The initiative succeeded through cross-campus support, including LBC alumnus Jeffrey VanWingen, Heartland Hospice and the Center for Community Engaged Learning.

Can AI patients make better human communicators? Dartmouth grants put it to the test 
Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine; by Susan Green; 11/2/26 
Working toward a shared vision of diverse and innovative learning opportunities, the Geisel Academy of Educators & Scholars has collaborated with the Center for Learning & Professional Development at Dartmouth Health to create a grant program facilitating innovations in AI simulations using the AI Patient Actor platform created at Dartmouth. The grants support educators interested in turning innovative ideas into educational programs while advancing scholarship and research. ... Academy co-directors Max Vergo, a palliative care physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), and Thomas Thesen, a professor of medical education and director of the medical school’s digital health and AI curriculum, are guiding the project teams use of the AI Patient Actor.

AI project RELEVIUM aims to transform pancreatic cancer palliative care 
TakeToNews; by David Miller; 11/3/26
Artificial intelligence is stepping into one of the most challenging frontiers of modern oncology. A groundbreaking new medical initiative, designated as Project RELEVIUM, has been launched with the primary objective of transforming and significantly enhancing the palliative care landscape for patients suffering from pancreatic cancer—one of the most aggressive and debilitating forms of the disease.

How health systems are building the data foundation for agentic AI 
HealthTech | Artificial Intelligence; by Brian T. Hororwitz; 11/2/26 
Healthcare organizations are finding plenty of use cases for agentic artificial intelligence, from increasing staff productivity to reducing data fragmentation. To fulfill their aspirations through agentic AI, providers need a reliable data foundation that comes with strong governance. “AI can definitely increase efficiencies, but the key is getting it to increase productivity for the organization,” says Christian Lindmark, vice president and CTO at Stanford Health Care and the Stanford University School of Medicine. “That's where governance really comes into play.”

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.