Oregon governor signs Ryan’s Law, requiring care facilities to allow medical marijuana 
The Marijuana Herald; by Anthony Martinelli; 4/10/26 
Oregon’s governor has signed House Bill 4142, known as Ryan’s Law, establishing new requirements for certain care facilities to allow qualified patients to use medical marijuana while also setting statewide standards for safety, storage and staff training. The measure was approved by the House in a 39 to 3 vote and by the Senate 20 to 8 before being sent to the governor. With the governor’s signature, the legislation now moves toward implementation, with most provisions taking effect in 2027. 

What to do when a dying friend refuses contact 
Times.News; by Sofia Alvarez; 4/13/26 
The experience of facing a terminal illness is often framed as a time for reconciliation and the strengthening of bonds. However, for some patients, the reality is a profound retreat from the world. When a dying friend refuses contact from friends, it creates a complex emotional vacuum for those left behind, who must balance their desire to provide support with the need to respect a patient’s autonomy. This tension often manifests as a “silent goodbye,” where the dying individual chooses isolation over the emotional labor of maintaining relationships. 

New measure likely to relax antipsychotic prescribing for certain hospice patients 
McKnights Home Care; by John Roszkowski; 4/8/26 
Appropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications to hospice patients no longer will negatively affect skilled nursing facilities’ quality ratings under a new federal rule change, potentially opening the door for SNFs to accept more hospice patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently revised its Long-Stay Antipsychotic Quality measure to exclude residents receiving hospice services from the measure denominator for quality reporting. As a result, antipsychotic use for hospice residents will not influence a SNF’s Five-Star Quality Measure score.

State associations urge CMS to forgo potential national hospice enrollment moratorium 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 4/10/26 
A group of state hospice associations have expressed mounting concerns that a rumored national moratorium prohibiting new provider enrollments could adversely affect access. A letter to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was recently penned by the Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association (FHPCA), the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina (AHHC of NC) and the South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association (SCHCHA). A national moratorium, if enacted, would impact the ability for legitimate hospices to provide quality care during a time of rising demand, said FHPCA President and CEO Paul Ledford and Tim Rogers, president and CEO of SCHCHA and AHHC of NC. 

Avow expands hospice services into Glades, Hendry and Lee counties
Lake Okeechobee News, Naples, FL; 4/13/26
On Monday, April 13 , Avow, a leading nonprofit health care provider based in Southwest Florida, announced its expansion into Glades, Hendry and Lee counties. This expansion extends Avow’s high-quality hospice and comprehensive bereavement support, increasing access and impact for families across the region. ... Over the past year, Avow has expanded its reach and deepened its impact, caring for more than 2,900 hospice patients annually and providing more than 4,000 palliative care visits through its Naples clinic and satellite locations. 

Racial disparities in non-stigmatized supportive care medication use in pancreatic cancer
Journal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Olga Monika Trejos Kweyete, Chardaé Whitner, David L. Deremer, Yi Guo, Jiang Bian, Lisa Scarton, Sherise C. Rogers, Diana J. Wilkie, Xiwei Lou, John M. Allen; 3/26
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is associated with a high symptom burden that contributes to reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and adverse clinical outcomes. This study examined racial and ethnic differences in the use of non-stigmatized SCMs [supportive care medications] during end-of-life care among patients with PC. SCM use was defined as at least one outpatient prescription claim for antiemetics, appetite stimulants, cognitive aids, headache aids, or sleep aids. Racial and ethnic disparities persist in the use of non-stigmatized SCMs among patients with PC at the end of life. These findings extend prior evidence on inequities in cancer symptom management and underscore the need for interventions that promote equitable access to supportive care medications across diverse populations.

Reminder: National Healthcare Decisions Day, April 16, 2026 
Compilation by Hospice & Palliative Care Today; 4/10/26 
National Healthcare Decisions Day (April 16, 2026) is a nationwide initiative that encourages individuals to reflect on and communicate their healthcare preferences—especially for times when they may not be able to speak for themselves. It promotes meaningful conversations, advance care planning, and the completion of documents like advance directives to ensure care aligns with what matters most. Multiple resources are below:

• The Conversation Project
• Make your advance care plans
• Download free Conversation Guides
• Hospice Foundation of America
• Advance Care Planning
• Five Wishes® CE Courses
• PBS, Being Mortal Documentary
• National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation

[Global] Compassionate communities in action: global stories of care, loss and connection 
Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK; edited by Emma Hodges and Manjula Patel; ebook published 1/1/26 
Compassionate Communities in Action: Global Stories of Care, Loss and Connection brings together practical examples of compassionate cities and communities from around the world. Together they provide a practical road map, highlighting what has worked and what has been challenging, alongside reflections from the communities profiled. ... Demonstrating public health palliative care in practice, this guide is an essential read for people working in the field of palliative and end‑of‑life care, as well as academics, students, and policymakers with an interest in the area. ... The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Licence CC-BY-NC-ND. 
Editor's Note: This 334 page book is available for free download via the links above.

Stakeholders fear ‘chilling effect’ of heightened hospice scrutiny 
McKnights Home Care; by Liza Berger; 4/9/26 
Advocates and experts, by and large, are supportive of the federal government’s intense efforts to root out fraudulent hospice providers. But they are also concerned that the laserlike focus on fraud could have unintended consequences for high-quality providers. “We’re certainly hearing from members that they want to know whether policymakers and lawmakers truly see the value of hospice and that, yes, there are bad things going on in California and it’s getting a lot of publicity, but people are concerned that this could have a chilling effect,” Scott Levy, chief government affairs officer for the National Alliance for Care at Home, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “Hospices around the country at large are good people doing incredible work for meaningful periods of time for meaningful periods in their beneficiaries’ lives. And we want to make sure that that doesn’t go backwards.”

Executive Personnel Changes - 4/10/26

• Care Synergy in Denver, CO has welcomed
• Jason Upright as its new Director of Human Resources
• Jason Cormier as its new Director of Facilities and Capital Projects
• Hospice Help Foundation in Portsmouth, NH names Abigail Sherwood as Executive Director

CMS issues guidance to implement new limits on federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for certain noncitizens 
CMS Newsroom; Press Release; 4/8/26 
CMS is preparing states for an upcoming change that will limit the ability to claim federal matching funds for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals, or who fall into specific noncitizen categories identified in statute. New guidance issued today will ensure states understand their responsibility in implementing this statutory change beginning October 1, 2026. ... To view the State Health Official (SHO) letter, visit: https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/sho26001.pdf.

Music in the last hours: finding humanity in the ICU
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, from Piura, Peru; Carlos F. Ugas-Charcape, MD, PhD and Cristopher A. Tarazona Chapilliquen; 3/27/26
Objective: To describe the use of personalized music as a comfort measure during the final hours of life in the ICU and reflect on its impact on the patient, family, and care environment. ...
Conclusions: Personalized music represents a simple, patient-centered adjunct that may enhance comfort and dignity in the final hours of life.
Editor's Note: For more detailed research, case studies and therapeutic guidance for using music in the "last hours" with hospice and palliative patients and families, I invite you to explore "The Final Cadence," a chapter in my book Music of the Soul - Composing Life Out of Life. 

I Googled my symptoms and turns out I just need to sit by a fire in the middle of the mountains... ~Unknown