March is Social Work Month: "Uplift. Defend. Transform." 
NASW - National Association of Social Workers; retrieved from website, 3/2/26 
Social Work Month was first celebrated in March 1963 to build public support for the profession. It has become an event celebrated by hundreds of thousands of social workers – and their supporters – each year. This year’s theme is “Social Workers: Uplift. Defend. Transform.” Learn more about why this theme was selected and what activities are planned for Social Work Month 2026!

• Theme & Rationale ...
• Proclamation ...
• 2026 Logos ..
• Social Media Toolkit ...
• Promotional Gear ...
• NASW Social Media ...

Choices Healthcare CEO Michael Link eyes growth, innovation while staying true to hospice mission 
LNP | Lancaster Online; by Rachel Curry; 3/1/26 
Michael Link always admired the loyalty it took for a long, stable career — in terms of being loyal to the company and vice versa. In October 2025, Link became CEO of Choices Healthcare, the parent company of Hospice & Community Care, where he began working as an IT trainer in 2001. ... For Link, it was quickly apparent that the work he found himself in was meaningful, and staying within the organization afforded him the opportunity to work across all kinds of departments. In 2024, Hospice & Community Care merged with Hospice of Central PA to form Choices Healthcare. Together, they provide care across 11 Pennsylvania counties. The organization also operates the Pathways Center for Grief & Loss in Mount Joy. Much of Link’s new role involves maintaining a strong legacy of care.

Savage Boards expanding after partnering with Hospice of Wichita Falls 
KFDX Wichita Falls, TX; by Curtis Jackson; 2/27/26 
Katie Fowler has recently formed a partnership between her restaurant, “Savage Boards,” and Hospice of Wichita Falls’ in-house bistro. Fowler partnered with Hospice about three years ago and offers several sandwiches, salads, and more, alongside her to-go “adult style” lunchables and some sweet treats. Fowler said two years ago she never would have thought she’d be in the position to expand her business, and what better way to do that than with hospice, and said she’s doing more than just providing food for patients, she’s helping to ease the burden for those families going through tough times.

Azura Palliative Care & Hospice 
NBC WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, WI; Press Release; 2/27/26 
Azura has been the leader in Memory Care & Assisted Living for many years. They are now opening a new location in Mukwonago. They also have a new sister company Azura Palliative Care & Hospice. The two companies allow them to offer assisted living, memory care, respite, hospice, palliative care and an adult day program called TIME. 

Mercy Hospital’s outpatient palliative care switches to for-profit model 
The Durango Herald; by Elizabeth Pond; 3/1/26 
Outpatient palliative care through Mercy Hospital is now operating on a for-profit basis under new CommonSpirit Health at Home ownership. Meanwhile, the palliative care program – which offers symptom management for those with serious and terminal illnesses – is facing staff turnover. 

Do you feel like an emotional sponge? Here’s how to protect your energy and refocus 
Real Simple; by Nandini Maharaj; 3/1/26 
It’s possible to stay compassionate without feeling drained—experts explain how. ... [There's] a difference between healthy forms of distraction—like going for a walk or taking deep breaths—and unhealthy habits. We asked mental health experts about healthy and unhealthy distractions and how to protect your energy when you’re feeling like an emotional sponge.

• Find Healthy Distractions and Create Boundaries ...
• Recognize Unhealthy Distractions ...
• Refocus and Protect Your Energy ...
• Ground Yourself in the Moment ...
• Know Your Circle of Control ...
• Prioritize Gratitude and Growth ...
• Surround Yourself With Positive People ...

Editor's Note: Any professional serving in hospice or palliative care—regardless of role—is vulnerable to emotional overload. The “healthy distractions” outlined in this piece offer practical ways to reset. And yet, our work calls for something more intentional: not just compassion, but sustainable empathy. Daniel Goleman’s “Empathy Triad” provides a helpful lens—distinguishing between:

• Cognitive Empathy (understanding another’s experience)
• Emotional Empathy (feeling with them)
• Empathic Concern (the motivation to help).

Learning to differentiate these allows us to stay present and effective—without becoming depleted. If you’d like to explore this framework further, we invite you to view this video, "Empathy for Hospice Professionals." (Disclosure: This video is produced by Composing Life Out of Loss, a sponsor of this newsletter.)

Infographic: Compliance you can’t ignore 
HR Daily Advisor Staff; by HR Daily Advisor Staff; 1/21/26 
In the age of AI and remote work, HR leaders are dealing with tough compliance challenges, and they must have strategies to keep everything straight and in order for their organizations. Want to learn best practices and what HR leaders should do right now to deal with compliance issues such as AI governance, leave laws, classifying workers, remote and global jurisdictional risk, data privacy, and employee monitoring/surveillance? Check out our infographic to ensure you’re as proactive as possible.

The measure isn’t wrong. The story is incomplete. 
McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Steven Littlehale; 2/27/26 
Not long ago, I was sitting across from a nursing home leadership team as they stared at a quality measure report that didn’t make sense to them. ... So we did what more facilities should do when a QM score feels off: We stopped looking at the rating and started looking at the math. That’s where the real story surfaced. It wasn’t about poor care, but about exclusions not captured, covariates not fully coded, and pieces of the clinical picture that never made it into the structured data fields the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reads. 

What Enhabit’s $1.1B acquisition means for the hospice landscape 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 2/24/26 
Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) has plans to grow its hospice and home health service lines to new levels upon the completion of its recent acquisition by the private equity firm Kinderhook Industries LLC. ... The recently announced $1.1 billion acquisition represents an important milestone in terms of expanding the provider’s patient reach and workforce, according to Barb Jacobsmeyer, president and CEO of Enhabit. ... Enhabit is among the largest hospice and home care companies in the United States, according to Hospice News’ Hospice Top 50 report. ... The timing of the Enhabit transaction comes at a pivotal point in its growth trajectory, according to Joe Widmar, director of the consulting firm West Monroe.

BrightSpring CEO: Hospice, home health have ‘unbelievable runway’ 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/27/26 
BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG) is seeing accelerated growth as it works to integrate assets acquired from Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). The company purchased 107 home health branches from those companies for $239 million. The sale had been contingent on the outcome of the UnitedHealth Group’s own acquisition of Amedisys, which closed in August 2025. Some of the locations formerly belonged to LHC Group, which the insurance giant also acquired. “These assets are very complementary to our existing home health business from a geographic perspective, while also being in the same markets as our hospice locations in many cases,” BrightSpring CEO Jon Rousseau said in an earnings call. 
Editor's Note: Modern Healthcare reports that the $239 million deal closed on Frida, Feb 27th, "UnitedHealth closes $239M sale of 107 home care locations."

• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine announces 2026 annual Presidential Citation Honorees:

• American Heart Association,
• The Dempsey Center and
• journalist Yuki Noguchi.

Each awardee has made immense strides in increasing access or education surrounding palliative care, emphasizing the importance of this medical care while navigating a serious illness diagnosis. [Additional 2026 Honorees are listed at "AAHPM 2026 Award Winners."] 

• Ogeechee Area Hospice was recognized as the Healthcare Partner of the Year during the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber’s State of Healthcare & Business Expo. Vanessa Ramirez (CEO of Ogeechee Area Hospice) called the award “truly humbling” and emphasized the role of community support in sustaining the hospice’s mission. 
  
  
• The South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association recently recognized and honored Dr. Micahel Berardo as Physician of the Year. The statewide recognition highlights not only Bernardo ’s compassionate care, but the impact he has had on families in the community.
  
  
• Vegas Inc honored Karen Ruble, President for Chapters Health West and Interim Executive Director for Nathan Adelson Hospice with their 2026 C-Suite Honors for a distinguished group of executives whose leadershipo shapes Southern Nevada's business and community landscape.

Humans aren't as good as we should be in our capacity to empathize with feelings and thoughts of others. So maybe part of our formal education should be training in empathy. Imagine how different the world would be if, in fact, that were 'reading, writing, arithmetic, empathy.' ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson