The workforce crisis healthcare leaders can’t afford to ignore | part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Ron Hetrick; 10/16/26 
The greatest threat to your organization’s future may be having too few people to deliver the care you promise. In Part Two of The Workforce Crisis Healthcare Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore, Chris Comeaux welcomes back Ron Hetrick to explore how healthcare leaders can prepare for a future shaped by an aging population, growing care needs, and a shrinking pipeline of workers. Hetrick moves from demographic warning signs to practical leadership decisions: redesigning difficult jobs, building training pipelines, creating workplaces people want to stay in, and evaluating expansion through the lens of available talent. He also explores how private home care could intensify competition for caregivers ...   
Editor's Note: Explore the related article in today's issue, "NY nursing home hit with $6.8M verdict in understaffing case."

5 ‘new norms’ in hospice care
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/15/26
Hospices with strong quality metrics and low care delivery costs could have a fighting chance of withstanding regulatory and operational headwinds on the horizon. While some hospices are turning to palliative care for improved patient reach and outcomes, others are branching into value-based agreements. These trends were outlined in recent analysis on the home health and hospice industries from the law firm Holland & Knight LLP.

Golfers and community raise over $181k for Otterbein Hospice
WDTN Dayton, OH; by LeAnne Marie McPherson; 10/18/26 
Over $181,000 was recently raised to support Otterbein Hospice at the 2026 annual Dilgard Open in Centerville. The Sept. 21 event was held at the Golf Club at Yankee Trace. Organizers said it brought together golfers, sponsors and community members. Otterbein Hospice cares for people and their families as they navigate the final chapter of life. In 2025, officials said Otterbein Hospice served over 500 people and over 1,000 family members across 26 counties.

Psycho-oncology and palliative care: treating the person, not just the tumor 
CancerNetwork; by Daniel C. McFarland, DO and Ramy Sedhom, MD; 10/19/26 
In this episode of Oncology On the Go, Daniel C. McFarland, DO, spoke with Ramy Sedhom, MD, about how to build a cancer practice where symptom management and emotional support are part of routine oncology care rather than an outside referral. ... McFarland emphasized that therapeutic presence and the ongoing patient-clinician relationship are healing, even though they are difficult to measure or reimburse. He described the use of shared medical visits in his practice and the value of weekly team meetings that include therapists, chaplains, and other staff.  

Alzheimer's Association launches national initiative to bring advances in brain health and dementia care into everyday clinical care 
Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, IL; Press Release; 10/6/26 
The Alzheimer's Association today announced the launch of the Brain Health & Quality Care Initiative (BHQCI), a new national quality-care initiative designed to help clinicians and health systems integrate brain health and high-quality dementia care into everyday clinical practice. Rapid scientific advances, including blood-based diagnostic testing and disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease, are creating new opportunities for earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, significant gaps in care remain. ... Closing these gaps requires health care organizations to put evidence-based approaches into practice and build them into everyday care delivery.

Support group helps navigate loss in a fast-food culture 
The Denver Gazette, Denver, CO; by Katie Soenke, 10/19/26 
... You experience a loss. You take a few days off work. You are expected to heal and move on. ... Across the region, people navigating loss are encountering a cultural expectation of quick recovery that forces them to hide their pain. The result is deep isolation and exhaustion for those left behind, along with growing concern among grief counselors who say our society’s avoidance of loss is making the healing process much harder. “Grief is so incredibly isolating,” said Sarah Lee, a bereavement counselor with Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care. “And this is rooted in our culture’s avoidance, denial and discomfort.” 
Editor's Note: This "fast-food culture" metaphor for how we treat grief is profound. Right on target. Read on. 

Lead like a follower, follow like a leader
Psychology Today; by Rod Judkins; 10/17/26
Key points:

• Psychological research shows an "unconstrained vision" can unlock creative breakthroughs in workplace teams.
• Open-minded collaboration requires leaders to explore valid opposing viewpoints rather than force agreement.
• True teamwork requires flexible leadership that knows when to guide a project and when to follow others.
• Studies on group dynamics reveal that accepting constructive friction leads to superior outcomes.

The #1 thing to never say to someone when their pet passes away, according to experts 
The Telegraph, Macon, GA; by Aleksandar Mishkov; 10/18/26 
Most people who say the wrong thing after a pet dies are truly trying to help and offer their support. They may try to find a phrase to use that sounds comforting—like maybe something they said that worked when a distant relative passed or when a coworker lost a parent—but instead, it may actually make someone who has lost a pet feel worse without the person realizing they’ve made the grieving person feel that way. ... "At least."  Whenever you say “at least” as in “at least they lived a long life,” “at least they’re not suffering anymore” or “at least you have other pets,” you are not being as comforting as you think you’re being.
Editor's Note: For many of us, our first experience of death and grief comes when a family pet dies. What we learn then often shapes how we speak about, and respond to, the deaths of people. Think back to the death of a beloved pet in your life. What helped most? What hurt? What echoes of that time do you hear in how you speak with patients, families, and colleagues about loss today?

What hospice owners get wrong about valuation right now 
Healthcare Business Today; by Cory Mertz; 10/18/26 
One of the first questions hospice owners ask when they start thinking about a sale is what businesses like theirs are trading for. It is a reasonable question, but it is also where a lot of owners get valuation wrong. A multiple is not a valuation. It’s a starting point. That distinction matters in hospice because there may be more variability in valuation here than in almost any other healthcare services segment we work in. Two hospices can have similar revenue and EBITDA and still command very different outcomes depending on the risks a buyer sees behind those numbers.

NY nursing home hit with $6.8M verdict in understaffing case 
Law360; by Gianna Ferrarin; 10/16/26
A New York state jury reached a $6.8 million verdict against a nursing home accused of understaffing its approximately 62-bed facility and causing severe patient neglect, counsel for a certified class. [Access to the full article requires a free trial or paid subscription.] 
Editor's Note: Explore the related article in today's issue, "The workforce crisis healthcare leaders can’t afford to ignore | part two."

Aging in place is a mobility problem: what Spain can teach America 
City of Yes; by Ryan Puzycki; 9/17/26 
... Aging in place, properly understood, is not merely about remaining in a particular dwelling but about retaining the ability to live independently in one’s neighborhood and community. It’s a mobility problem as much as a housing problem. ... In Spain, northern governments are responding by making major investments in vertical mobility infrastructure. The Basque city of Bilbao has built eighty-four elevators, escalators, and mechanical ramps to help pedestrians get from low elevation neighborhoods to higher elevation ones. In a city whose suburbs creep up the slopes of the surrounding mountains, these interventions help pedestrians avoid taking long detours or climbing huge staircases, ...

Think not only of the places I have been but also of the distances I have traveled within myself. ~ Laurens Van der Post