U.S. hospices with a 5-star CMS family caregiver survey rating
Hospice & Palliative Care Today; 9/6/26
... This list was compiled directly from CMS's official downloadable dataset — "Hospice care – Provider CAHPS Hospice Survey Data" (August 2026 release) — available on the CMS Provider Data Catalog. Every hospice below has a "SUMMARY_STAR_RATING" (Family Caregiver Survey Rating) of 5 out of 5 in that file. You can look up any individual hospice, or search by ZIP code, on Care Compare.

[Hospice bereavement director] A non-anxious presence: Red Cross volunteer supports Flight 93 families and responders 
American Red Cross; video interview with Patti Anewalt, PhD; 9/1/26 
[Dr. Patti Anewalt is the retired founder and director of Hospice and Community Care's Pathways Center for Grief & Loss, Lancaster/Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Of note, her hospice organization supported her volunteer time in this crucial Red Cross disaster mental health role.] 
When Patti Anewalt learned of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, she sensed her phone would ring. An American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health volunteer and experienced grief counselor, she was deployed the next day to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed. For two weeks, she supported victims' families, disaster workers, and responders through one of the darkest moments in American history, including families visiting the crash site for the first time. "Our role in hospice is to be a non-anxious presence at a very difficult time in people's lives," she said. "We are simply people helping people ... calm, present and supportive."
Editor's Note: Many readers know Patti--both as a faithful friend and for her prolific leadership teaching about crisis response, grief, and hospice organizations' appropriate (and not appropriate) responses to community tragedies, especially in the years following 9/11. Patti led NHPCO's professional Bereavement Group, making it the most active and fastest-growing group during her 6-year volunteer tenure. Patti was a regular reader of our newsletter until her well-deserved, recent retirement.

Sandwich generation caregiver shares how she cares for her mom with Alzheimer’s at home 
KVVU-TV Fox 5, Las Vegas, NV; by LeAnne Gendreau and Sondra 'Sam' Cradduck; 9/10/26 
Ty Lewis, a dementia practitioner, takes care of her mother, Gertrude, who is in the end stages of Alzheimer’s while raising her children. She has been sharing her journey online with a community of more than 120,000 people online. Lewis, a member of the “sandwich generation,” sat down with Aging Untold expert and gerontologist Sam Cradduck to talk about what it takes to care for two generations and what the online community means to her family. 

Retired educator gives back to grieving children at Camp Braveheart 
WJAR-10, NBC, Cranston, RI; by Patrice Wood; 9/9/26 
Young hearts come together at Camp Braveheart in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. And the first person to greet them when they get off the bus is Harry Potter. Potter is a retired Rhode Island school educator with a famous name and a heart of gold. They come Camp Braveheart to begin to heal after the death of a loved one. Braveheart is now in its 20th year and much of that time, Potter has been a trusted counselor. "The little kids think I'm magical. You see them running around the camp saying, 'Harry Potter, Harry Potter,'" Potter said. That connection eventually opens the door for a more serious conversation.

Camp Nabi’s 31st year brings healing and joy to 35 grieving children 
Hospice of the Chesapeake, Pasadena, MD; Press Release; 9/11/2026 
For the 31st year, Chesapeake Life Center took over the cabins, pavilions, docks and recreation areas of Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville to bring a little peace and a lot of joy to 35 grieving children. It takes a lot of creativity and many trained volunteers to help make this annual bereavement camp for children ages 6 to 18 a success. Sixty volunteers and 16 Hospice of the Chesapeake and Chesapeake Life Center team members with a passion for helping kids worked from Aug. 7 to 9 and included:

38 Big Buddies ...
17 volunteers ..
2 volunteers who attended the camp when they were children
4 therapy dogs ...
[More ...]

What we get wrong about death, according to end-of-life workers 
HuffPost; by Monica Torres; 9/12/26 
... I had conversations with palliative and hospice care physicians, nurses and social workers that comforted me, surprised me and challenged my own assumptions about death. Maybe they will for you, too. Here are some of the biggest misunderstandings they shared with me about death and what the reality actually is:

• The physical process of dying doesn’t look like it does in the movies. ...
• Families can live with a lot of regret over what they should have done. ...
• Not everyone wants silence or a somber mood when they are dying. ...
• Not enough people plan or talk about how they want to die. ...
• There are still a lot of negative associations with hospice care, even though it can be helpful. ...
• We can’t control death. ...
• At the same time, it’s OK not to be ready. ...

Your culture isn't what you say—it's what you tolerate | part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Chris Comeaux; 9/11/26 
Your organization’s true culture isn’t revealed by its mission statement—it’s revealed by what actually happens when no one is explaining what the culture is supposed to be. In Part Two of Your Culture Isn't What You Say—It's What You Tolerate, host Chris Comeaux continues his thought-provoking conversation with author and leadership expert Tom Foster, moving from the theory of culture into the everyday behaviors, systems, and decisions that reveal what an organization truly believes. Tom challenges leaders to look beyond traditional KPIs and productivity measures and ask a more important question: Do the behaviors we measure and reward actually reflect our purpose? ... The conversation becomes a practical roadmap for leaders who want to intentionally shape culture. 

New law makes medical aid in dying possible in McLean County — if you can find a provider 
WGLT-NPR; by Courtney Conroy and Eric Stock; 9/11/26  
Illinois' medical aid in dying law took effect Saturday. Terminally ill adults across the state have the legal option to request medication from a physician to end their lives. In McLean County, it might not be that easy. The region's two major hospital systems have declined to participate in the new law. Local hospice and other care providers have not responded to interview requests. The county coroner's office does not plan to weigh in.

As states increase oversight of PE in nursing homes, deals decline 
Skilled Nursing News; by Amy Stulick; 9/26/26 
More states are imposing new laws to add oversight of private equity (PE) in healthcare, including nursing homes. As a result, the number of PE-involved healthcare deals declined since least year, according to a report in Pitchbook, and the value of those deals in the first half of this year is lower than this time in 2025. California, Oregon and Rhode Island each had laws or regulations that take effect this year requiring more documentation and transparency when it comes to mergers, acquisitions and other deals in the healthcare sector.

Grand jury: Gracedale nurse's 'demons' attack on hospice patient as 911 calls went unanswered 
hoodline; by David Rosen; 9/11/26 
A newly unsealed Northampton County grand jury report details how a non-verbal hospice resident at Gracedale Nursing Home in Nazareth was assaulted by an agency nurse during what investigators describe as an attempted exorcism and later died; the grand jury did not connect the death to the assault. Four separate 911 calls over more than 30 minutes failed to bring police in time to stop it. The 44-page report, released Thursday, September 10, 2026, also outlines chronic staffing, security and sanitation failures at the county-owned facility that officials tried to keep sealed from the public.

93-year-old veteran on hospice gets to live dream of flying in stunt plane in Morristown
WATE Knoxville/Morristown, TN; by Hope McAlee; 9/10/26
Army Veteran Thomas Judge may be nearing the end of his life, but his hospice team is helping ensure he lives his final days to the fullest. On Thursday, Judge checked an experience off his bucket list: Flying in a stunt plane. Around two weeks ago, Judge spoke with his hospice nurse Brittany Seal about a dream he would like to accomplish before his life ended. Seal said Judge is always up for something exciting and always tries to make someone's day, so their goal Thursday was to finally make his day. 

You say "impossible," but all I hear is "I'm possible." ~ Ted Lasso, from season 2, episode 11