Hospice, cancer services gain $730K from Agnesian Charity Open 
FDL Reporter, Fond du Lac, WI; by Nida Tazeen; 9/16/26 
The Agnesian HealthCare Foundation raised about $730,000 during its 38th annual Charity Open, exceeding the previous event's total by more than $200,000 and bringing the fundraiser's cumulative impact to more than $9.4 million since 1989. The event, presented by C.D. Smith Construction, Inc. and Michels Corporation, supports hospice and cancer care services in the Fond du Lac area, according to a community announcement. Funds raised this year will benefit SSM Health Hospice Home of Hope and SSM Health Cancer Care programs, helping provide care to patients regardless of their ability to pay, according to the announcement.

Ennoble Care expands national reach by entering five new communities 
NewsNet, Arlington, VA; by PR Newswire; 9/17/26 
Ennoble Care, a leading home-based primary, palliative, and hospice care provider, today announced its expansion into five new communities in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi, and Texas to deliver more care for medically frail and homebound patients. ... At the heart of it, Ennoble Care’s model allows seniors to age at home. Instead of medically frail patients spending their final years cycling in and out of hospitals, they can remain in the comfort of their homes and receive high-touch primary, palliative, and hospice care ... That continuity of care is only possible because of Ennoble Care’s proprietary electronic health records system, ...

Taxpayer-funded health care programs hit with $17.5 billion in fraud in one year 
Before It's News; 9/23/26 
Fraud in taxpayer-funded health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid is so pervasive that the government identified a breathtaking $17.5 billion in scams in just one year, according to an analysis conducted by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), ... The crimes occurred in all 50 states, as well as Washington D.C, and U.S. territories including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A lengthy report made public this month identifies the largest number of offenders in California (3,141), followed by Florida (1,378), New York (989) and Minnesota (946) with some of the scams involving criminal networks connected to foreign entities.

Labor Day auction raises more than $1 million 
Hospice & Community Care, Lancaster, PA; online letter to their sponsors, volunteers, and community; retrieved from the internet 9/22/26 
Thanks to your incredible generosity, we are proud to share that more than $1 million was raised to support hospice and palliative care, bereavement services, and grief support programs for the thousands of patients and families served by Hospice & Community Care each year. This remarkable achievement reflects the compassion and commitment of our community. Because of you, we can continue our mission of helping patients and families live better with serious illness through end of life. From all of us at Hospice & Community Care, thank you for making a difference.

Establishing an AI policy: a comprehensive white paper for life sciences teams
Sakara Digital; by Amie Harpe; 9/21/26
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved from a niche technology to a foundational element of business operations across all sectors. ... This white paper provides a comprehensive, narrative-driven guide for business and compliance leaders ...  Special attention is given to the unique regulatory, ethical, and operational considerations in life sciences and healthcare, with tangible guidance for governance, validation, training, monitoring, and audit strategies.

Capstone University offering Clinical Pastoral Education for hospice and palliative care chaplaincy 
NEWSnet; Press Release; 9/18/26 
Capstone University [in University Place, WA] now offers clinical pastoral education (CPE) with a specific focus on hospice and palliative care chaplaincy. This transformative program centers on spiritual caregiving in response to aging, serious illness, dying, and bereavement. It enables chaplains to deepen their ability to provide culturally responsive, patient-led spiritual care to individuals and families throughout the end-of-life experience. 

Over 150 advocates convene on Capitol Hill to champion care at home 
National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/16/26 
This week, more than 150 care at home advocates from across the country met with 285 congressional offices to discuss key legislative and regulatory priorities for expanding and protecting access to care at home. The meetings were part of the 2026 National Alliance for Care at Home Advocacy Week, an important opportunity to unite the entire care at home continuum under one voice.  

The role of hospice and palliative care in addressing climate change
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine; by Erik S. Carlson, Nisha Shah, Jill Denny,  Aldebra Schroll, Daniel Mahoney, Sarah Schear, Kate Jennings, Collins Uzuegbu, David Harris, Bhargavi Chekuri, Cecilia Sorensen, Janet Bull, Chris Jones; 8/26
Climate change is a defining global health challenge of our time, acting as a threat multiplier that erodes decades of health gains and worsens social inequities. People living with serious illness, the population served by Hospice and Palliative Care (HaPC) professionals, are particularly vulnerable to these impacts. While leading health organizations have acknowledged the public health implications of climate change, HaPC has remained largely absent from this discourse. This narrative review and framework proposal situates the field’s competencies within the growing climate and health literature and identifies avenues through which HaPC can contribute to addressing climate change. We argue that HaPC professionals — drawing on strengths in serious illness communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and person-centered care — are uniquely positioned to advance equitable climate adaptation and mitigation at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.

IBM study finds 60% of employees worry AI is eroding critical thinking skills 
Complete AI Training; 9/21/26 
A new IBM study finds that 60% of employees worry AI is eroding their skills, with critical thinking cited most often as declining. The research, released September 21, 2026, surveyed 1,500 CHROs and 8,800 employees globally, revealing a gap between the skills HR leaders say AI demands and what workers prioritize. While 71% of CHROs identify the ability to supervise, validate and override AI outputs as the workforce's most essential skill, only 29% of employees rank judgment as important. At the same time, CHROs cite critical thinking (57%) and human judgment (48%) as among the most important workforce capabilities.

Sen. Baldwin demands investigation into veteran care failures at Tomah VA
WXOW-19 ABC, Tomah, WI; by Terry Bell; 9/21/26 
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is calling for an immediate investigation into serious allegations about the failure to care for veterans and unacceptable conditions at the Tomah VA Medical Center. Baldwin is asking Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to conduct a full review of staffing levels, provider coverage, medication delays, hospice care and patient safety at the Tomah VA Hospital. She's also requesting the VA Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent investigation. Baldwin's office heard from several Tomah VA employees who outlined severe lapses in patient care at the hospital. The allegations include inadequate staffing contributing to falls, injuries, food choking incidents and other adverse patient outcomes. [View recent incident:  Former VA nurse charged with intentionally abusing hospice patient]

Valley Oaks Health awarded $828,375 GROW grant to expand rural health access across northwest central Indiana 
PR Newswire, Lafayette, IN; 9/17/26 
Valley Oaks Health announced today that it has been awarded $828,375 through the Growing Rural Opportunities for Well-being (GROW) Region 3 Grant initiative to strengthen access to integrated healthcare services across rural communities in northwest central Indiana. The funding is part of the Indiana Rural Health Transformation Program (Indiana RHTP), a statewide initiative designed to improve healthcare access, strengthen healthcare infrastructure, promote innovation, and support strategic partnerships that improve the health and well-being of Hoosiers.

CMS expands the ACCESS Model: new tracks for heart failure, COPD, substance use disorders, tobacco cessation, and extended MSK support 
Foley Hoag; 9/21/26 
Key Takeaways:

• CMS is expanding the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model in spring 2027 to add five new tracks: heart failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD,) substance use disorders (SUD), and tobacco cessation, as well as extended support for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.
• The expansion is especially significant for palliative care: the new tracks emphasize symptom management, quality of life, functional improvement and technology-enabled care for individuals with serious or chronic conditions.
• The Model now includes 160 participating organizations, and three out of four people with Medicare qualify for at least one ACCESS track.

Camping won't solve all of your problems, but neither will cleaning the oven. Choose wisely.