AMGA calls for total-cost-of-care model for end-of-life care 
Healthcare Innovation; by David Raths; 3/20/26 
Among the recommendations of a value-based care task force of the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) is that CMS should establish a total-cost-of-care model for end-of-life care. AMGA  is a trade association representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care. More than 175,000 physicians practice in its member organizations. 
Editor's Note: Download the AMGA's 44-page Task Force Recommendations. It details these six foundational pillars they identified:

1. Enhance Patient Engagement: Empower patients to take an active role in their healthcare decisions.
2. Improve Health Outcomes: Address disparities to ensure all populations receive high-quality care.
3. Protect Patient Dignity at End of Life: Promote compassionate care that respects patient preferences.
4. Remove Regulatory and Statutory Barriers: Reduce administrative burdens that impede care delivery.
5. Support Practices Serving Rural and Underserved Populations: Ensure equitable resources and support for all providers.
6. Ensure the Long-Term Sustainability of High-Value Care: Establish a payment model that ensures long-term viability for providers.

Hospice organizations call for Medicare provider enrollment moratorium in California 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 3/20/26 
A coalition of hospice and home health industry stakeholders are calling for a statewide moratorium in California on provider enrollments due to widespread Medicare fraud. A key area of focus is the greater Los Angeles County area. The group of providers and associations has written to U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz saying that rampant fraud in the state requires federal intervention. The signatories on the letter included the Save Home Health Coalition, California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA) and Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice (TAHCH).

First renovated rooms completed in Columbus Hospice Center Refresh Capital Campaign, over $635K raised 
The Republic; by Hallie Gallinat; 3/21/26 
The Hospice Center in Columbus, as part of the ongoing Hospice Refresh Campaign, has completed its first renovated patient room and family room. The campaign, launched to modernize the Hospice Center after more than 20 years of service to the community, has now raised over $635,000 toward its $2 million goal. ...  Donors were invited to a private open house on March 12 to celebrate the completion of the first renovated spaces.

The secure leader: How attachment styles shape leadership | part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Jamie Goff; 3/20/26 
In Part Two of The Secure Leader: How Attachment Styles Shape Leadership, Dr. Jaime Goff moves from awareness to transformation—helping leaders understand not just why they lead the way they do, but how to change it. Building on the foundation of attachment styles, this episode dives deeper into the power of your leadership story and how the experiences you’ve carried—often for decades—continue to shape your decisions, reactions, and relationships today.

VA Pittsburgh chaplains: Providing hope, healing and spiritual support for Veterans 
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; by Jordan Harris; 3/9/26 
From suicide prevention to end-of-life care, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) chaplains deliver compassionate, holistic support that strengthens the well-being of Veterans and staff. Chaplains provide more than spiritual guidance -- they offer hope, comfort and connection when Veterans need it most. Whether it’s supporting someone through a mental health crisis, walking alongside families during end-of-life care, or simply listening in moments of uncertainty, chaplains are a steady presence. Their work helps Veterans find meaning, resilience and peace as part of their healing journey.

The good deaths of people who never marry: Lifelong single people are most likely to die pain-free and at peace. 
Psychology Today; by Bella DePaulo, PhD; 3/8/26 
People who are single and want to stay that way are often taunted with scare stories about what will happen to them toward the end of their life—they will grow old alone, they will die alone, and all the rest. Same for people who have no children. But is the quality of the end of their lives really worse for those who never marry (or never have kids) than it is for those who are married, remarried, divorced, or widowed (or who have grown children)? We now have an answer, and it is not at all what those dire warnings predicted.
Editor's Note: This Psychology Today article provides a new lens in the research we shared on 3/20/26, “We make our own families”: Do child-free people die alone? Hospice worker shares her experience. Important: “child-free” does not necessarily mean a person never married, and “never married” does not necessarily mean a person is child-free. Together, they raise a deeper question: is a “good death” defined by traditional family—or by the presence of meaning, connection, and peace, however we choose to build it?

Hearing on “Improving kidney health through better prevention and innovative treatment” 
U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health; written testimony fo Dr. Robert Taylor; 3/18/26

• ... [page 5, paragraph 4] For those who do approach the end of life on dialysis, we have seen that palliative and hospice services are underutilized in the dialysis population. It is important that we ensure that patients at the end of life and their families have the best experience possible. ...
• ... [page 7, under section for"Policy Opportunities"] 4. Permit Concurrent Hospice and Dialysis. Allow patients with ESRD as their primary diagnosis to receive concurrent hospice and dialysis. As noted earlier, we appreciate the support from members of this Committee for concurrent dialysis care for hospice patients and are very active in providing this care to our patients. ...

Regional pediatric Education and Assistance Collaborative for Hospice nurses (REACH): A tele-educational intervention 
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Taylor Aglio, Alexa Bobelis, Ashley Autrey, Tracy Hills, Alexandra Superdock, Arshia Madni, Kelly Bien, Nidhi Mali, Erica C Kaye; 3/20/26
... To address [the gaps between hospice care for seriously ill children and their families and adult-focused hospice paradigms], a multidisciplinary team comprising physicians, nurses, psychosocial clinicians, community members, and bereaved parents was convened to develop the Regional Pediatric Education and Assistance Collaborative for Hospice Nurses (REACH) initiative. Using a community-based participatory research approach, a stakeholder-driven tele-educational intervention was designed, refined, and implemented as a pilot for hospice nurses across Tennessee. Pilot data showed this hub-and-spoke model to be feasible, acceptable, and impactful, increasing hospice nurses' knowledge and comfort with provision of pediatric care in the community.

Haven Hospice simulations help caregivers understand dementia 
Levy Citizen, Chiefland, FL; by Antoniette Meyer; 3/19/26 
A program offered by Haven Hospice is helping caregivers, medical professionals and community members better understand what daily life can be like for someone living with dementia. ... Through Haven’s Dementia Care Program, participants can take part in hands-on simulations designed to replicate some of the sensory and cognitive challenges people with dementia experience. During the exercises, attendees may wear specialized goggles or gloves, listen to music or attempt tasks that simulate symptoms such as vision loss, hearing impairment, reduced motor function and changes in perception. ... Attendees who participate in the simulations often report that the experience is eye-opening, helping them develop greater empathy and learn ways to communicate more effectively with people living with dementia.
Editor's Note: Experiential education like this offers something lectures alone cannot—an embodied understanding of what it may feel like to live with dementia. These kinds of empathy-building simulations are not only powerful, but also adaptable for many settings. Consider how similar approaches could support your interdisciplinary team, volunteers, and non-clinical staff—especially those who both contribute to patient care in meaningful ways and navigate dementia in their own families.

Palladium Equity partners to acquire majority stake in DME Express from WayPoint Capital Partners 
PR Newswire, New York and The Woodlands, TX; by Palladium Equity Partners; 3/20/26 
Palladium Equity Partners, LLC (along with its affiliates, "Palladium"), today announced an agreement to acquire a majority equity interest in DME Express ("DME Express" or the "Company"), an established provider of durable medical equipment serving hospice providers across the United States. ... DME Express would be Palladium's second investment in the hospice industry since inception, and the second platform investment by Palladium Equity Partners VI, LP. 

How "The Pitt" can prepare you for the end of life
Katie Couric Media; by Maggie Parker; 3/20/26 
If you're sensitive to seeing death on screen, you shouldn't watch The Pitt. Set in a major city's emergency room, on the hit medical procedural, death is inevitable, and frequent. ... The way end-of-life issues are addressed on the show was carefully thought out and intentionally diverse. ... Unfortunately, it's rare for the media to portray death and dying authentically, according to Dr. Underleider's analysis of more than 141,000 scripted TV episodes from 2010 to 2020. ... This season, The Pitt takes its quest to realistically depict death to another level, with the introduction of a terminal cancer patient, Roxie, who knows what's coming and doesn't want to go home to face it. We spoke to Dr. Ungerleider about her reaction to Roxie's final moments, her experience working with the creators, what they get right about end of life, and why it matters. ...
Editor's Note: Pair this with our previous posts, "HBO’s ‘The Pitt’ inspires viewers to consider organ donation, end-of-life planning" and "How ‘The Pitt' gets death right."

In Winter, I plot and plan. In Spring, I move. ~ Henry Rollins