Maui Hospice calms jitters after feds freeze new Medicare sign-ups 
Hoodline; by Marc Suzuki; 5/20/26
Hospice Maui moved quickly this week to calm worried island families after federal officials hit pause on new Medicare hospice and home health enrollments. The Wailuku nonprofit stressed that long-standing, Medicare-certified providers like itself are not the focus of the federal action, and that patients already in its care will continue to receive visits, medications and support services without interruption. The organization also pointed families to a direct phone line for anyone who wants a real person to walk them through what the freeze does and does not mean.

Trinity Homes sees home health, hospice transition 
Minot Daily News, Minot, ND; by MDN Staff; 5/21/26 
Trinity Health has announced it has contracted with CHI Health at Home and Hospice and CaringEdge to provide hospice services to residents at Trinity Homes. Both are established Minot-area providers. Ensuring continuity of care has been the top priority throughout this transition, according to Trinity, which has worked closely with CHI Health at Home and Hospice and CaringEdge to facilitate a smooth transition for patients and their families. The transition of patients is complete, Trinity reported.

Hike for Hope Hospice fundraiser raises over $60k 
Patch, Livermore, CA; by Michael Wittner; 5/19/26 
More than 400 participants raised over $60,000 at Hike for Hope, the annual fundraiser for Hope Hospice. On May 9, supporters gathered at Del Valle Regional Park to enjoy a hike, community barbecue, and raffle. The proceeds from the walk raised money for Hope Hospice’s work providing essential hospice and grief support for patients and caregivers across the East Bay, including programs not covered by Medicare.

Redwood Newsmakers: Hospice of Humboldt Palliative Care Program 
Redwood News; by Ross Rowley; 5/20/26 
We’re here with Karen Ayres, nurse practitioner with Hospice of Humboldt, talking about home-based palliative care and the growing need for these services here in our community. Hospice of Humboldt started this program in 2022. ... “So we started this service called home-based palliative care,” she said. “While we are part of Hospice of Humboldt, we are one of the services they offer. We’re not hospice care, we’re palliative care. ..."

AI: as much peril as promise? 
KFF; podcast/transcript hosted by Chip Kahn III with guest Robert Wachter, MD; 5/19/26 
Episode 4, AI Series: What does AI mean for patients in bed and doctors at the bedside? Host Chip Kahn and guest Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, discuss whether AI will produce a different kind of doctor in the future — a “clinician curator rather than a clinician-diagnostician.” The answer could define the future of medicine and the doctor-patient relationship.

Early electronic advance directives reduce burdensome end-of-life care 
News Medical & Life Sciences | Wiley; 5/20/26 
Advance directives document patient preferences for future care, including end-of-life. An analysis in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older patients with an advance directive that had been uploaded into the electronic health record at least six months before death were 25% less likely to experience potentially burdensome end-of-life care (19.9% versus 26.8%) and 31% less likely to have died in the hospital (23.2% versus 32.1%).

Background on CMS’s anti-fraud efforts in hospice care
AEI - The American Enterprise Institute; by James C. Capretta; 5/21/26 
... For broader context, Congress added hospice coverage to Medicare in the 1980s to provide lower-cost and more patient-centered settings for terminally ill beneficiaries. ... Like home health, the hospice benefit is vulnerable to abuse because the barriers to entering the market are lower than in more regulated settings. The capital investment to get started is minimal in comparison with building a new hospital, outpatient clinic, or nursing home. Further, the potential profit margins are high if a service provider is confident that the per diem is above what is needed to provide the required services.
Although CMS’s focus on fraud in hospice care is warranted, stronger oversight by itself may not produce large program savings. In theory, more use of hospice care could lead to lower overall costs if the sponsoring agencies are competent and can help their patients avoid costly hospital or nursing home admissions. CMS’s investigations need to be subtle enough to weed out the bad actors without making it overly difficult for vulnerable patients to get the care they need in their own homes or in other low-cost community settings.

Development of the revised CAHPS Hospice Survey 
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Danielle Schlang, MA, Melissa A. Bradley, BA, and Rebecca Anhang Price, PhD; 5/18/26 
... Methods: We conducted a plain language review and environmental scan, refined existing survey instrument wording, drafted candidate survey items addressing new topics of interest, and conducted 7 rounds of cognitive interviews with a total of 59 family caregivers of hospice decedents.
Results: Cognitive interview respondents consistently interpreted “respecting [the patient’s] wishes,” and “listening to the things that matter most” and found these concepts relevant to their family members’ hospice care experiences; in contrast, they found the phrases “cultural practices” and “choosing what to do next” confusing or unclear. ...
Conclusion:  The revised CAHPS Hospice Survey simultaneously adds new topics prioritized by stakeholders and reduces survey complexity and length. 
Editor's Note: This journal article includes a downloadable "Journal Pre-proof" PDF. Its Appendix B (at pp. 27-33) provides a helpful table, "Comparison between Original and Revised CAHPS Hospice Survey Items, with Rationale."

How resolving moral distress unlocks physicians’ potential 
AMA - American Medical Association; by Bobby Mukkamala, MD, President; 5/20/26 
The inability to do what feels right affects physicians to a greater degree and can keep us from delivering the care we know our patients need. ... Across medicine, many physicians are confronting something deeper: moral distress. New research shows it is widespread, distinct from burnout, and carries serious consequences for physicians, patients and the healthcare system itself. 

States with the most, fewest licensed nurses per capita 
Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mariah Taylor; 5/21/26 
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing found the District of Columbia has the most licensed nurses per capita, while Utah is the state with the fewest for the second year in a row. ... Becker’s used 2025 Census data to calculate how many nurses are in each state per 100,000 population. Here are the five with the most and the five with the fewest nurses. ...
Most [list starts with highest]: District of Columbia ... Alaska ... New York ... Minnesota ... Massachusetts ... Fewest [list starts with lowest]: Utah ... Washington ... Georgia ... Idaho ... Texas ...

Executive Personnel Changes - 5/22/26

• Treasure Coast Hospice has named Agnes Palmer, CFRE, as Executive Director of Treasure Coast Hospice Foundation. The newly created position reflects the organization’s commitment to the vital role philanthropy plays in providing quality hospice care and grief support services to patients and families in Martin, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties, Florida.

Heroism doesn't always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history. ~ Mary Roach

We honor the heroes of our nation’s history and the heroes held in your own life this Memorial Day Weekend 2026.