Dover Hospice celebrates ribbon-cutting ceremony 
 The Edwardsville Intelligencer, Glen Carbon, IL; by Karla Vasquesz Mejia; 5/25/25
Dover Hospice in Glen Carbon had its ribbon-cutting ceremony on the afternoon of May 19. Employees of the new center at 2 Ginger Creek Village Drive in Glen Carbon were accompanied by the EdGlen Chamber of Commerce and family members of the employees. Executive Director Page Belongy said Dover Hospice, began in St. Louis two years ago after branching out from Cedarhurst Assisted Living. 

What it’s like to be … a hospice nurse 
Behavioral Scientist; by Dan Heath; 5/22/25 
Comforting patients as they prepare to transition, navigating end-of-life regrets and frayed relationships, and providing support and advice for fearful families with Heather Meyerend, a retired hospice nurse. How does she know when the end is imminent? And what has the work taught her about the different ways we deal with death? In each episode of What It’s Like to Be…, bestselling author Dan Heath speaks with someone about what it’s like to walk in their (work) shoes.

Mom takes first picture with new baby, not knowing in weeks he'll be gone 
Newsweek; by Daniella  Gray; 5/24/25 
A grieving mom has shared the first picture of herself with her newborn baby, not knowing she'd lose him just weeks later. Wunmi Babalola from the West Midlands in the UK, shared photos on TikTok looking at her baby in his hospital crib. In the same carousel on TikTok, Babalola also included the last photo the two of them would have together, just six and a half weeks later. ...  

The Mentorship Model: Cultivating resilience and leadership in palliative care pharmacy 
Pharmacy Times; by Alana Hippensteele; 5/22/25 
Key Takeaways

• Mentorship in pain and palliative care pharmacy enhances professional growth, resilience, and leadership for both mentees and mentors, benefiting organizations through recruitment and retention.
• Barriers to effective mentorship include limited access to mentors, time constraints, and geographic challenges, which can be mitigated by virtual mentoring and structured communication.
• Successful mentorship requires proactive goal-setting, clear communication norms, and mutual accountability, with a 5-phase roadmap guiding mentor-mentee relationships.
• Organizations should tailor mentorship programs to their mission, provide training, ensure leadership support, and establish metrics for evaluation to foster a culture of mentorship. 

When patients die: A myeloma specialist grieves 
Medscape; by Manni Mohyuddin, MD; 5/28/25 
... We form such beautiful bonds with patients as we guide them through the highs and lows of treatment. And that is why I struggled so profoundly with the abrupt separation created by a transition of a patient to hospice. How can it be okay for me to be seeing a patient weekly (and sometimes more often) for such a long time and then suddenly never see them again after they transition to hospice? How can we just disappear from their lives at such a critical juncture? I understand that I may not have more chemotherapy to offer, but I at least can offer emotional support, validation, and my friendship. ...
Editor's note: Continue reading this powerful commentary. Taking this further, do you have HIPAA compliant systems in place to notify the patient's oncologist or pre-hospice primary physician of the death? 

CMS rolls out aggressive strategy to enhance and accelerate Medicare Advantage audits 
CMS Newsroom; Press RElease; 5/21/25 
Agency Will Begin Auditing All Eligible Medicare Advantage Contracts Each Payment Year and Add Resources to Expedite Completion of 2018 to 2024 Audits
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a significant expansion of its auditing efforts for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Beginning immediately, CMS will audit all eligible MA contracts for each payment year in all newly initiated audits and invest additional resources to expedite the completion of audits for payment years 2018 through 2024.

Disproportionate impact: Supreme Court narrows disproportionate share hospital reimbursement to Supplemental Security Income cash recipients 
The National Law Review; by Vinay Kohli, Matthew J. Westbrook, D. Austin Rettew; 5/23/25 
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a significant ruling affecting hospitals that serve low-income Medicare beneficiaries, narrowing the interpretation of the Disproportionate Share Hospital (“DSH”) payment formula. In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Kennedy, the Court determined that only Medicare patients who were eligible to receive a cash Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) payment during the month of their hospitalization may be included in the calculation for additional DSH reimbursement. This decision represents a setback for more than 200 hospitals that had advocated for a broader, more inclusive definition of SSI entitlement, potentially reducing the financial support available for treating Medicare’s poorest patients. 

Johnson champions Eddie's Law to bring dignity to end-of-life-care in Illinois 
Public, Springfield, IL; News Release; 5/22/25 
After an incarcerated man named Eddie Thomas died alone in a prison infirmary without receiving any end-of-life care, State Senator Adriane Johnson is championing legislation to bring dignity, compassion, and transparency to hospice and palliative care services in Illinois correctional facilities. "This bill is about basic human dignity," said Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove). "No one should die in pain, in isolation or without the comfort of care - no matter who they are or where they live. House Bill 2397 brings transparency to a system that too often leaves people to suffer silently." ... House Bill 2397 would require the Illinois Department of Corrections to prepare and publish an annual report detailing its hospice and palliative care programs. The bill aims to provide lawmakers with data that can guide future policy decisions on compassionate and medically appropriate end-of-life care for people incarcerated in Illinois. 

Primary mental health competencies for hospice and palliative medicine physicians: A Delphi study
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Lisa Podgurski, Danielle Chammas, Keri O Brenner, Leah B Rosenberg, Neha G Goyal, Maria I Lapid, Sue E Morris, William F Pirl, Bridget Sumser, Benjamin W Thompson, Lindsey Wright, and Daniel Shalev; 5/20/25  
Objectives: To establish and prioritize 'primary mental health competencies' for specialist hospice and palliative medicine physicians using expert consensus methods.
Results: The expert panel proposed 68 competencies divided into: (A) psychological foundations of serious illness care, (B) diagnosis and management of mental health disorders in serious illness, and (C) systems-based practice. After first-round voting, 23 competencies were recirculated for a second vote. Following second-round voting, 32 competencies were included in the final list: 7 from part A, 20 from part B, and 5 from part C.

Hospice propelling growth for publicly traded home-based care companies 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/23/25
Hospice has emerged as a growth engine for publicly traded home-based care companies, several of which are on the hunt for acquisitions. Hospice has buoyed growth for several companies as they battle home health-related headwinds, including reimbursement pressures. Companies like VITAS Healthcare (NYSE: CHE), which only provide hospice and palliative care, also saw substantial growth. ... VITAS attributes the revenue growth to an 11.9% increase in days-of-care and a geographically weighted average Medicare reimbursement rate increase of approximately 3.2%. Hospice is also fueling growth at Addus Homecare (Nasdaq: ADUS). ... Similar trends exist for other publicly traded companies, including Aveanna Healthcare (Nasdaq: AVAH), Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB), The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) and BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG).

66 top hospitals for patient experience, safety: Healthgrades 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 5/14/25 
A total of 66 hospitals received both Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience and Patient Safety Excellence awards. Healthgrades released its 2025 Outstanding Patient Experience Award, which recognizes hospitals that provide top-quality care while ensuring a positive healthcare experience for patients. The company analyzed data from 3,059 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to CMS between January and December 2023. It used 10 metrics from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient survey data. ... Read more about the methodology here. For patient safety, Healthgrades analyzed 14 patient safety indicators using inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Patient Safety Indicators Technical Specifications and AHRQ WinQI software. Read the methodology here. ...

Spouses accused of prescription fraud: Nurse took meds from hospice patients, deputies say 
The Daily Record; by Staff; 5/22/25 
A hospice nurse and her husband are accused of diverting and trafficking controlled prescription medications from several pharmacies during her employment at Liberty Home Health and Hospice. Juana Nicole Hull, 42, is charged with six counts of conspiring to traffic opium or heroin and four counts each of obtaining a controlled substance through fraud; embezzling or diverting a controlled substance; and trafficking opioids. Her husband, 38-year-old Robert Wayne Hull, is charged with six counts each of obtaining a controlled substance through fraud and trafficking opioids. 

[United Kingdom] Hospice cuts staff and beds to secure its future 
BBC News, Yorkshire, UK; by Alex Moss; 5/23/25
A hospice in Huddersfield has announced it has made 19 staff redundant and reduced the number of inpatient beds in order to save its future. The Kirkwood provides end-of-life care to about 2,000 patients each year but its chief executive Michael Crowther said it had faced a "perfect storm" of rising operational costs over the past few years. ... He said: "This has been the single hardest decision we have ever had to make." Another nine staff members have agreed to cut their hours and several others have decided to retire to help reduce the annual costs by £1.7m, the hospice added. ..."As you can imagine, this has been one of the most difficult periods in The Kirkwood's history. ..."
Editor's note: Read more--directly from The Kirkwood--at "Securing Our Future Together: A New Way Forward." 

BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ:BTSG) Q1 earnings: Leading the senior health, home health & hospice pack 
StockStory; by Jabin Bastian; 5/22/25 
The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ:BTSG) and the rest of the senior health, home health & hospice stocks fared in Q1. ... The 7 senior health, home health & hospice stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3%. ... 

• Best Q1: BrightSpring Health Services ...
• The Pennant Group ...
• Weakest Q1: Brookdale ...
• AdaptHealth ...
• Chemed ...
• Market Update ...

The shorter way to do many things is to only do one thing at a time. ~ Mozart