Literature Review

Can tech restore the human side of care? Becker's Health IT; by Ella Jeffries; 11/14/25 Technology has been both a promise and a problem in healthcare. When EHRs arrived in hospitals, they were heralded as a revolution — bringing order to messy paper charts and standardizing how care was documented. But soon after, clinicians found themselves staring more at screens than at the patients sitting in front of them. Now, nurse leaders say the very systems that once distanced them from patients could hold the key to rebuilding that connection.

More people are caring for dying loved ones at home. A New Orleans nonprofit is showing them how. KFF Health News; by Halle Parker; 11/25/25 Liz Dunnebacke isn’t dying, but for a recent end-of-life care workshop in New Orleans, she pretended to be. Dunnebacke lay still atop a folding table that was dressed as a bed, complaining that her legs hurt. Registered nurse Ana Kanellos, rolling up two small white towels, demonstrated how to elevate her ankles to ease the pain. ... About 20 New Orleans residents listened intently, eager to learn more about how to care for loved ones at home when they’re nearing the end of their lives. 

City forced him to cut the oak tree tied to his late wife, so he found a way to save it forever Scoop Upworthy; by Prachi Mallick; 11/4/25 It was where he had proposed to her, where they carved their initials 30 years earlier, where their love had taken root. In a recent post, one husband shared how a city order forced him to say goodbye to the oak tree that had been central to his marriage, and how, instead of letting that final link vanish, he found a way to rebuild it into something he could carry with him forever. ... "For two years, I couldn’t touch it. Then, one day, I saw someone who had turned wood from his grandfather’s barn into furniture. Something clicked inside me. I taught myself woodworking through YouTube videos and practicing at night. Every cut, every curve of that tree became part of a door. The branches that once bore our initials are now the frame for all who enter our home."Editor's Note: Click here and scroll down for a photo of this husband's beautiful artistry.

Retention first: The smarter recruitment strategy for nonprofits Forbes; by James Dismond; 11/25/25 Retaining talent at a nonprofit has always had its challenges, but today, it’s becoming unsustainable. ... A recent report found that nearly half of nonprofit leaders cite recruitment or retention as their top challenge, and nearly two-thirds report struggling to fill staff vacancies in the past year. In my industry of hospice and palliative care, the shortage of qualified talent is even more devastating. Right now, there are merely 13.35 hospice and palliative care specialists per 100,000 seniors in the United States. This is concerning because turnover of registered hospice nurses reached 25% in 2023—more than double the private-sector average.

Alliance ready to go ‘full bore’ on legislative strategy if CMS Rule falls short Home Health News; by Morgan Gonzales; 11/24/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) is prepared to take a "full bore" approach to its legislative strategy if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rule falls short. This includes scrutinizing CMS's methodologies and implementation plans once the final rule is issued. The Alliance is ready to push the Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025 if the final rule includes a massive cut to the home health Medicare rate. ... The Alliance's docket for the new year includes pushing for key deregulations, most top of mind: the 80/20 rule.

Bridging the gap: A scoping review of clinical decision support systems in end-of-life care for older adults Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Susanny J Beltran, Lainey Dorris, Marie Hamel, Shanelle Harvey, Mustafa Ozkaynak, Kenan Sualp; 11/17/25 online ahead of print Background: ...  This scoping review maps the current landscape of clinical decision support (CDS) systems in EOL care, identifies key system types, and examines their effectiveness in guiding clinical decisions. ... Results: A total of 31 studies were included, categorizing CDS systems into prognostic tools, referral tools, and care informing tools. ...

Rainbow 35th anniversary cookbook available Watertown Daily Times, Jefferson, WI; by Kenyon Kemnitz, Rainbow Community Care; 11/22/25 Rainbow Community Care, a trusted independent healthcare provider serving Jefferson, Dodge, and surrounding counties, is excited to announce that its commemorative 35th Anniversary Cookbook, “Nourishing Body & Soul” is officially available for purchase. This community-sourced cookbook features over 300 recipes. It is a beautiful, heartfelt keepsake filled with the best-kept family secrets and cherished stories from the very people who built Rainbow: volunteers, local families, dedicated healthcare workers, and community supporters. All have been part of Rainbow’s 35-year journey of providing compassionate care to rural South Central Wisconsin. “This is more than just a cookbook,” said Rainbow Community Care Clinical Liaison Dana Traynere. “Every recipe tells a story of connection and community, ...Editor's Note: Yes, this creative fundraiser is "more than just a cookbook" with its family recipes filled with memories and relationships from the past for the present and family meals ahead. What favorite family recipes--filled with stories of loved ones who have died--will grace your Thanksgiving table tomorrow?

In-flight emergencies: Practical medicine and ethical considerations Medscape; by Stephen Powell, MD, Bret A. Nicks, MD, MHA, Michael W. Supples, MD, MPH; 11/3/25As a medical professional, are you prepared to respond to an in-flight medical emergency as a passenger on a commercial aircraft? Key questions are addressed about the scope of care, available equipment, decision-making regarding diversions, and liability concerns. Editor's Note: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) "expects the 2025 Thanksgiving travel period to be the busiest in 15 years." Please read and share.

General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja on aligning profit with purposeDNYUZ; 11/23/25 Hemant Taneja, who leads one of the world’s largest venture firms, believes doing good isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s good business. At a moment of technologically driven upheaval, the General Catalyst CEO says leaders must bake positive social impact into a business’s soul from the start. Though Taneja and his wife are signatories of the Giving Pledge, he argues philanthropy is no longer enough. “In times like this, think deeply about your values because that’s going to be your guiding light in how you make difficult decisions,” he tells TIME.

Thanksgiving revisited: 2024 and 2025 I-70 West and Beyond - Travels Through Life; blog by Laurie Sunderland; Thanksgiving 2024 and 2025

Rediscovering purpose in the hardest moments of cancer care Medscape; by Mark A. Lewis, MD; 11/7/25 ... I'm a GI oncologist, and about a quarter of my patients have metastatic pancreatic cancer. Treat that awful disease often enough and, believe me, you start to doubt your own abilities as a supposed healer. I mean, talk about overpromising and underdelivering. ... When you judge your worth by your outcomes, especially longevity, imposter syndrome sets in like dry rot, and feelings of ineffectiveness lead to therapeutic nihilism in the very caregiver that patients look to for hope. It turns out, though, the best antidote to self-pity is right in front of me every day: my patients. ...

Ethics: Electronic Health Record (EHR) evolution AMA Journal of Ethics; Nov 2025 issue ... This theme issue investigates which kinds of work EHRs should do—and for whom—and whose interests EHRs should serve when information is entered, organized, reviewed, responded to, extracted, or amended. This issue also investigates which values should inform EHR stewardship and innovation decisions and from whose perspectives the stakes of those decisions should be framed. [Articles include: