Literature Review

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

‘Part of the deal’: Essential workers brave storm as authorities urge residents to stay home GBH News; by Jeremy Siegel and Marilyn Schairer; 2/23/26 [Note the date] Massachusetts is under a state of emergency, but that isn’t stopping essential workers from braving whiteout conditions and hurricane-force winds today. A powerful Nor’easter is expected to blanket the region with up to 2 feet of snow. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has urged all residents to stay home if possible. Flights and Amtrak trains have largely ground to a halt, and hundreds of thousands of households have lost power. Early this morning, though, hundreds of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals still trudged through the dense snow. ... [Click here for "Final town-by-town snow totals: Here's what fell in Mass. during the Feb. 23 blizzard."]Editor's Note: Bravo to all hospice essential workers who braved the storm to tend patients and their caregivers. So, what happens when a blizzard collides with a person actively dying?  Think it through. Family desparately tries to get there? The person dies? Neither your teams nor the funeral home rep can get to the home? Think it through and prepare, now:

As more states legalize assisted suicide, boomers contemplate end-of-life choices The Washington Post; 2/24/26 While polling has shown that a majority of Americans favor the legality of the practice for terminally ill patients, people are more split on the morality. [Access may be limited per paywall.]

Hospital chaplain shares what end-of-life patients regret most Religion Unplugged; by Elizabeth Eisenstadt Evans; 2/24/26 ... In her research focused on the greater Boston area, Brandeis University professor (now President of Bryn Mawr College) Wendy Cadge found that many chaplains — whether they serve in hospitals, prisons or the military — often focus on end-of-life care and “big questions,” ones that might arise more forcefully in a time of crisis. ... When I’m with people near the end of their lives, what I most often witness is not fear of death itself, but grief over unfinished relationships and or unexpressed parts of the self. Many people grieve time they now see as wasted on what felt urgent in the moment but unimportant in hindsight — work that eclipsed connection, worry that crowded out presence, obligations that pulled them away from what actually nourished them. Alongside this is grief for words left unsaid, tenderness withheld, and versions of themselves they didn’t feel permitted to become.

Hollywood Health System, Inc. announces major expansion of palliative care services amid record demand The America Watch, Toluca, CA; Press Release; 2/20/26 Hollywood Health System, Inc. (HHS), a leading provider of comprehensive post-acute clinical care, today announced a significant increase in patient enrollment within its Palliative Care Services division. To meet this rising demand due to shifting demographics, the company is methodically expanding its clinical staffing and specialized resources, reinforcing its commitment to high-quality supportive care. ... To support the growing patient census, Hollywood Health System, Inc. has increased its clinical headcount by 25% over the last two quarters. 

Vinyl therapy brings comfort to Dell Seton patients through music and memories ABC KVUE, Austin, TX; by Michael Courier; 2/23/26 At Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, palliative care physician Dr. Tyler Jorgensen rolls a record player on a cart into patients’ rooms, along with an ever‑growing library of vinyl records. The bedside music program, called ATX‑VINyL, is designed for patients facing serious or terminal diagnoses, from metastatic cancer to advancing dementia and Parkinson’s disease. In palliative medicine, Jorgensen describes his team as an “extra layer of support” that focuses on a patient’s values, stories and goals while managing symptoms and navigating difficult treatment decisions.

‘I just wanted them not to suffer’: Should terminally ill Ohioans be able to decide when it’s time to die? The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH; by Mary Frances McGowna; 2/22/26 In a growing number of states, terminally ill patients now have a legal option that would have been unthinkable to many Americans a generation ago: a doctor’s prescription that allows them to end their own life. The question is one of the most personal in modern health policy: Should a mentally competent, terminally ill person be allowed — with state approval and medical oversight — to choose the timing of their death? ... The debate is accelerating — and it’s reaching closer to Ohio. cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer will publish a continuing series involving the multitude of issues involving end-of-life decisions, including hospice care, the costs of care for the terminally ill, ethics, legal issues and more. If you’ve experienced these issues in your family and are willing to discuss your experiences and thoughts, please email Mary Frances McGowan at mmcgowan@cleveland.com.

Co-designing a framework to communicate patient-centred outcomes in palliative care: involving patients and the public to reframe understanding Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes; by Mevhibe B Hocaoglu, Adejoke Oluyase, Deb Smith, Rashmi Kumar, Sarah Perman, Matthew Maddocks, Sian Best, Chloe Nast, Sabrina Bajwah, Katherine E Sleeman, Irene J Higginson; 2/21/26 online ahead of print Conclusions: This study found that communication of patient-centred outcomes and Patient-Reported outcome (PRO) evidence can be strengthened through meaningful patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE). This approach helps to reframe public understanding of palliative care, highlighting its broader relevance beyond end-of-life settings. While developed in the context of palliative care, the framework offers transferable strategies for communicating complex outcomes in other often misunderstood or stigmatised areas, such as mental health and dementia care.

Lawyer explains why everyone should do 'mandatory hospice volunteering' when they turn 18 Upworthy; by Heather Wake; 2/20/26 In a recent, thought-provoking episode of the Impact Theory podcast with Tom Bilyeu, renowned divorce attorney and author James Sexton shared how being a hospice volunteer drastically changed his perspective on life. "I think when you turn 18, you should have to do a year or two of mandatory hospice volunteering," Sexton said. "It changed my entire way of viewing the world."

Doing everything FOR the patient, not TO the patient HIStalk - Healthcare IT News & Opinion; by Nassib Charmoun; 2/23/26 “Do as much as possible for the patient and as little as possible to the patient.” That single sentence, written by Bernard Lown, MD in “The Lost Art of Healing,” should serve as a universal guide to thinking about medicine, caregiving, and what it truly means to heal. Dr. Lown was my mentor beginning in my early 20s and remained a close friend until his death in 2021 at age 99, He was decades ahead of his time. He believed that medicine should integrate scientific rigor with moral imagination, and that clinical excellence without compassion is incomplete care. ... Increasingly, the evidence suggests that quality of life, not simply quantity of life, must be the defining outcome.

A multidimensional narrative review of disparities in hospice care use American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Komal Patel Murali, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, Gwenneth Wang, BS, Daniella Torres, BA, Laura Tycon Moreines, MSN, RN, Abraham A. Brody, PhD, RN, FAAN, Karen Bullock, PhD, LCSW, and Leah V. Estrada, PhD, RN; 2/19/26  ... Findings: Guided by the Social Ecological Model, the objectives of this narrative review are to (a) discuss disparities in hospice care use, (b) explore multidimensional levels and factors contributing to such disparities, and (c) outline implications and imperatives for improving access to and use of hospice care. ... System-level solutions include integrating hospice referrals into routine care workflows, improving hospice-related policies, strengthening partnerships with community organizations, and transitional care research. Clinicians are uniquely positioned to identify care preferences, advocate for timely referrals and support the hospice transition, and build trust with patients and families at the end of life.

Stolen ambulance crashes into Meridian medical building. What is Portico North? Idaho Statesman, Meridian, ID; by Hali Smith; 2/19/26 Offices in a Meridian medical building were closed Thursday after a stolen ambulance smashed into the six-story structure. The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m. Thursday at the Portico North building at the southeast corner of Eagle and Franklin roads. ... Portico North is owned by St. Luke’s Health System, whose Meridian hospital is one block to the south. ... “There is no clinical patient care provided in the Portico North building,” Myron told the Statesman. The site functions as a workspace for a health insurance company as well as St. Luke’s hospice care providers and home health teams.