Literature Review

5 top types of quality data hospices should be watching Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/31/25 ... To attract payers and other potential business partners, hospices should focus on tracking live discharges, levels of care and care settings, visit frequency and timeliness, patient and caregiver experience and length of stay. This is according to a new report, Measures That Matter, which was prepared by a team of hospice leaders and experts. These experts, who convened multiple times between July 2023 and December 2024, sought to identify the indicators of quality that matter most to payers and referral organizations, particularly in the context of value-based care. “The best way hospices can leverage these data is to be excellent. This is where things are moving,” Dr. Ira Byock, hospice and palliative care physician and founder of the Institute for Human Caring at Providence St. Joseph Health, told Hospice News. 

AMOREM cuts ribbon on long-awaited hospice patient care unit WataugaDemocrat.com, Boone, NC; by Abigail Eggers; 7/30/25 Boone’s long-awaited and first hospice patient care unit, AMOREM’s SECU Patient Care Unit, has officially opened. “AMOREM has long believed in the power of a hospice patient care unit. In fact, we opened North Carolina’s very first patient care unit in 1989. We’ve seen firsthand the comfort these places bring to our patients,” said April Moore, CEO of AMOREM, at the July 25 ribbon cutting. AMOREM purchased the land for the facility in January 2020. A month later, the property was annexed into the town of Boone. In October 2020, the state approved AMOREM’s request for six inpatient beds in Watauga County, and first broke ground on the property in September 2023.Editor's Note: Congratulations to AMOREM. Their January 2020 purchase plans were surely interrupted by March 2020's COVID. After breaking ground in September 2023, Hurricane Helene hit this mountain in September 2024. Having had family who lived in this area, your resilience and tenacity through especially challenging time is inspiring. 

Association releases first-ever guideline on use of blood tests to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Donna Shryer; 7/29/25 The Alzheimer’s Association has issued its first clinical practice guideline on the use of blood tests to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in people with cognitive impairment. Released at the 2025 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference this week, the guideline establishes performance thresholds that blood-based biomarker tests must meet before they can be used in specialized memory care settings. ... “This is a pivotal moment in Alzheimer’s care,” said Maria C. Carrillo, PhD, the Association’s chief science officer and a guideline co-author. “For the first time, we have a rigorously evidence-based guideline that empowers clinicians to use blood biomarker tests confidently and consistently.”

Georgia may be next for enhanced hospice oversight, regulatory affairs expert predicts McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 7/29/25 Warning, hospice providers in Georgia. Your state may be the next target for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Provisional Period of Enhanced Oversight (PPEO). “If you are from Georgia, do not be surprised if something like this comes to your town soon,” Katie Wehri, vice president of regulatory affairs, quality and compliance for the National Alliance for Care at Home, said on the closing day of the Alliance’s Financial Management Summit Tuesday. “The reason is that the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and CMS have both mentioned Georgia as an area where there’s a high number of new hospices.” Four states are currently the subject of PPEO: California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. California — and specifically Los Angeles County — has been a hotbed of hospice fraud in recent years. 

Terminally ill nursing home patients face needless ER visits, hospital stays HealthDay; by Dennis Thompson; 7/28/25 Terminally ill nursing home residents are being hounded to their graves with needless trips to the hospital, a new study says. About 80% of ER visits by terminally ill nursing home residents are potentially avoidable, researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Likewise, nearly one-third of hospitalizations among these residents were needless, the study says. Pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs) and sepsis commonly resulted in needless trips to the hospital for terminally ill patients, but better health care and management at nursing homes could have kept these people out of the hospital, researchers argue. 

Crossing Rivers Health hospice service closing after 45 yearsWGLR; by Courtney Chaffee; 7/30/25 An area hospital-based hospice service is closing. Crossing Rivers Health announced this week that it will close its hospice program effective Sept. 30. A press release states that the decision followed “a comprehensive evaluation of healthcare trends.” Crossing Rivers Health is based in Prairie du Chien and the hospice program was established in 1980. It serves patients in Crawford County and portions of Grant County in Wisconsin, as well as patients in portions of Clayton County in Iowa. The release states that Crossing Rivers Health is working with Agrace Hospice Care to help ensure continuity of care for Wisconsin hospice patients. 

Montville Township man golfs 100 holes for charity The Gazette, Montville Township, NJ; by Sara Crawford; 7/29/25 While a thick fog may have covered Fox Meadow Country Club on Monday morning, Montville Township resident Pat Spoerndle didn’t let that stop him from starting to golf at 6:30 a.m. as he played 100 holes of golf in one day as part of his annual charity event, “100 for Hospice.” In 2009, Spoerndle decided to host a one-time charitable golf outing. He set a goal of $10,000 and made plans to play 100 holes of golf within a day, all for Hospice of Medina County. “I was going to do it just the one time,” he said. “(I then) decided it would be wrong to do because we were able to raise so much money for a great organization. We just built on it every year.” Since the fundraiser’s start 17 years ago, Spoerndle has raised almost $600,000 for Hospice of Medina County. He expects to raise more than $25,000 this year, but said it’s too early to tell how much they’ve raised.

National Alliance for Care at Home hosts inaugural Financial Summit National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/30/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) successfully hosted its inaugural event, the 2025 Alliance Financial Summit, July 27-29 in Chicago, IL. The Summit brought together financial leaders from across the care at home community, with expert-led sessions, peer collaboration, and insights into market shifts and emerging technologies. More than 700 attendees and exhibitors participated in the comprehensive program, which featured keynote presentations, concurrent educational sessions, networking opportunities, awards, and celebration. ... “This first Alliance event exceeded our expectations, bringing together care at home leaders from across the nation to connect, learn, and recommit to our shared vision of an America where everyone has access to the highest quality, person-centered healthcare wherever they call home,” said Alliance CEO Dr. Steve Landers.

HopeHealth CEO on hospice, palliative care, and the future of serious illness support in Rhode Island Rhode Island PBS; by G. Wayne MIller; 7/22/25 HopeHealth President and CEO Diana Franchitto discusses her personal journey, the organization’s partnership with Brown University, caregiver and grief support services, and how HopeHealth is preparing for its 50th anniversary as a leader in compassionate end-of-life care. ... [Diana Franchitto, "Over the past half-century, HopeHealth has been a trailblazer for serious illness care. As we look to the future, we take that legacy seriously. We want our organization and our community to thrive, but we also have a role in helping the fields of hospice and palliative care thrive on a broader scale. ..."  

NCFCU grant helps CVHHH reach more patients seeking end-of-life care Vermont Business Magazine, VB Vermont; by Tim; 7/29/25 Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) has received a $5,000 grant from NorthCountry Federal Credit Union (NCFCU). The funds will be used to expand hospice and outpatient palliative care services to Central Vermonters who are seeking compassionate end-of-life care and support at home.  ... [CVHHH's] Palliative Care Consultative Service (PCCS) program was launched in 2023 to support Central Vermonters facing serious illness with one-on-one care and emotional support. 

Palmetto GBA Home Health and Hospice Coalition Meeting Minutes June 16, 2025Palmetto GBA communication; 7/22/25Hosted by Tim Rogers, President and CEO, Shannon Pointer, DNP, RN, CHPN, Senior VP, Hospice and Home Health Services and Professional Development Director, AHHC of NC and SCHCHA, this meeting included questions and answers for several regulatory topics.

Language, culture, and trust: Addressing gaps in palliative care for Hispanic patientsCAPC blog; by Rayna Ross, Brittany Chambers; 7/23/25CAPC recently released The Health Care Experience of Hispanic Patients with Serious Illness: A Literature Review. While the review outlines the challenges Hispanic patients face, we’ve also been working behind the scenes to identify ways to improve access to palliative care for this population. This new blog features insights from four community leaders who care for and represent Hispanic patients. They offer actionable recommendations for health care organizations, palliative care teams, and clinicians striving to drive meaningful change and ensure equitable access to high-quality care.