Literature Review

At Hospice Austin’s summer camp, kids find joy together after experiencing loss KUT 90.5, Austin, TX; by Olivia Aldridge; 6/29/26 On a Friday in mid-June, middle school-aged kids lined up for their shot at a summer camp rite of passage: the infamous high ropes course at John Knox Ranch in Fischer, Texas. The ranch hosts Camp Brave Heart, Hospice Austin’s annual camp for kids and teens who have experienced loss. 13-year-old Alisa bravely stepped up to the challenge first. Soon enough, she was strapped into a harness, inching along ropes strung 30 feet in the air. “You are rocking this!” the counselor belaying her from the ground yelled as Alisa neared the end of the course. “Take a second — you want to look at the view?”

Burke County hospice provider responds to national concerns over hospice industry The Paper, Morganton, NC; by Allen VanNoppen; 5/16/26 As questions continue nationwide about hospice oversight and Medicare abuse, leaders at Burke County’s AMOREM say nonprofit hospice providers offer a different model centered on community care rather than profits. AMOREM emphasized the distinction between nonprofit and for-profit hospice organizations, arguing that ownership structure directly affects patient care and family experience at the end of life, the nonprofit’s leaders said. The statement comes amid increased national attention on reports of misuse of the Medicare Hospice Benefit in some parts of the country. 

1776-1786: 250 Years - A History of CareHospice & Palliative Care Today; by Joy Berger; for 6/10/26Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

The impact of educational interventions on nursing students' attitudes towards end-of-life care: a cross-sectional study Nursing Open; by Mayra Veronese and Cristiana Rago; 6/28/26 Aim: To evaluate nursing students' attitudes towards end-of-life care and assess the impact of an elective educational course on shaping these attitudes. Implications for the Profession: Although nursing students exhibited generally positive attitudes towards end-of-life care, theoretical instruction alone proved insufficient to significantly enhance their preparedness for palliative care practice. These findings have direct implications for nursing education and clinical care quality: integrating comprehensive, experiential palliative care education throughout nursing curricula, ...

Compassus, Providence Execs: greater transparency needed on hospice quality Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/29/26 Greater transparency around hospice quality could help counter eroding trust among the public due to widespread fraud, according to executives from the home health and hospice provider Compassus and the Providence Health System. ... “We’ve got a big narrative about fraud and to use that that should, and probably does, engender fear in the average person who is not working in the industry,” Compassus CEO Mike Asselta told Hospice News. “Can I trust the provider if this industry is fraught with abuse? Am I going to be on the receiving end of that abuse? Just that narrative by itself could have a chilling effect on beneficiaries and families who otherwise need hospice.”

HMN 2026: How AI in nursing raises questions about safety, ethics, and human care Health Medicine Network; by University of Pennsylvania, George Demiris et al; 6/26/26 As artificial intelligence systems spread through hospitals and clinics, a growing debate is emerging over whether the technology will ultimately strengthen nursing care—or gradually replace parts of it. That tension is at the center of a new University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing report, “Artificial Intelligence and Nursing Science: Opportunities, Challenges, Implications, and Guidelines,” published in Nursing Outlook. The paper warns that while AI could reduce paperwork and improve patient monitoring, it also raises concerns about bias, accountability, patient privacy and whether hospitals may view some nursing functions as replaceable.

My parents moved in with us before my dad got sick. It made all the difference when he passed. Business Insider; by Justin Murphy; 6/27/26

New Day CEO Kathy Poland pumps brakes on acquisitions, prioritizes operations Home Health Care News; by MK Manoylov; 6/29/26 With 16 acquisitions since 2020, New Day is shifting focus from aggressive M&A activity toward tighter operational discipline. That’s the strategy of Kathy Poland, who stepped in as interim CEO following the death of New Day’s G. Scott Herman in February. She became permanent CEO on June 18, after serving as the firm’s chief operating officer for over four years. ... Poland spoke with Home Health Care News to discuss her transition into permanent CEO, what difficulties she sees in the forthcoming year, New Day’s growth strategies and what she’s learned as a health care industry veteran for the past 25 years.

Medicare pushes end-of-life discussions in hospitalsAXIOS; by Maya Goldman; 6/29/26The Trump administration wants to formalize the process for recording whether Medicare patients want to be kept alive if they become incapacitated. Why it matters: Health providers have been required to ask about living wills and other "advance directives" since the early 1990s. But the questions are often skipped - or become a box-check in the admissions process. Only about a third of U.S. adults have documented their end-of-life care wishes. More consultations could reduce costly life-extending treatments that patients don't really want.Driving the news: The administration is proposing that hospitals begin reporting adult patients' preferences for end-of-life care in electronic health records starting in 2028.

Sunday newsletters focus on headlines and top read stories of the last week (in order) - enjoy!

Aroostook House of Comfort hosts 13th Annual Golf Classic  Pulse, Presque Isle, ME; 6/28/26 The Aroostook Hospice Foundation proudly hosted its 13th Annual Golf Classic on Saturday, June 20 at the Presque Isle Country Club, raising approximately $96,000 to support the Aroostook House of Comfort. The tournament brought together an incredible show of community support, with 161 sponsors, 45 teams, 38 raffle and prize donors, 13 in-kind donors and 31 volunteers helping make this year’s event another tremendous success.

O&I Subcommittee holds hearing with state Medicaid directors as part of committee’s extensive probe into Medicaid programs nationwide U.S. Energy & Commerce, Chairman Brett Guthrie, Washington, DC; Press Release; 6/25/26 [On Thursday June 25th], Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led a hearing titled State Medicaid Program Integrity: Examining Fraud Risks and Oversight Deficiencies. “Let me be clear: fraud is not isolated to these states. As we discussed in two previous hearings before this Subcommittee, Medicaid fraud is a real problem. It happens in every single state, red and blue, and has been harming patients and draining taxpayer resources for decades,” said Chairman Joyce. “It is no longer sufficient to do the bare minimum. States must rise to the occasion and tackle fraud head-on. Our Medicaid program and the patients that rely on it to be healthy depend on it.”Watch the full hearing here.