Literature Review

Hospice home for veterans named after philanthropist in Nevada Audacy.com - Connecting Vets; by Julia DeDoux; 9/22/25 A Reno, Nevada-based nonprofit dedicated to ensuring veterans have access to the medical care they need has named its newly opened hospice home in honor of a philanthropist whose gifts have been critical to its efforts. Veterans Guest House said the facility, which opened in June, will be known as the Cynthia Lake House. Lake has been instrumental in expanding access to both medical and end-of-life care for veterans across northern Nevada. In 2022, she founded Veterans Guest House’s Patient Advocacy Program, which connects veterans with transportation, post-operative care, and personal support. The impact of the program inspired Lake to scale the vision to 24/7 personalized care, making the hospice house possible.

Driving innovation: Healthsperien launches Center for Health Research, Policy & Strategy led by seasoned experts  PR Newswire, Washginton, DC; by Healthsperien; 9/23/25 Healthsperien announces the official launch of its Center for Health Research, Policy & Strategy, marking the third in a series of new Centers of Expertise designed to provide clients with specialized, high-quality services and reinforce Healthsperien as a comprehensive partner and integrated hub for health policy, government relations, and research strategies. ... The Center will be led by Dianne Munevar, Partner, who joins Healthsperien after serving as Vice President of Health Care Strategy at NORC at the University of Chicago. She will lead a seasoned team of 5 research, policy, and strategy experts, who also come from NORC at the University of Chicago, ...

Study provides new insight into loneliness among home care recipients McKnights Home Care; by Paul Katz, MD and Barbara Resnick, PhD; 9/22/25 ... A team of international Investigators, led by researchers at the University of Waterloo, recently reported on the link between loneliness and mortality among home care recipients in Canada, Finland and New Zealand. The study can be found in the July issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (Vol 26 (7) 105687 July 2025). ... Home care recipients may be more prone to loneliness, given mobility and sensory problems that limit engagement in the community.  ... Interestingly, investigators noted that individuals with less informal care had the highest rates of loneliness. An explanation may be that those with less complex health needs requiring  less support from family members may lead to more social isolation.

‘Churning’ hospice patients yields no significant financial benefits, study find McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 9/22/25 Hospices that try to game Medicare payment rules by “churning” patients are producing negligible financial benefits, according to a new study published in the Journal of Public Economics. Researchers used Medicare hospice claims data from 2000 to 2019 to identify instances of providers churning patients. “Churning” refers to the practice of rapidly enrolling and discharging beneficiaries as a means of undercutting Medicare payment caps. ... For FY 2026, the hospice cap amount is $35,361.44, an increase of 2.6% from FY 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in the hospice final rule. ... Hospices may try to “game” the system by rapidly enrolling and discharging patients to raise their payment cap, the researchers noted. ... Previous research has indicated that churning may be associated with worse end-of-life outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries, researchers noted. 

Enhancing hospice care: St. Gabriel's Joins LifeCare family Investors Hangout; by Caleb Price; 9/23/25 St. Gabriel's Hospice & Palliative Care has officially become part of the LifeCare Home Health (LCHH) family, a significant step in strengthening hospice care across Texas. This collaboration aligns with LifeCare's ongoing mission to expand its hospice offerings, particularly after the recent acquisitions of Fairmont Hospice and Valley Hospice. ... Founded by healthcare executive Chris Cain, St. Gabriel's Hospice has been dedicated to providing compassionate end-of-life care since 2012. The agency proudly serves approximately 300 patients with a devoted team of over 200 professionals. 

55% of healthcare workers plan to change roles within 1 year: Survey Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 9/15/25 More than half of U.S. healthcare workers plan to change roles in the next year, according to a recent survey from Strategic Education. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they plan to search for job openings, interview for new positions or switch roles within a year — either within their current organization (38%) or externally (40%). ... Here are 11 things to know from the survey:

Noel: Life events bring clarity to the truth about change Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, IA; by Lavonne Noel, Executive Director for Hospice of Dubuque; 9/21/25 When my children were young, they enjoyed the “Where’s Waldo” books. ... Like us, Waldo finds himself in a complex, dynamic world. The reader is challenged with finding Waldo hiding somewhere amid the chaos. ... [Lavonne uses the Waldo metaphor to describe her recent mid-March to early-July leave of absence, due to her new grandbaby's medical needs and her own hip replacement/recovery. She describe the following about this time away.] ...  My thoughts frequently centered on these three truths:

[Canada] Availability of respite care almost triples a palliative care patient’s chance of dying at home EurekAlert! - AAAS; News Release by McGill University; 9/22/25 Access to respite services for family caregivers increases a palliative care patient’s probability of dying at home almost threefold, according to a McGill University-led study. Previous surveys suggest most Canadians with a serious illness would prefer to spend the end of their lives at home. ... Funded by Quebec’s health ministry as part of its action plan for equitable access to quality palliative and end-of-life care, the study set out to find which factors matter most in helping patients avoid a transfer to a hospital or palliative care centre in their final days. Respite care – professional help that allows family caregivers to take short breaks –emerged as the strongest predictor, with patients 2.7 times more likely to die at home when it was available.

[Canada] Huron Shores Hospice host record breaking Handbags for Hospice fundraiser [$284k]CKNX NewsToday.ca; by Ryan Drury; 9/22/25 ... The now annual event in its ninth year raises money for compassionate end-of-life care at Huron Shores Hospice. This year's event was held on September 18 and Huron Shores Hospice shared in a media release that a new fundraising record of $248,000 was set. Huron Shores Hospice Executive Director Cathy Herbert began the evening's speeches by thanking everyone for making the night happen and continuing to support the hospice and its role in the community. All the funds raised will support Huron Shores Hospice’s mission ...

Community turns out for Banner's Senior ExposCleveland Daily Banner, Cleveland, TN; by Will Bublitz; 9/19/25 Hundreds of seniors enjoyed the food, door prizes, free samples and information to improve their lives during the Living 55Plus Senior Expo, held Thursday in Wacker Commons at the PIE Innovation Center in Cleveland. This was the sixth year for this popular and free event sponsored by the Cleveland Daily Banner. It was co-sponsored by Bradley Medical Center, Cleveland Utilities, Garden Plaza of Cleveland, Ahlberg Audiology, Companion Funeral Homes and Life Care Center of Cleveland. "The 2025 55Plus Senior Expo was the best expo thus far, with the most vendors and attendees yet," said Joyce Taylor, publisher of the Cleveland Daily Banner. [Vendors included, but were not limited to Adoration Hospice, Hearth Hospice,  and Hospice of Chattanooga.]

Let us all be the leaders we wish we had. ~ Simon Sinek

Early palliative care intervention improves end-of-life care in ovarian cancer Medscape; by Maurie Markman, MD; 9/18/25 ... This particular study asked an important question: Is there a relationship between that timing when palliative care is introduced to the ultimate end-of-life aggressiveness of care (emergency room use, use of intensive care, and hospitalization)? ... The outcome was timing, or introduction, of palliative care with emergency room use, hospitalization, and intensive care use within the last 30 days of life and chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life, as well as the risk of death occurring in the hospital.  ... The investigators found that any palliative care or any use of a palliative care physician called in as a consult earlier than 3 months before the death was associated with a lower risk of aggressive end-of-life care. 

COUNTDOWN: 8 Days Until HOPE Tool Starts, October 1, 2025