Literature Review

Chico nurses at Enloe Health to hold rally to protest closure of home health and hospice units National Nurses United; Press Release by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United; 10/1/25 ... Nurses are calling on the hospital to protect the health of some of Chico’s most vulnerable patients and maintain the essential services and end-of-life care provided by these units.  “For years, Enloe hospice stood alone in providing care for underserved Medi-Cal patients and for our youngest, most fragile patients—children at the end of life,” said Ruby Khoury, registered nurse in the hospice unit. “A vital, compassionate service is being taken away, and a hospital that once led with dignity and inclusivity in hospice care now faces a painful void. We nurses demand that the home health and hospice units remain open. Otherwise, the most vulnerable will suffer first: children, Medi-Cal patients, families without resources.”

Shutdown places brakes on hospital-at-home, sending hundreds back to strained hospitals McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy and Liza Berger; 10/1/25The shutdown of the federal government Wednesday has brought the hospital-at-home program to a screeching halt, resulting in hundreds of patients being discharged from the program or sent to hospitals for continuation of care, stressing an already-taxed healthcare system, providers disclosed to McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. ... Several weeks ago, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instructed hospital-at-home programs to discharge or return patients to the hospital as of Tuesday. CMS also said it no longer would accept waiver requests for participation in the AHCaH initiative after Sept. 1, 2025. Late Wednesday, CMS announced that it will allow up to 60 days of noncompliance with the AHCaH waiver. 

Sought-after physician specialty roles are taking longer to fill Modern Healthcare; by Tim Broderick; 9/24/25 The time it took to fill open positions for the most sought-after physician specialties increased to almost five months in 2024, according to new research. The nonprofit Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment, with research firm Industry Insights, examined 2024 data from more than 15,000 searches of the association’s site, 61% of which were related to physician searches. ... The analysis found the estimated median days to fill the selected jobs increased by 11.5%, to 145 days in 2024 from 130 days in 2023. Oncology positions were the hardest to fill, at an estimated median of 332 days. Cardiology positions followed with an estimated median of 248 days to fill. [Access to the full article might be limited per a paywall.] Editor's Note: Oncology and cardiology are now the two hardest physician specialties to fill. This matters for hospice care because, according to NHPCO’s Facts and Figures 2024, cancer and circulatory diseases join Alzheimer’s and other nervous system disorders as the top three hospice diagnoses—together representing nearly three-fourths of all admissions. Delays in recruiting oncologists and cardiologists risk postponing timely palliative and hospice referrals. Newly hired specialists in these fields also need focused training—and intentional relationship-building with hospice teams—to ensure patients and families receive seamless, compassionate care.

The CMS activities that will, won’t continue during the shutdown Becker's Hospital Review; by Andrew Cass; 10/2/25 CMS has outlined the activities that will and won’t continue during the federal government shutdown. The federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to reach a spending deal. CMS is retaining 53% of its staff, 3,311 employees, during the shutdown. Here is what the agency said will and won’t continue during a lapse in appropriations: ... Editor's Note: While this article is for the broader healthcare community, we posted extensive hospice-specific information for you in yesterday's issue, Government shutdown impact on telehealth for hospice and palliative care providers, by Judi Lund Person. Click here to download her complete PDF report.  

Human judgment: The magic ingredient for making AI work across aging services disciplines McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Marselas; 9/29/25 From tackling a scabies outbreak in a long-term care facility to scheduling shifts and helping write plans of correction that satisfy regulators, a range of aging services providers are eagerly already putting artificial intelligence to work. But what is it not doing for them? Taking the place of human staff members, their workplace knowledge or their clinical judgment. That was a resounding takeaway of a recent McKnight’s Tech Summit webinar exploring how AI technologies are supporting care teams role by role. 

Ethics of disclosure in pediatric end-of-life care American Nurse; by Adrianna Watson, PhD, RN, CCRN, TCRN, and Rachel Clement, BSN, RN; 9/30/25 An ethical case study analysis Takeaways:

Nevada hospital wins half-billion fraud verdict against Universal Health Services Reno Gazette Journal; by Jason Hidalgo; 9/29/25, updated 9/30/25 Saint Mary’s Health Network earned a big win in court after a jury awarded it half a billion dollars in its case against Universal Health Services. A jury in Washoe County awarded the Prime Healthcare affiliate $510 million after it found Universal Health Services liable for fraud against Saint Mary’s during the COVID-19 pandemic. The verdict included punitive damages. "This verdict affirms that the weaponization of corporate power, betrayal of physician trust, theft of proprietary information, and reckless endangerment of patients will not be tolerated,” said Saint Mary’s Health Network CEO Derrick Glum in a statement. “The verdict restores justice and allows our hospital’s mission to serve our community with compassion and dignity to endure.”

Strengthening mental health literacy enhances job well-being in palliative care Oncology Nures Advisor; by Megan Garlapow, PhD; 10/1/25 Positive mental health literacy (PMeHL) significantly improved job well-being among palliative care nurses, with job crafting acting as a partial mediator in this relationship, according to a study published in BMC Psychology. These results highlight the importance of psychological resources and proactive role adjustments for supporting nurses working in high-stress palliative care settings.Editor's Note: "Job crafting" is the process by which employees actively shape and redefine their roles to enhance job satisfaction, engagement, and meaning in their work. 

Home health industry welcomes CMS’ repeal of nursing home staffing mandate Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 9/20/25 Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) drafted a rule that would repeal the federal staffing mandate for nursing homes – a move that would send ripple effects through the home health industry. The rule was controversial among nursing home operators, but it also received pushback from home health providers who were concerned that the mandate would lead to further staffing scarcity. “The repeal is positive for home health agencies,” Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations and policy at LeadingAge, told HHCN in an email. 

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

[Portugal] End-of-life care in the prison environment (supplement #22) ehospice, republished from by Portual Plus; 9/25/25 “Inmates who are dependent on assistance have a significant need for help from fellow prisoners,” stated Manuel Almeida dos Santos, secretary-general of the Obra Vicentina de Auxílio aos Reclusos (OVAR) [i.e., St. Vincent de Paul Work to Aid Prisoners], citing the lack of nursing aides and other professionals within prisons. “The shortage of human resources is not limited to prison guards. The deficiencies in prisons are even greater in other areas,” he argued. This concern was echoed by Vítor Ilharco, president of the Associação Portuguesa de Apoio ao Recluso [i.e., Portuguese Association for Prisoner Support], who mentioned cases of sick or elderly inmates who are bedridden, with their families paying “fixed amounts” to other inmates for assistance. Editor's Note: Log in to your newsletter account, type "prison" in the "Search" field, and compare this with many articles we've published on this topic; notably, "IL law calls for annual report on prison hospice, palliative care" and "Death and redemption in an American prison."