Literature Review

Health systems spend millions to reduce workplace violence Modern Healthcare; by Caroline Hudson; 4/14/25 Health systems are spending millions of dollars ramping up security measures at their facilities to protect patients and staff. Many systems are hiring more officers, implementing weapons detection screenings and updating communication protocols. Executives said these efforts are a response to an uptick in workplace violence over the past several years, ranging from assaults on staff members to sexually aggressive comments and shootings. ... [A] 2022 report from the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing said workplace violence costs the U.S. approximately $151 billion per year, with most incidents occurring in healthcare and social services.

Community Catalyst leads national response against new rule that threatens health care access Community Catalyst, Boston, MA; by Jack Cardinal; 4/11/25 Today, Community Catalyst organized hundreds of local, state and national partners to submit comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opposing a new proposed rule from the Trump administration that would make it harder and more expensive for people to buy their own insurance on Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces and increase their medical debt. ... The administration’s own estimates suggest that as many as 2 million people will lose their coverage under this proposal, ...

ECHO Health gifts $5 million to Quality of Life Campaign; Center for Community Engagement to be name Hospice of the Western Reserve, Cleveland, OH; Press Release; 4/10/25 Hospice of the Western Reserve has received a historic $5 million gift to its Quality of Life capital campaign from ECHO Health, the Westlake-based company founded by the late Bill Davis. This transformative contribution, the largest single gift in the organization’s history, will accelerate the completion of its new Hospice Care & Community Center on Cleveland’s Lake Erie shore. ... In recognition of this gift, the facility’s Center for Community Engagement will be named in honor of Bill Davis. 

It's April 15, tax day. The federal tax code is over 74,000 pages long. But stick with it because after page 72,000, it gets really good. ~ Conan O'Brien

Closing the gap in end-of life care coverage: The role of nonprofits in policy advocacy Forbes; by James Dismond; 4/14/25... As the demand for end-of-life care grows, so will the gap between the care that patients need and what they receive. ... Workforce shortages, restrictive regulations, outdated reimbursement models and misconceptions around hospice services are keeping millions of Americans from accessing quality hospice and palliative care services. ... These barriers disproportionately affect low-income families, rural communities and communities of color. ... Unlike for-profit entities, we can prioritize community needs over shareholders. We can prioritize patient well-being over profits—or, to say it more directly, we put people over profits. And I’ve seen firsthand how advocacy can drive progress. Nonprofits must engage in:

One of Deserae Turner’s last wishes comes true as family, friends hold small horse show in her honor ABC-4 KTVX, Cache Valley, UT; by Trevor Myers; 4/12/25 For six years, Deserae Turner rode horses and competed in shows alongside her siblings. In 2017, things changed after Deserae was shot in the head and began her journey of recovery. ... Deserae and her family had not been to another horse show since she was shot — that is, until Saturday, April 12. After a recent health complication, Deserae decided to enter hospice care, and one of her last wishes was to ride a horse and see a horse show again.

National Alliance for Care at Home responds to the FY 2026 Hospice Proposed Rule National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandira, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 4/11/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement [Fri 4/11] in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Hospice Wage Index proposed rule, which proposes payment and regulatory updates under the Medicare hospice benefit. The proposed 2.4% payment update fails to adequately address the mounting financial pressures facing hospices nationwide. With escalating operational costs driven by inflation, workforce shortages, and rising expenses for supplies and services, the proposed payment increase would threaten the ability of hospices to sustainably provide quality end-of-life care. “The proposed payment update for FY 2026 falls short of what is needed to sustain high-quality hospice care,” said Dr. Steve Landers, CEO of the Alliance. “Without meaningful adjustments, hospices across the country will face serious challenges—jeopardizing access to care for terminally ill patients and placing added strain on families already facing the unimaginable. ..."

Karen Rubel of Nathan Adelson Hospice announces transition to President of Chapters Health West; Lori Townsend named as new Executive Director of the Las Vegas-based nonprofit hospice Nevada Business; by Nathan Adelson Hospice; 4/11/25 Nathan Adelson Hospice, the leader in hospice and palliative care in southern Nevada, and its Board of Trustees announced today that President and CEO Karen Rubel has transitioned to become President of Chapters Health West, a newly launched division of Chapters Health System. As her new role gets underway, Nathan Adelson Hospice’s current Chief Nursing Officer Lori Townsend has been promoted to Executive Director of Nathan Adelson Hospice.

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. ~Jim Valvano, NC State University basketball coach

[NY] Legislature passes bill banning new for-profit hospicesThe New York State Senate; by Sen. Liz Krueger; 4/9/25Today, the State Senate passed S.3437, carried by Senator Liz Krueger, a bill that would be ban new for-profit hospices in New York State. The bill, carried in the Assembly by Assembly Member Amy Paulin, passed that house on March 26th... I urge Governor Hochul to sign this bill."... S. 3437, which was previously vetoed by Governor Hochul in 2022, would prohibit the approval of new applications for the establishment, construction or increased capacity of for-profit hospice entities. New York is uniquely situated to prevent the deterioration of end-of-life care described above, as currently only two of 41 hospices in New York are for-profit, compared to a national average of two-thirds as of 2017.

ELNEC: Founded so that no nurse feels at a loss at the bedsideIAHPC; by Judith Paice; 4/10/25Imagine being a nurse at the bedside of a patient with serious illness and feeling very unprepared to deliver quality palliative care. Although improving, professional education continues to emphasize technology and curative procedures, with less information presented about the care needed for those with advanced disease. Through the vision of Dr. Betty Ferrell more than 25 years ago, the End-of-Life Nursing Consortium (ELNEC) was established to meet this need.

New Mexico passes nation’s first legislature-driven psilocybin access actPsychedelic Alpha; 4/8/25Yesterday, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed SB 219, the Medical Psilocybin Act, which will establish the third state-legal psilocybin access system in the US. In simple terms, the Act creates a framework through which patients with qualifying conditions can access and use non-synthetic psilocybin through consultation with a licensed healthcare provider. Qualifying conditions, according to the bill, are ‘major treatment-resistant depression’, PTSD, substance use disorders and end-of-life care, as well as other conditions that the department might approve. While Oregon and Colorado’s state-legal psilocybin programs were the product of popular ballot measures, New Mexico’s is the first to be mandated by the state’s legislature.

Three things Florida’s family caregivers need right nowTampa Bay Times; by Marvell Adams, Jr.; 4/9/25With Florida having one of the highest senior populations, there is a critical need for comprehensive hospice care. Caring for a loved one with a serious illness is one of the most difficult experiences a family faces. In today’s complex healthcare environment, several key factors can help alleviate the burden of caring for loved ones at home.