Literature Review

Hosparus Health names Becky Tooker as President Hosparus Health, Louisville, KY; Press Release; 4/20/2026 Hosparus Health, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit providers of hospice and serious illness care, has named Becky Tooker as President, effective April 6. Tooker brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in hospice, home health and post-acute care and a strong commitment to patient-centered care. Most recently Tooker served in a senior leadership role with St. Croix Hospice, where she oversees statewide operations including clinical quality, regulatory compliance and performance improvement. ... David W. Cook, CEO of Hosparus Health, said he looks forward to partnering with Tooker as the organization continues expanding services for patients and families across Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

National Alliance for Care at Home | Strategic Plan (2026-2029)National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release / email; 4/20/26 The National Alliance for Care at Home has finalized its Strategic Plan for 2026–2029. This plan is the result of deep reflection on the challenges facing care at home providers today, the opportunities we believe are ahead, and the role the Alliance must play to help you navigate both. It is organized around four commitments:

Google.org and Johnson & Johnson Foundation launch $10 million AI training program for rural U.S. healthcare workers Complete AI Training; Press Release; 4/14/26 Google.org and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation are launching a $10 million program to train rural U.S. healthcare workers to use AI tools for administrative tasks. The initiative targets operational efficiency in clinics facing chronic staffing shortages and administrative overload. ... According to the National Rural Health Association, over 130 rural hospitals have shut down since 2010, with administrative burden cited as a major factor. The new program addresses this directly by teaching healthcare workers to use AI for scheduling, patient documentation, and clinic operations. 

Hospices to face increased scrutiny under new scoring system Harris Beach Murtha Attorneys at Law; by Glenn M. Jones and Roy W. Breitenbach; 4/15/26 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans a new hospice scoring system in fiscal year 2027 . ... CMS announced the service and spending variation index (SSVI) is part of its ongoing efforts to combat fraud and strengthen program integrity. CMS said the system will increase transparency for families, ensure proper care, protect beneficiaries and support providers delivering quality end-of-life care. Details of the proposed rule can be found on the Federal Register. The agency has also published a fact sheet on the proposed rule. The SSVI score will be based on a variety of metrics CMS gathers from hospice claims, including:

I understand the need to be a responsible adult... But every day? Every single day? ~Unknown

U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means - Full committee hearing on protecting patients and taxpayers: cracking down on Medicare fraud United State House Committee on Ways & Means, Chairman Jason Smith; content below is from the US House Committee Ways & Means website, with descriptions (below) by Judi Lund Person; 4/21/26 The House Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Jason Smith (MO-08), held a hearing today [4/21] examining the prevalence of fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and efforts to combat fraud to protect patients and taxpayers. Readers have the opportunity to watch the full committee hearing on YouTube. Links are provided below.

Second-generation antipsychotics for depression in serious illness: A first-line augmentation strategyJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Gregg Robbins-Welty, Mia Pattillo, Danielle Chammas, Karolina Sadowska, Cara L McDermott, Nneka Ufere, Jason A Webb, Daniel Shalev; 3/26Depression in serious illness is common, disabling, and often requires rapid improvement. In the psychiatric literature, SGA [second-generation antipsychotics] augmentation improves response and remission rates ... , with onset of improvement within 1-2 weeks. Monotherapy is less well tolerated and not guideline-recommended. No RCTs have evaluated SGAs specifically for depression in serious illness, but numerous cancer trials support their safety for nausea, appetite, and other symptoms. Despite the absence of serious illness-specific psychiatric trials, SGAs have the strongest evidence base among augmentation options and may offer meaningful benefits when prognosis or symptom severity necessitates rapid improvement. Low-dose augmentation should be considered early, rather than only after multiple failed antidepressants, particularly when SGAs can also target co-occurring physical symptoms relevant to palliative care.

[Greece] Tele-palliative care in rural areas, implementation and patient experiences: A systematic reviewAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine; by Athanasios Pitis, Maria Nikoloudi, Kyriaki Mystakidou; 3/26Specialist palliative care remains highly uneven in rural and remote settings for patients with life-limiting illness and their families. This review aimed to examine the implementation characteristics, clinical and service-level outcomes, and patient experiences of tele-palliative care interventions for individuals living in rural or remote settings with limited access to specialist palliative care. Conclusions: Tele-palliative care can extend specialist palliative care to rural and remote communities by reducing travel burden and supporting continuity, particularly when delivered through hybrid models embedded in local care pathways. 

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