Literature Review

Duxbury, Norwell groups have rebranded. Why the name changes? The Patriot Ledger, Su Cheible; 3/3/26 I recently learned that the former Norwell Visiting Nurse Association (NVNA) and Hospice had in December taken a new name, Croí Health. Croí is an Irish word for heart, chosen to reflect the agency's patient-centered mission. I also noticed that the Duxbury Senior Center is now called The Center, has a tag line: "Live Well. Age Strong." It also notes that it is "still powered by the Duxbury Council on Aging." Its newsletter has a stylish new design and name, The Current, replacing the former name Duxbury Doings. ... Why senior centers are changing their names: In their names and their branding, the centers are switching to what they see as more active, more inclusive and more modern ideas. It is described as part of being age friendly, attracting younger seniors and moving away from negative associations and stigma still attached to growing older.

Themed digest for palliative care professionals: Spiritual support for children ehospice | PACED; February 2026 Spiritual support remains one of the most complex and, at the same time, most essential elements of palliative care. In the February PACED digest, we present articles exploring the integration of spiritual care into nursing practice, families’ experiences in paediatric palliative care, and the role of professionals in discussing end-of-life issues with children and adolescents. This issue includes materials on professional competencies, system-level recommendations, and parents’ lived experiences. Together, they offer insight into how spiritual and value-based questions shape clinical practice and influence the quality of support provided to families. ...

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment to improve the world. ~ Anne Frank

Outpatient curricular content for hospice and palliative medicine trainees: A national survey Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Harry J Han, Angelika Golebiowska, Emily N Hansen, Michelle Park, Victoria I Sweetnam, Christian T Sinclair, Jonathan C Yeh, Mary K Buss; 3/2/26, online ahead of print Context: More health systems are establishing outpatient palliative care (PC) programs, increasing demand for ambulatory PC clinicians. ... Little is known about the outpatient-specific knowledge and skills PC trainees should acquire for competent outpatient practice. Conclusion: This national survey identified foundational outpatient-focused educational topics for hospice and pallitive medical (HPM) learners and suggests that outpatient curricula prioritize deliberate education on the unique application of core PC skills in outpatient settings. This prioritized list provides education leaders a roadmap to enhance existing curricula and informs the development of outpatient educational resources that can be shared across institutions.

Responsive emergency assessment and community team: an acute palliative medicine virtual ward with emergency department in-reach BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care; by Emily Holdsworth and Clare Rayment; 3/2/26 Objectives: More than 50% of people who die in England and Wales use an ambulance at least once in their last 3 months of life, and around 50% attend the emergency department (ED). In Bradford, an estimated 1000 patients a year are not recognised as being within the last year of life and do not access palliative care services. ... Methods: We created the Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team (REACT), comprised of both ED palliative medicine in-reach and a community virtual ward. The virtual ward accepts patients as ‘step-down’ from the hospital and ‘step-up’ from primary care to avoid hospital admissions through intensive holistic support.

UVM Home Health & Hospice volunteers among the longest serving in the nation Vermont Business Magazine | The University of Vermont Health Network - Home Health & Hospice; by Tim; 3/3/26 Among the longest‑serving hospice volunteers in the nation, Charlotte Kenney, Jan Watt and Lil Venner have each devoted more than 45 years to UVM Health – Home Health & Hospice because, they say, helping patients and their families make the most of the time they have left of this earth is a privilege, rooted in grace and connection. The notion that hospice work is defined by sorrow, is rejected by all three dedicated volunteers. "What I'm doing is enabling this person to live fully until the very last second," says Kenney. ... Venner adds, "You see the world differently when you're looking through the eyes of somebody who may be seeing this particular thing for the last time." Editor's Note: We celebrate these devoted hospice volunteers at UVM Health Network – Home Health & Hospice. Together, Charlotte Kenney, Jan Watt, and Lil Venner have given more than 185 years of service—an extraordinary testament to presence, compassion, and steadfast commitment. Who among your volunteers carries a stories of faithful service? What collective years of care live within your own program? Consider gathering and sharing that data—not simply as numbers, but as narratives of impact and catalysts for thanks.

Hospice care around the world: How other cultures approach end-of-life care - Gilchrist and Nkoaranga Palliative Care ehospice; by Gilchrist Hospice; 2/25/26 ... What began as a knowledge and skill-sharing partnership became something even greater: when Nkoaranga lost its main source of financial support in 2011, Gilchrist stepped up to fully fund the program’s annual operating budget. Today, through this enduring partnership, Gilchrist provides the $80,000 per year that allows Nkoaranga’s dedicated team to deliver life-changing care to patients and families who would otherwise go without. ... In 2024 alone, Nkoaranga’s small but mighty team conducted over 170 home visits and served 123 additional patients and families beyond their monthly caseload.

Our hospice system subverts the very point of hospice care The New York Times; Opinion | Guest Essay by Sandeep Jauhar; 3/2/26 When my siblings and I decided to put our father in hospice care at his home in the spring of 2021, his Alzheimer’s was near end-stage. He could barely get out of bed or dress or feed himself. Hospice care seemed to be the best way for him to end his life with dignity. ... We soon encountered a harsh reality, however. Dying at home isn’t easy, even with hospice care. ... The main problem was funding. In 2024, the average per-patient Medicare payment to hospice agencies was about $200 a day, with an annual cap of $33,500. That outlay would barely pay for a part-time aide, yet it is also needed to cover medications, medical equipment and nurse visits.

Friends of Hospice starts life longings bucket list program WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY; by Iris St. Meran; 2/26/26 Losing a friend or loved one is never easy. That’s why organizations like Friends of Hospice in Oswego County are important. They provide non-medical support and have a new initiative to help those facing a life limiting diagnosis fulfill bucket list requests. Elena Twiss, the executive director shared more about the Life Longings program. It is designed to support individuals facing a life-limiting diagnosis by fulfilling “bucket list” requests, making comfort improvements, or helping with milestone celebrations. To learn more about life longings and the other resources friends of hospice provides visit FriendsOfHospice.org.

Nurses in ‘key position’ to embed culturally and religiously sensitive end-of-life care Nursing In Practice; by Cahal McQuillan; 3/2/26 Many Muslim patients prioritise end-of-life care that aligns with their faith and culture, with family-based care often being expected to achieve a peaceful death, a new study reports. The review, which was published in BMJ Open in January, collected and analysed data from 18 papers that presented primary research on end-of-life care among Muslims living in the UK. Their findings highlighted challenges faced by healthcare professionals in this area, and put forward several meaningful steps to help providers, such as nurses, provide culturally and religiously sensitive palliative care. 

The burden of the eldest daughter MedPage Today's KevinMD.com; podcast by Jessie Mahone, MD; 10/15/25 Were you the one who always held it together? The responsible one? The one who made sure everyone else was OK, sometimes at the cost of your own well-being? For most eldest daughters, this role is inevitable. We don’t choose it. We are handed it, early and often, because we are so “capable.” We accept this role and excel at it. That’s what most eldest daughters do with whatever is handed to us. Recently, my podcast cohost, another female physician, and I realized we had so many shared “eldest daughter” experiences. 

Navigating end-of-life decisions with Islamic ethics WisconsinMuslimJournal.org; by Sandra Whitehead; 2/20/26 Medical College of Wisconsin Professor Aasim I. Padela, M.D., founder and president of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, discussed Islamic bioethics during a January workshop on end-of-life decisions at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. ... About 50 people attended the four-hour workshop, Islamic Bioethics & End-of-Life Healthcare Decisions, held Jan. 31 at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. It featured experts with backgrounds in medicine, palliative care, hospice and Islam. Speakers made presentations and led discussions about practical steps, resources and strategies to help Muslims “transition from a state of uncertainty about end-of-life healthcare to thoughtful preparation for it,” a workbook given to participants stated.