Literature Review

Board finalizes acquisition of Hugh Chatham's share of Mountain Valley MtAiryNews.com, Mt. Airy, NC; by Ryan Kelly; 1/23/26 The Surry County Board of Commissioners approved Tuesday the final agreements needed for Northern Hospital District to acquire Hugh Chatham Health’s 50% ownership stake in Hospice of Surry County, which operates as Mountain Valley, completing a transaction announced six months ago. The board, sitting as the governing body of Northern Hospital District, unanimously approved a member interest purchase agreement that makes the hospital district sole owner of the hospice organization. 

Grant will support memory care training North Central News; by Staff; 1/22/26 In late 2025, Molina Healthcare of Arizona granted $10,000 to Hospice of the Valley to support its Memory Care Training program. The grant will help Hospice of the Valley continue its program to train more than 4,000 memory care staff throughout the state – teaching effective communication techniques and strategies for managing challenging behaviors in people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The Memory Care Training program is offered at no charge to the community and shares best practices in dementia care through engaging role-playing videos that depict real-life challenges.

Bristol Hospice’s sees ‘guiding light’ in 4-state expansion Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/23/26 Bristol Hospice has expanded with de novos across four states, with plans to soon grow its geographic presence in five more markets. Through its de novos, Salt Lake City, Utah-headquartered Bristol Hospice now provides services in Southaven, Mississippi; Pittsburgh; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and McAllen, Texas. The hospice announced that it would soon unveil new locations in Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland and New Albany, Indiana. 

Improving timeliness of palliative care referrals within the ICU: A quality improvement project Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing (DCCN); by Stephanie Fiore, Simone O'Donovan, Kerry A Milner; 1/23/26 ... Using the Model for Improvement, this quality improvement project was conducted over 7 months, including a 4-month baseline phase and a 3-month implementation phase. ICU nurses used a PC screening tool to evaluate patients within 48 hours of admission. The project aimed to increase PC screenings to 75% and ensure PC referrals within 48 hours. ...  The implementation phase saw a significant increase in PC screenings, with compliance reaching 90.9% after process adjustments. 

Husband with Parkinson's was admitted into at-home hospice program and has dramatically improved. Have others experienced this? Aging Care; by Klwolf; 1/21/26 My DH has Parkinson’s that has been getting progressively worse for months. In early December we had him assessed for hospice and he was admitted. Since then, he’s improved dramatically. Has anyone else experienced dramatic improvement AFTER hospice enrollment? The hospice staff simply shrugs and says this sometimes happens and that we need to be prepared for him to revert back to his previous state. Editor's Note: Many clinicians have seen individuals improve after hospice enrollment, often due to better symptom control, reduced stress, or consistent interdisciplinary care. The concern here is not the improvement itself, but the hospice team’s reported response. A shrug can feel dismissive to families already living with uncertainty. How do we teach teams to communicate about improvement—honoring hope while preparing families with clarity, compassion, and trust?

10 things I learned after 10 years with ovarian cancer Cure; by Kelly Irvin; 1/22/26 My birthday was January 20. ...  I received my stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosis on Jan. 16, 2016. ... So here I am still alive ten years later on my 68th birthday. ... I feel I’m allowed to share what I wish my younger self had known when I received my diagnosis. Counting down to number one, here are my lessons learned:

2026 health care fraud year in preview Foley Hoag LLP - White Collar Law & Investigations; by Foley Hoag LLP; 1/16/26 ... As in years past, the investigation and prosecution of health care fraud cases remains at the forefront of the federal government’s enforcement activity, though tempered by the government’s interest in a variety of non-health care enforcement, some of which we take up in forthcoming entries in our Year in Preview series. 

1 in 3 NPs and PAs switch specialties at least once in career AMA; by Kevin B. O'Reilly; 1/12/26 More than one-third of both nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) said in surveys conducted on behalf of the AMA that they have switched the specialty in which they provide care at some point during their career. While most nurse practitioners and physician assistants are trained to practice primary care, overwhelming majorities said additional formal training to gain the knowledge, acumen and skills needed to help provide care in the new specialty area was rarely pursued.Editor's Note: How does this statistic play out in your staffing? In your potential new hires? Do you ensure specialty training, advanced certifications for the palliative and hospice philosophy? Examine AMA and AAHPM for resources.

Proposed budget bill extends telehealth, hospital at home flexibilities again healthleaders; by Eric Wicklundh; 1/21/26 According to news reports Tuesday out of Washington DC, the bill, part of a package being prepared for a vote to fund government agencies and avoid a potential shutdown, would extend the telehealth flexibilities through 2027 and the AHCaH program through 2030. It would also boost this year's funding for community health centers to $6.4 billion and enable Medicare coverage for multi-cancer early detection screening tests.

HopeHealth, the 2nd hospice in the nation, celebrates 50th anniversary MassNonprofit News; Press Release; 1/20/26 HopeHealth, an early pioneer in hospice care and a leading nonprofit provider of hospice and palliative care in New England, marks its 50th anniversary this year. Founded in 1976 as Hospice Care of Rhode Island, HopeHealth was created by a group of physicians, chaplains, educators, and community advocates who believed patients and families deserved compassionate, dignified support at the end of life. ... HopeHealth became the second hospice provider in the nation. In the five decades since, HopeHealth has grown from a single community-based program into a regional nonprofit organization serving Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In addition to hospice care, it provides palliative care for patients and families living with serious illness; specialized care for dementia; support and education for family caregivers; and numerous grief support programs.Editor's Note: Congratulations and thank you--Hospice Care of Rhode Island | HopeHealth--for your groundbreaking leadership and ongoing growth in your services throughout the continuum for serious illness, palliative, hospice, and grief care!

A peer support intervention for Black family caregivers of persons living with dementia: A feasibility studyJournal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Karen O Moss, Alai Tan, Abraham A Brody, Karen Bullock, Kathy D Wright, Kimberly Johnson, Mary Beth Happ; 12/25Black family caregivers of older adults living with dementia are at high risk for physical, spiritual, and psychosocial challenges. Culturally responsive interventions are needed to address disparities in this population. The purpose of this National Institute on Aging Stage Model 1A study was to test the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of the Peer Support for Black Family Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia (Pair 2 Care) intervention. Pair 2 Care is a culturally responsive, non-judgmental, flexible, co-designed virtual peer support intervention in which former caregivers are paired as peer mentors with current caregivers for 6 months.  On average, participants rated their overall Pair 2 Care satisfaction as very high (4.6/5).

Nurse Honor Guard provides final salute to health care heroes Valley News Live; by Meredith Anderson; 1/16/26 Honor guard ceremonies, which are traditionally reserved for funerals held for military veterans, police officers and firefighters, are becoming more common for another group of frontline workers: nurses. The Georgia Nurse Honor Guard provides tributes to nurses who have died or are in hospice care, offering families a formal recognition of their loved one’s service to the community.

AMA ‘disappointed’ in MedPAC for backing off deeper Medicare pay reform Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 1/15/26 The American Medical Association expressed disappointment after the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted Jan. 15 to recommend only a modest update to Medicare physician payments for 2027, backing away from more robust reforms it had previously supported. ... “The AMA appreciates that last year’s reconciliation bill provided a temporary 2.5 percent update for 2026; however, that increase expires in 2027,” David Aizuss, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees,” said in a news release shared with Becker’s. Editor's Note: Pair this with another post in today's newsletter, Alliance responds to MedPAC vote on home health and hospice payment recommendations.