Literature Review

Michael Jordan shares emotional FaceTime moment with former teacher in hospice: "They laughed, reminisced, picked at each other" Basketball Network; by Bjorn Del B. Deade; 5/17/26 Nowadays, Michael Jordan only makes headlines because of the success of his NASCAR Cup Series team ... However, the news cycle recently took a refreshing turn after Jordan’s kind gesture toward one of his former teachers at Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. The teacher, Ms. Etta, is currently a patient at Lower Cape Fear LifeCar, which is located in his hometown. And as she recounts her tales about Laney High School, she has repeatedly said she wanted to reconnect with the Chicago Bulls legend. So, Jordan did what he could to make it happen. The non-profit hospice shared its unforgettable interaction on its social media.

HealthView CEO Steven Gonzalez announces Inc. articles on why presence beats certainty — and why it matters even more in the age of AI Associated Press, Cerritos, CA; 5/19/26 Steven Gonzalez, President & CEO of HealthView Home Health, Hospice & Palliative Care, announces the publication of his latest Inc. article, “Certainty Is Overrated. Presence Is Underrated,” now live on Inc.com. ... In the published article, Gonzalez challenges a long-held leadership myth: that strong leaders must always project confidence, clarity, and absolute answers. Instead, he makes the case that presence, consistency, and authenticity matter more than false certainty in times of rapid change. When leaders remain visible, grounded, and human, they build the trust and stability that carry teams forward — even in the middle of ambiguity.

How to transform a health system’s organizational culture and hardwire it for the futureNEJM Catalyst; by Brian Carlson, Nancy M. Lorenzi, Paul Sternberg, Jr., Cassandra Hennessy, Dandan Liu; 4/26Organizational culture is a critical driver of workforce and patient experience, yet health care institutions often struggle to sustain their desired culture over time. In 2017, Vanderbilt Health identified inconsistencies in expected workforce behaviors through patient feedback, prompting the creation of a strategic cultural renewal initiative. The resulting program, Defining Personalized Care, had a 4-year road map of seven e-learning modules designed to reinforce core values and improve interpersonal behaviors across the workforce. This single-center pre–post study revealed statistically significant improvements in patient experience scores, particularly in the communication and courtesy domains. The initiative demonstrated that engaging, relevant content combined with visible support from leadership can drive voluntary participation and generate measurable outcomes. This case study offers a replicable framework for health care organizations seeking to hardwire their cultural expectations and align workforce behaviors with patient-centered care goals.

Potential adjunctive role of osteopathic manipulative medicine in the management of cancer-related bone pain: A narrative reviewCureus; by Ambrose Loc T. Ngo, Niki Gharavi Alkhansari, Chi Pham, Hong Nguyen, Monica Rubi, David Tanner; 4/26Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) is known for its therapeutic potential on the musculoskeletal system, and its emerging role and potential benefits in oncology care are gaining attention. Patients with primary and metastatic bone cancer tend to experience pain, restricted movement, and lower quality of life due to the pathology and its treatment. This narrative review examines the mechanistic rationale and available clinical evidence supporting the use of OMM in the management of pain and functional impairment among patients with bone malignancies. Limited clinical studies suggest that select OMM techniques, including myofascial release (MFR), gentle soft tissue methods, and lymphatic approaches, may contribute to improvements in pain perception, mobility, and fatigue in oncology populations.

The state of hospice: Impacts on equity, quality, and nursing-An AAN consensus paperNursing Outlook; by Laura Fennimore, Kathleen O Lindell, Marjorie M Godfrey, Melissa Reider-Demer, Patrick J Coyne, Ronda G Hughes, Sharon Kozachik, Masako Mayahara, Patricia L Thomas, Nelson Tuazon, Polly Mazanec; 4/26Hospice care has been an integral component of the United States healthcare system for over fifty years. Hospice has transitioned from a volunteer activity supported by philanthropy to a highly sophisticated business funded by Medicare, increasingly offered by for-profit and private equity companies. This consensus paper examines the current state of hospice care in the US and the impact of changing hospice business models on health equity, healthcare quality, and nursing practice. Recommendations include updating policies to account for private equity involvement, evaluating current quality measures, addressing the existing Medicare Hospice Benefit, ensuring transparency and oversight for hospice agencies, and ensuring patient and caregiver education about hospice services. These recommendations aim to preserve the fundamental values of hospice, supporting compassion, dignity, and comfort while ensuring the quality of care to patients and families in need.

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Palliative care intervention for patients with end-stage liver disease-A cluster randomized clinical trialJAMA Internal Medicine; by Manisha Verma, Victor Navarro, Andrzej Kosinski, Tamar Taddei, Richard Kalman, A. Sidney Barritt, Simona Jakab, Marina Serper, Eric Orman, Maya Balakrishnan, Mina Rakoski, Don Rockey, Kristel Hunt, Roniel Cabrera, Ayse Aytaman, Binu John, Gyorgy Baffy, Rohit Nathan, Elliot Tapper, Marina Roytman, Brendan McGuire, Nicholas Hoppmann, Christopher Woodrell, Marie Bakitas, Yang Yue, Bryce Reeve, Li Lin, Rebecca Tantala, Michael Volk; 4/26Palliative care improves quality of life (QoL) in advanced illnesses, but data in end-stage liver disease (ESLD) are limited. It is unknown whether palliative care delivered by hepatologists is effective when compared with palliative care specialists. This cluster trial found that palliative care delivered by trained hepatologists was comparable with palliative care delivered by palliative care specialists in improving QoL in patients with ESLD and was associated with greater improvement in patient satisfaction, demonstrating the effectiveness among enrolled patients.Assistant Editor's note: That's the beauty of palliative care. It can be layered upon many other specialties and sub-specialties and utilized by a variety of health care disciplines. The science of palliative care, the skill and knowledge base involved, is adaptable and valuable for almost anyone working in direct patient care in many different health care settings.

States with the most, fewest licensed nurses per capita Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mariah Taylor; 5/21/26 The National Council of State Boards of Nursing found the District of Columbia has the most licensed nurses per capita, while Utah is the state with the fewest for the second year in a row. ... Becker’s used 2025 Census data to calculate how many nurses are in each state per 100,000 population. Here are the five with the most and the five with the fewest nurses. ...Most [list starts with highest]: District of Columbia ... Alaska ... New York ... Minnesota ... Massachusetts ... Fewest [list starts with lowest]: Utah ... Washington ... Georgia ... Idaho ... Texas ...

How resolving moral distress unlocks physicians’ potential AMA - American Medical Association; by Bobby Mukkamala, MD, President; 5/20/26 The inability to do what feels right affects physicians to a greater degree and can keep us from delivering the care we know our patients need. ... Across medicine, many physicians are confronting something deeper: moral distress. New research shows it is widespread, distinct from burnout, and carries serious consequences for physicians, patients and the healthcare system itself. 

Development of the revised CAHPS Hospice Survey Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Danielle Schlang, MA, Melissa A. Bradley, BA, and Rebecca Anhang Price, PhD; 5/18/26 ... Methods: We conducted a plain language review and environmental scan, refined existing survey instrument wording, drafted candidate survey items addressing new topics of interest, and conducted 7 rounds of cognitive interviews with a total of 59 family caregivers of hospice decedents. Results: Cognitive interview respondents consistently interpreted “respecting [the patient’s] wishes,” and “listening to the things that matter most” and found these concepts relevant to their family members’ hospice care experiences; in contrast, they found the phrases “cultural practices” and “choosing what to do next” confusing or unclear. ... Conclusion:  The revised CAHPS Hospice Survey simultaneously adds new topics prioritized by stakeholders and reduces survey complexity and length. Editor's Note: This journal article includes a downloadable "Journal Pre-proof" PDF. Its Appendix B (at pp. 27-33) provides a helpful table, "Comparison between Original and Revised CAHPS Hospice Survey Items, with Rationale."