Literature Review

Understanding low hospice utilization among ESRD patients0Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/21/260Hospice care is underutilized among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, often due to systemic factors. More than 831,000 Americans are living with kidney failure, according to the National Institutes of Health. In 2023 alone, new cases totaled 131,564. Yet, end-stage renal disease patients in 2024 represented 1.3% of Medicare decedents who elected the Medicare Hospice Benefit, the National Alliance for Care at Home reported. This was 24,336 patients.0Concerns over access to dialysis is a major contributor to the low utilization, according to Compassus Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kurt Merkelz.03330The prospect of giving up dialysis deters many ESRD patients from entering hospice. Those that do may come to hospice very late because once they stop dialysis the patient will have approximately one week to live, Merkelz said.

Senior health, home health & hospice stocks Q2 teardown: Brookdale (NYSE:BKD) vs the rest Fox 46; Press Release; 9/17/26 Wrapping up Q2 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the senior health, home health & hospice stocks, including Brookdale (NYSE:BKD) and its peers. ... The 7 senior health, home health & hospice stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.5%. Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 10.6% since the latest earnings results.

AI can detect cancer years before symptoms appear. Health policy has not caught upHealth Affairs; by Matt Hasan; 9/14/26Unless health policy evolves alongside the science, the gap between what AI can predict and what health care is prepared to do with that knowledge will keep widening. Consider an artificial intelligence (AI) model developed at the Mayo Clinic that analyzes routine abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans for subtle changes associated with pancreatic cancer before a tumor is visible to a radiologist. In retrospective validation, the model identified 73 percent of cancers a median of about 16 months before diagnosis, with detection possible more than two years earlier in some cases. The technology remains investigational, but it makes the emerging clinical dilemma concrete. If an AI system flags a patient as being at substantially elevated risk when conventional imaging shows no visible tumor, what should the physician do?

Sen. Baldwin demands investigation into veteran care failures at Tomah VAWXOW-19 ABC, Tomah, WI; by Terry Bell; 9/21/26 U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is calling for an immediate investigation into serious allegations about the failure to care for veterans and unacceptable conditions at the Tomah VA Medical Center. Baldwin is asking Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to conduct a full review of staffing levels, provider coverage, medication delays, hospice care and patient safety at the Tomah VA Hospital. She's also requesting the VA Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent investigation. Baldwin's office heard from several Tomah VA employees who outlined severe lapses in patient care at the hospital. The allegations include inadequate staffing contributing to falls, injuries, food choking incidents and other adverse patient outcomes. [View recent incident:  Former VA nurse charged with intentionally abusing hospice patient]

HPNF awarded Spanish-language access grant Hospice & Palliative Nurses Foundation; Press Release; 9/18/26 The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) has received a $107,000 grant from Elea Institute for a new project titled the Spanish-Language Access to Hospice and Palliative Nursing Certification Initiative. Elea Institute is committed to ensuring all persons have access to high-quality hospice and palliative care and has awarded numerous grants supporting enhanced community access and educational resources. This grant project will address a critical barrier to equitable hospice and palliative care training: language access. Spanish-speaking nursing assistants are an essential part of the healthcare workforce, yet limited access to Spanish-language certification and educational resources creates barriers to professional advancement and equitable care delivery.

We should not be the same person the day after Yom Kippur that we were the day before Yom Kippur. We should be moving ahead, raising our lives to a higher level. ~ Rabbi Marc D. Angel

2027 trends to watch: Distributed care will drive the next phase of healthcare delivery Definitive Healthcare; by Ethan Popowitz; 9/17/26 Healthcare delivery has never been confined to a single setting. But the number of places where patients can receive care, and the range of services available outside the hospital, have grown in recent years. Today, a single patient journey might include a primary care visit, diagnostic imaging at an outpatient center, a procedure at an ambulatory surgery center (ASC), a virtual follow-up, and remote monitoring from home. ... This more distributed model of healthcare delivery is being shaped by several forces at once, from advances in medical technology and economic pressures to workforce shortages and more. 

Valley Oaks Health awarded $828,375 GROW grant to expand rural health access across northwest central Indiana PR Newswire, Lafayette, IN; 9/17/26 Valley Oaks Health announced today that it has been awarded $828,375 through the Growing Rural Opportunities for Well-being (GROW) Region 3 Grant initiative to strengthen access to integrated healthcare services across rural communities in northwest central Indiana. The funding is part of the Indiana Rural Health Transformation Program (Indiana RHTP), a statewide initiative designed to improve healthcare access, strengthen healthcare infrastructure, promote innovation, and support strategic partnerships that improve the health and well-being of Hoosiers.

Interoperability’s blind spot: What happens to data after systems retire? HealthData Management; by Shawn Fichter; 9/18/26 As healthcare advances FHIR-based exchange and replaces aging applications, interoperability strategies must account for the historical records left behind—ensuring legacy data remains accessible, secure, governed and usable long after its original system leaves production. ...

Hospices’ top legislative priorities Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/18/26As the midterm elections approach, hospices have unfinished business in the halls of Congress. Providers have identified several high priority pieces of legislation they would like to see passed before this Congress ends in December, according to healthcare leaders attending the National Alliance for Care at Home’s Advocacy Week on Capitol Hill. Most of these are oriented around the common theme of preserving access to home-based care. “Care at home already has bipartisan support and recognition as a cost-effective, patient-preferred solution,” said Jennifer Sheets, CEO of the Alliance, in a statement. “As demand continues to grow, we are committed to being a strong partner with Congress to help federal policy grow with it.”

Over 150 advocates convene on Capitol Hill to champion care at home National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/16/26 This week, more than 150 care at home advocates from across the country met with 285 congressional offices to discuss key legislative and regulatory priorities for expanding and protecting access to care at home. The meetings were part of the 2026 National Alliance for Care at Home Advocacy Week, an important opportunity to unite the entire care at home continuum under one voice.  

Medicare moments: The scarcity of Medicare caregiver benefits Allied News; by Joel Mekler; 9/14/26 ... AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving released the 2025 Caregiving in the U.S. report, their newest update since 2020. This comprehensive document offers an in-depth look at the evolving landscape of family caregiving for adults, highlighting key trends, challenges, and potential reforms. A key discovery is the swift growth in family caregiving. Almost 25% of adults — 63 million Americans — spent the last year caring for an adult (59 million) or a child (4 million) with complex medical needs or disabilities, marking a 45% increase since 2015. This trend underscores the essential role of family caregivers and exposes systemic shortcomings that place significant burdens on them, highlighting the pressing need for reforms.

Former VA nurse charged with intentionally abusing hospice patient News 8 Now, La Crosse/Toma, WI; by Sam Shilts; 9/10/26 A former registered nurse at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center faces a felony charge after prosecutors say she intentionally removed oxygen from a dying hospice patient, causing him great bodily harm. Beth Marie Holtz, 53, of New Berlin, was charged Wednesday in Monroe County court with intentionally abusing a patient causing great bodily harm. An arrest warrant was issued the same day. According to the criminal complaint, the incident occurred Aug. 17, 2025, involving a 75-year-old patient who had been admitted to hospice with pulmonary fibrosis and had a medical order for continuous oxygen supply.