Literature Review
Why most healthcare brand strategies fail the first time leadership gets tested
07/16/26 at 03:00 AMWhy most healthcare brand strategies fail the first time leadership gets tested MedCityNews; by Erin Gregory; 7/10/26 If you are sitting on a brand strategy right now, the test is not whether your team likes it. The test is whether it can be defended by someone who did not build it, to a board that did not commission it, by a leader who did not hire you. A few years ago, I watched a regional nonprofit in community health and wellness come close to imploding. ...
Savings in Medicare hospice payments for care provided in nursing homes
07/16/26 at 03:00 AMSavings in Medicare hospice payments for care provided in nursing homes U.S. HHS-OIG; Project Number OEI-02-26-00180; 7/15/26 The fixed daily rates that Medicare pays hospices for routine home care provided in a nursing home include personal care services. However, nursing homes are already required to provide personal care services to their residents. Paying the hospice the full routine home care rate that covers personal care services when these services are already required from the nursing home can undermine the efficiency of Medicare payments and add to the incentives that bad actors have to exploit the program. This review will determine Medicare payments for routine home care provided to hospice beneficiaries in nursing homes, estimate potential cost savings from reducing the payment to address the inefficiency in the payment structure, and examine practices of hospices with a high percentage of their beneficiaries in nursing homes.
Hospice of Midland expands adult care programs and adds children's grief support
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMHospice of Midland expands adult care programs and adds children's grief support Midland Reporter-Telegram; by Kessly Salinas; 7/13/26 Hospice of Midland announced it will expand its services this summer by growing two adult programs and introducing a program for children. “In response to community needs, we are enlarging two adult programs and introducing one for children,” said Deborah Goodman, CEO of Hospice of Midland. “The Pathways Palliative Care program, which supports patients with advanced illnesses, will be expanded,” Goodman said. ... The new program will be the Children’s Grief Center’s Holding Hope program. “Rays of Hope Children’s Grief Center has been here in Midland, serving the Permian Basin for 22 years,” Goodman said. “We’ve noticed, especially since COVID, a pretty substantial increase in deaths by suicide in younger individuals, especially the teen and young adult ages.” The Holding Hope program was designed for children and families affected by death by suicide.
Why joint ventures may outpace M&A during the CMS home health enrollment moratorium
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMWhy joint ventures may outpace M&A during the CMS home health enrollment moratorium Home Health Care News; by MK Manoylov; 7/14/26 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) six-month moratorium on new Medicare home health enrollments limits one pathway for providers to scale, but operators can still expand organically and through M&A. Growth-minded operators can increase census, improve workforce availability, acquire other businesses and forge joint ventures, home health industry insiders said during a recent Home Health Care News webinar. Organic growth can mean improving conversion rates from referrals, expanding partnerships and developing operations, said Andwell Health Partners CEO Ken Albert.
Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who ...
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMDo the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. ~ Oprah Winfrey
When the expert becomes the daughter: lessons from my father's hospice journey
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMWhen the expert becomes the daughter: lessons from my father's hospice journey Provider Insights; by Annette Lee; 7/10/26 Part 4: Leadership Lessons are often Learned at the Bedside The most meaningful leadership lessons are often learned at the bedside. During my father's sixteen-day hospice journey, I experienced hospice not as a consultant, but as a daughter. These takeaways highlight the leadership decisions, clinical practices, and compassionate moments that transformed exceptional hospice care into an unforgettable experience for our entire family. My hope is that they inspire hospice leaders to continually ask not only, "Are we providing excellent care?" but also, "How will this family remember us?"Editor's Note: Click here for an excellent table, "Hospice Leadership Lessons Learned on the Other Side," with columns for "What Our Family Experienced," "Leadership Lesson," "Action for Your Hospice." It fleshes out 16 concise, practical first-hand lessons, such as "A trusted first conversation"; "Compassion over pressure"; "Information given in manageable pieces" and more.
National Alliance for Care at Home hosts 2026 Finance and Technology Summit
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMNational Alliance for Care at Home hosts 2026 Finance and Technology Summit National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA; Press Release; 7/14/26 On July 12-14, the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) successfully hosted the 2026 Alliance Finance and Technology Summit in Boston, MA. The Summit brought together leaders from across the care at home continuum, with expert-led sessions, peer collaboration, and insights into digital transformation, data strategy, and tech-enabled care delivery. More than 600 attendees and exhibitors participated in the comprehensive program, which featured keynote presentations, concurrent educational sessions, networking opportunities, award presentations, and a fundraiser at Fenway Park for the Research Institute for Home Care.
Medicare’s hospice bill doubled over the last decade
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMMedicare’s hospice bill doubled over the last decade U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); WatchBlog Post; 7/14/26 In recent years, Medicare’s spending on hospice has nearly doubled. We looked at this spending and found that the way Medicare pays for hospice care could be costing taxpayers billions more than it should. Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our new report about inefficiencies in Medicare's payments.
Leveraging technology in hospice sales and marketing
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMLeveraging technology in hospice sales and marketing Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/14/26 Technology is becoming increasingly important in hospice sales and marketing, but it can’t replace the human touch, according to provider leaders. One of the most proliferating sets of technologies sweeping the hospice space and many other industries right now is artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can be a tool to generate referral growth and streamline operations, building person-to-person relationships is more important, Craig Dresang, CEO of the nonprofit hospice provider YoloCares, said during a Hospice News webinar. “Nothing will replace relationship management person to person. AI is a tool to be used. We use AI here in a number of ways,” Dresang told Hospice News. “There are a number of ways that AI can be used as a tool, but nothing will replace good old-fashioned people skills and relationship management skills.”
[United Kingdom] Development of the ‘Culturally Informed Ecological Model of Grief’ – a national qualitative study of bereavement experiences among ethnically diverse communities
07/15/26 at 03:00 AM[United Kingdom] Development of the ‘Culturally Informed Ecological Model of Grief’ – a national qualitative study of bereavement experiences among ethnically diverse communities BMC Medicine; by Catriona R Mayland, Emily Fisher, Adejoke O Oluyase, Nikel-Shaniece Hector-Jack, Toslima Khatun, Rukia Saleem, Naureen Khan, Shirin Shahid, Riffat Mahmood, Gurpreet Grewal-Santini, Monika Afolabi, Candice Wang, Sarah Ng, Rashmi Kumar, Katherine Bristowe, Emily Harrop, Zoebia Islam, Jonathan Koffman, Gurch Randhawa, Lucy E Selman & Sabrina Bajwah; 7/14/26 Background: Among people from ethnically diverse communities, evidence regarding bereavement experiences and support needs is limited; there are known inequities in access to formal bereavement support. Conclusions: Racism was evident across multiple settings and closely intertwined with bereavement, compounding the emotional burden of grief. This study represents the largest qualitative investigation of bereavement among ethnically diverse communities in UK healthcare to date, providing a robust evidence base for improving equity in support. Bereavement services must prioritise cultural safety and actively address structural racism. The ‘Culturally Informed Ecological Model of Grief’ offers a new framework guiding more equitable bereavement support, relevant across national and international contexts.
Empath Health expands hospice support for Jewish communities
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMEmpath Health expands hospice support for Jewish communities Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/13/26 Empath Trustbridge Hospice has established a formal partnership with Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services (JFS) to expand access to end-of-life support. The partnership with JFS is aimed at improving access to culturally responsive care provided by Empath Trustbridge Hospice’s Tikvah Jewish Care & Support Program. The program provides faith-based support, honors Jewish traditions and holiday observances, as well as kosher dietary coordination. The two organizations launched the partnership after years of relationship-building and a mutual commitment to honoring the Jewish community through every stage of life.
Most Americans prefer to die at home, but the US healthcare system often prevents it
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMMost Americans prefer to die at home, but the US healthcare system often prevents it ArcaMax; by Karen Lutfey Spencer; 7/14/26 Ask people what they want at the end of their lives, and overwhelmingly the answers will revolve around comfort, dignity and time at home with loved ones. Yet the U.S. healthcare system often thwarts these wishes. Most Americans say they want to die at home, but only one-third do. What could be an intentional last chapter may instead become a roller coaster of hospitalizations and decisions made with incomplete information. News headlines reflect the challenges of facing the end of life in crisis mode. ... Unfortunately, these crisis scenarios are happening to millions of families each year.
Family Hospice expands into Northwest Georgia through aquisition of North Georgia Community Hospice, LLC
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMFamily Hospice expands into Northwest Georgia through aquisition of North Georgia Community Hospice, LLC EIN Presswire, Dalton, GA; by Family Hospice, LLC; 7/14/26 Family Hospice today announced the completion of its acquisition of North Georgia Community Hospice, LLC, expanding access to compassionate hospice and palliative care services throughout Northwest Georgia. The acquisition, which closed on July 14, 2026, marks an important milestone in Family Hospice's continued growth across Georgia and reflects the organization's long-term commitment to serving patients and families with compassionate, community-based care. Current patients will continue receiving uninterrupted hospice services throughout the transition, supported by the same experienced caregivers and staff who have faithfully served the community.
Dublin business accuses fired CEO, CFO of embezzlement
07/15/26 at 03:00 AMDublin business accuses fired CEO, CFO of embezzlement Columbus Business First, Columbus, OH; by Carrie Ghose; 7/13/26 Dublin-based ViaQuest fired founder Rich Johnson and CFO Michael Bell, and in a lawsuit accuses them of diverting more than $15 million. ... In January 2025, Johnson purchased ViaQuest Hospice LLC, through a $10 million promissory note that is still owing, according to the complaint. As sole owner and CEO of Hospice, Johnson was required to separate its finances when the deal closed, but ViaQuest kept paying Hospice expenses for a total of $12.9 million at Johnson and Bell's direction, the complaint said. ViaQuest employees including Bell also spent substantial time doing duties for Hospice, it said, an expense not yet calculated. [Access to the full article may be limited.]
Community gathers to strike out cancer and honor loved ones during awareness event
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMCommunity gathers to strike out cancer and honor loved ones during awareness event WUFT | PBS/NPR, Gainesville, FL; by Curan Ahern; 7/12/26 Just over one year ago, Corey Williams received the news everyone dreads: a loved one being diagnosed with cancer. A local artist, poet, videographer and father of four, Williams found out in May 2025 his fiancée, Iya Burkett, had cancer. Within a month, Williams saw the disease rapidly progress. ... Williams faced one of the worst realities a man can experience: Burkett died, and he was not prepared. ... Williams also lost his mother to cancer three years prior, leaving him to face the world without the two most important women in his life. After wrestling with the losses, he planned community events to commemorate his loved ones, raise awareness and start uncomfortable conversations about preparedness — conversations that often need to be had but are avoided. ... Along with friends and family, members of Haven Hospice’s bereavement program, Healing Hearts, showed up to support Williams and his family. Burkett worked for Haven Hospice for 13 years, and the organization helped Williams transition into life without his fiancée.
The corporatization of medicine, in salaries and beds
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMThe corporatization of medicine, in salaries and beds MedPageToday's KevinMD.com; by Brian Hudes, MD; 7/11/26 In the 1970s, the American hospital was, in the industry’s own language, an “open workshop.” ... The doctor made the medical decisions; the administrator kept the lights on and the ledgers balanced. It was an arrangement with obvious flaws (fragmentation, duplication, uneven quality), but it rested on a clear premise: Medicine was practiced by physicians, and the institution existed to support that practice. That premise has quietly inverted. ... It is a corporation that employs them. The practice down the street has been acquired, rebranded, and folded into a system with a marketing department, a real-estate strategy, and a chief executive whose compensation would have been unimaginable to the physicians of the open-workshop era. The people who now set the direction of American medicine are, increasingly, not the people who see patients.
California adopts sweeping emergency regulations for hospice providers: what the new rules require and how to prepare
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMCalifornia adopts sweeping emergency regulations for hospice providers: what the new rules require and how to prepare JD Supra; by Epstein Becker & Green; 7/13/26 On June 22, 2026, emergency regulations promulgated by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and codified at Title 22, California Code of Regulations, sections 74800 through 74908, took effect. The emergency regulations establish detailed licensing, operational, staffing, and governance standards for hospice agencies. This new regulatory framework applies immediately to both existing hospice licensees and applicants for initial licensure. Although the emergency regulations are temporary, CDPH has indicated that it intends to make them permanent.
Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called ...
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMWorking hard for something we don't care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion. ~ Simon Sinek
Hospice of Westchester receives donation from NYS Tribute Foundation
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMHospice of Westchester receives donation from NYS Tribute Foundation Yonkers Times, Westchester, NY; by Dan Murphy; 7/12/26 Hospice of Westchester (HOW) recently received a $10,000 donation from NYS Tribute Foundation. The funds will support HOW’s Anna & Louis H. Shereff Bereavement Program, which provides bereavement care to patients’ families for 13 months following the loss of a loved one, as well as to all members of the community. “We are grateful to the NYS Tribute Foundation for their incredible generosity and ongoing support of our mission,” said Mary K. Spengler, RN, MS, LNHA, CEO of Hospice of Westchester. ... The NYS Tribute Foundation, which unites funeral service professionals throughout New York State, is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting education, outreach and research programs that advance the public’s understanding of end-of-life issues.
Advance Care Planning is becoming quality data: why the conversation must be documented clearly
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMAdvance Care Planning is becoming quality data: why the conversation must be documented clearly ICD10monitor, Inver Grove Heights, MN; by Penny Jefferson, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CCS, CDIP, CRC, CHDA, CRCR, CPHQ, ACPA-C; 7/13/26 Advance care planning has always been personal. It is one of the most human conversations that occurs in healthcare. It asks patients, families, caregivers, and clinicians to talk about goals, values, fears, treatment preferences, and what should happen if the patient is no longer able to speak for themselves. But advance care planning is also becoming something else: quality data. In the FY 2027 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes adopting an Advance Care Planning electronic clinical quality measure, or eCQM, beginning with the FY 2030 payment determination. CMS also proposes adopting the same eCQM in alignment with the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program and adopting an Advance Care Planning eCQM for the PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospital Quality Reporting Program beginning with the FY 2030 program year. Editor's Note: FY 2027 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Proposed Rule — CMS-1849-P
Home health advocates accuse CMS of overreach on fraud-fighting measures
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMHome health advocates accuse CMS of overreach on fraud-fighting measures McKnights Home Care; by Liza Berger; 7/10/26 While there has been much focus so far on the continuing behavioral adjustments in the recent home health proposed rule, there is another aspect of the rule that has drawn providers’ scorn — the harsh fraud measures. “The rule proposes significant expanded authority for CMS to deny or revoke Medicare enrollment,” Jennifer Sheets, CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home, said during a webinar hosted by the Polsinelli law firm Thursday. “These enrollment provisions are a particular concern for us.” Sheets pointed out to a provision in the program integrity proposals that would expand the reapplication bar — prohibiting a provider from re-enrolling for up to 10 years — for any enrollment denial reason. “This really concerns us,” she said. “We think it is overreach from CMS, and that 10-year bar is a pretty scary thing to be looking at.”
The Healing Page: how Akron Children's combines clinical care with narrative medicine poetry
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMThe Healing Page: how Akron Children's combines clinical care with narrative medicine poetry WOSU Public Media | NPR/PBS, Akron, OH ; by Jeff St. Clair; 7/13/26 The written word has healing power. That’s the idea behind narrative medicine, an emerging branch of healthcare that adds creative writing to the clinical toolkit. Akron Children’s Hospital is a leader in narrative medicine, and all this week, Ideastream Public Media is highlighting the program's writers in our series "The Healing Page." Dr. Sarah Friebert is director of Akron Children's palliative care center ... said when sick kids write about what they’re going through, “We tap into an inner spring of wellness and spirituality and wholeness ..." Friebert likened a critical diagnosis to a bomb going off in a family. Her program considers the blast radius of a diagnosis by extending services to impacted family members who are encouraged to write about their experiences and feelings.
Lessons from 70 triathlons about why enterprise software projects fail
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMLessons from 70 triathlons about why enterprise software projects fail Forbes; by Alan Rencher for Forbes Technology Council; 7/13/26 In 2004, I weighed 280 pounds. ... I am not proud of how I got there. But I am genuinely grateful for what getting out of it taught me, not just about endurance training, but about the thing I have spent my career trying to get right: why enterprise software almost always fails. I have now completed 70-plus triathlons. I also have a long list of painful firsthand experiences with enterprise software that launched expensively and landed quietly in a drawer. Building it, selling it, buying it, implementing it. I have been on every side of that table. The failure modes are the same. And the reason is not what most people think. ...
Utilization of hospice and palliative care among patients with mental illness: a retrospective cohort study
07/14/26 at 03:00 AMUtilization of hospice and palliative care among patients with mental illness: a retrospective cohort study Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Sean O'Mahony, Utpol Das, Yuanyi Zhang, Anirudh S. Babu, Mukaila A. Raji, James Gerhart, Yong-Fang Kuo; 7/11/26 Background: Individuals with mental illness (MI) experience premature mortality and health disparities, yet little is known about their access to hospice and palliative care. Conclusions: Mental illnesses were associated with complex hospice utilization patterns characterized by longer length-of-stay, higher likelihood of enrollment far from death, lower likelihood of enrollment within 180 days before death, and lower palliative care consultation use in some groups.
[United Kingdom] Man, 94, taking on 100-mile walking challenge
07/14/26 at 03:00 AM[United Kingdom] Man, 94, taking on 100-mile walking challenge BBC News; Andy Giddings; 7/13/26 A man is planning to mark his 95th birthday by completing a 100-mile walking challenge for charity in memory of his wife. Smudge Smith, who lives in Telford and is a regular walker, is doing it to support Severn Hospice and hopes to complete the challenge in 100 days. His wife Margaret was cared for by the hospice in Bicton and since her death he has completed a number of fundraising walks to support it and other charities. He plans to get out each day on one of his five pre-planned routes and he will be joined by friends and family including his children Diane, Sue and David. Smith, who lives in the Ketley Bank area of Telford, set off on 3 July and aims to finish the challenge by his birthday on 14 October.