Literature Review

Big Bend Hospice launches Nutrition Shake Drive to support Jefferson County Patients WTXL-27 ABC, Tallahassee, FL; by Crystal Whitman; 5/8/26 Big Bend Hospice in Jefferson County is calling on the community to help provide vital nutrition for local hospice patients through a month-long Nutrition Shake Drive. For many in hospice care, eating full meals can be difficult or impossible. Meal replacements like Ensure, Boost, and Glucerna offer comfort and essential nutrients, but they are often not covered by health insurance, leaving families — especially in rural areas — to shoulder the cost themselves.

HOPE is raising the stakes for hospice compliance HealthIT Answers; by Michelle Barlow, RN, BSN; 5/11/26 Hospice providers are entering a tougher regulatory environment. ... At the center of these changes is the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool, which replaced the Hospice Item Set in October 2025. ...

CMS’s Age-Friendly Hospital Measure: Julia Adler-Milstein, Stephanie Rogers, and Shari LingGeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Julia Adler-Milstein, Stephanie Rogers, Shari Ling; 3/26/26In 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began requiring hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program to report on a new “Age-Friendly Hospital Measure.” The hope is that, by attesting to this measure, hospitals will develop evidence-based processes to improve care for older adults in hospital settings. On this week’s podcast, we explore this new measure with Sheri Ling, CMS’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer serving in the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ). We’ve also invited some returning guests from our past Age Friendly Health Systems podcast, Julia Adler-Milstein and Stephanie Rogers, to discuss how they are thinking about this new measure and how we should operationalize it.Publisher's note: If required in hospitals, it may soon be required in hospice... See information about CHAP's Age-Friendly Care -Certified Professional (AFC-CP) Course here.

Healthcare leaders break down hospice reform, Medicare & quality care | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Tom Koutsoumpas and Carole Fisher; 5/6/26 In Part One of Healthcare Leaders Break Down Hospice Reform, Medicare & Quality Care, Chris Comeaux sits down with nationally respected healthcare leaders Tom Koutsoumpas, Founder & CEO of NPHI and Carole Fisher, President of NPHI to explore the evolving future of hospice, palliative care, Medicare oversight, and the growing demand for quality-driven, compassionate healthcare leadership. Together, they unpack the growing challenges facing end-of-life care — from fraud and benefit manipulation to the urgent need for quality transparency and authentic patient-centered care.

Navigating organ donation discussions: Toby Campbell, Nikole Neidlinger, Samantha TaylorGeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Toby Campbell, Nikole Neidlinger, Samantha Taylor; 5/7/26While we have previously discussed brain death criteria on the GeriPal Podcast, we have yet to explore the complex landscape families face regarding organ donation. In this episode, we dive into the nuances of Donation after Brain Death (DBD) and Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD), and clarify the essential role of healthcare providers who are not part of an organ procurement organization. In this episode of the GeriPal Podcast, we step into a space in serious illness care that is often misunderstood, overlooked, or reduced to a simple “call the organ donation network” checklist item.

A Georgia hospice care provider has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy WhatNow; by Twinkle Jha; 5/6/26 The Lighthouse Community Hospice, Inc. has officially filed for bankruptcy protection. The healthcare provider offering hospice and palliative care services operates across 12 Georgia counties. Case records suggest that the filing does not hint at closure; regular operations are expected to continue as normal. The proceedings will allow the provider to restructure its finances under court supervision.

Key impacts of the 2026 National AI Legislative Framework on HealthcareArnall Golden Gregory blog; by Charmaine Mech Aguirre; 4/22/26On March 20, 2026, the White House published the national AI legislative framework, outlining the administration’s preferred blueprint for federal AI legislation. One of the framework’s most consequential themes is its explicit rejection of the current and rapidly expanding “patchwork of conflicting state laws” governing AI as contrary to innovation. Instead, the framework calls for a consistent national policy. The framework adopts an innovation‑forward posture, though it contemplates baseline guardrails for certain higher‑risk AI endeavors. The framework focuses on seven core pillars... [click here for more] Key Takeaways:

NPHI and C-TAC launch work on a federal community-based model to expand earlier, in-home support for patients nationwideNational Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, Washington, DC; Press Release; 5/7/26The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC), publicly announced today (5/7) their commitment to developing a federal fee-for-service community-based palliative care model aimed at expanding access to care across the United States. This initiative builds on longstanding work across the field to expand access to palliative care, particularly as its use has grown in hospital settings over time. ... Gaps in consistent data and evidence have also made it more difficult to fully demonstrate the impact of earlier, community-based interventions. Through this partnership, NPHI and C-TAC are working to address these challenges by advancing a more sustainable, evidence-driven model for care delivery.

‘Moving the mindset’ of equitable hospice accessHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/7/26Hospices’ diversity and inclusion efforts have hit several barriers in recent years. Policy reform and more person-centered care integration represent two significant propellants toward improvement. Today’s providers often lack sufficient resources to improve health equity in substantial and sustainable ways, said Dr. Kimberly Curseen, board president for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). Workforce shortages, challenging economic conditions and inefficient reimbursement are among hospices’ greatest challenges, she stated. Hospices need structured community outreach processes that measure cost, outcomes and quality improvements across diverse patient populations, Curseen indicated. Having dedicated health equity resources would go a long way to better understanding the range of both unmet needs and under-reached service regions.

HopeHealth and URI College of Nursing establish academic-practice partnershipThe University of Rhode Island press release; by Izzy Nickel; 5/7/26HopeHealth and the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing have entered into a formal academic-practice partnership aimed at advancing clinical education, training, and professional opportunities in the field of hospice and palliative care... “This partnership reflects where the field of hospice and palliative care is heading,” said Diana Franchitto, president & CEO of HopeHealth. “Caring for people with serious illness calls for a distinct set of skills – helping patients manage symptoms, make informed choices, and focus on what matters most to them. Through our collaboration with the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing, we’re giving students the opportunity to learn that kind of care firsthand and to see the difference it can make in patients’ lives.”

Ohio’s Hospice CEO: prepare for value-based care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/6/26 In time, value-based care will come to hospices, and they must be ready, according to Kent Anderson, CEO of Ohio’s Hospice. In this environment, scale will be key, as will a need to better understand the needs and objectives of referral partners, Anderson told Hospice News. He also leads Metta Health, a revenue cycle management consulting firm. Ohio’s Hospice is a statewide alliance of nonprofit providers established in 2013. The network leverages its member organizations’ collective size in negotiations with vendors, payers and referral sources, collaborates on back-office functions and shares some expenses and infrastructure.

Mother's Day support for hospice families Hospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger, Editor in Chief; 5/5/26 Mother’s Day can be tender—and complicated. Without thoughtful support, it can become a day to endure rather than a moment to hold with intention. This compilation offers gentle ways forward for hospice leaders to use or adapt with those they serve—honoring mothers who are still here, tending legacies in real time, and making space for grief when they are not.