Literature Review

You don't want them to feel like they're just there to serve you. You also, in turn, want to be able to do some things to help make their lives better, and to serve them. ~ Dolly Parton

Hospice of Southern West Virginia is offering free Hospice Aide training for qualified applicants sABC-4 WOAY, Beckley, WV; by Brandy Lawrence; 8/26/26 

Thank a nurse 2026: reader submitted letters Portland Press Herald, Portland, ME; by various readers of the Portland Press Herald; 5/8/26

Restaurant owner shelves Easter plans to fulfill dying man's last wish to feed his hospice nurses Daily Good; by Good News Network; 4/7/26 

Two Ann Arbor nurses who transformed how people die mentored her. Then, she became their caregiver.MLive.com, Ann Arbor, MI; by Jennifer Eberback; 6/28/26 

Direct care nursing as a career destination-A qualitative exploration of why nurses stayNursing Management; by Leach, Catherine T., Whade, Jill J., Horvick, Savannah G.; 1/26

California and the federal government battle over hospice fraud, as victims lose coverage and care Regional Media News, Los Angeles, CA; by wrnnews.com; 8/26/26At 71 and a few years into retirement, Linda Henry felt like she was in good health, and only went to her doctor in Southern California for the occasional checkup. So it was a shock when she found out in 2024 that she had been enrolled in hospice, a specialized end-of-life care usually provided to people with six months or less to live. A Medicare worker told her the system said she had heart failure. Henry was a victim of rampant fraud in the hospice industry, a problem that’s been especially extreme in California, ... Henry believes her Medicare number was stolen after a healthcare payment portal that services insurances was hit by a cyberattack. She found out about her hospice enrollment in September 2024 after her doctor billed Medicare for an allergy test and was denied. Soon, other claims were being returned unpaid.

‘More than just a building:’ As Duke sells historic bereavement center, a town grapples with grief Duke Chronicle; by Dylan Halper; 8/26/26 When Maria Peluso’s father died in April 2014, her family directed all donations to one place: a memorial brick, to be laid in his honor on a pathway near the Duke Hospice Unicorn Bereavement Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. ... Over the ensuing years, the brick became a place of solace and learning for Peluso’s family. Before she died, Peluso’s mother often visited the site, and Peluso [a former Duke University Health System nurse and recipient of this center's bereavement counseling] said she brings her children and grandchildren — who never met her father — to the brick to teach them about his legacy. Underneath her father’s name and lifespan, the brick reads, “I will love you longer than forever.” But while the love of Peluso’s family will endure, the brick itself will be torn up as part of a redevelopment of the property encompassing the former Unicorn Bereavement Center and Duke Hospice at the Meadowlands. 

The sandwich generation confronts the caregiver crunch: Sonia’s story IndiaCurrents; by Snigdha Sen; 8/28/26 The Indian American community is aging. As the U.S. faces a severe caregiver shortage, the community faces an even greater challenge: finding culturally and linguistically appropriate care. The Aging with Dignity project looks at efforts within and beyond the Indian community to help the "sandwich generation" care for aging parents. This is Part 1 of a three-part series.

[France] 'You cannot have a good assisted dying law without good palliative care’ GuardianTV; Press Release; 8/30/26 François Picard is pleased to welcome Anne Reynaud, Board Member of the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity. France’s long awaited assisted dying legislation marks a profound shift in the country’s approach to end of life care, but as Reynaud makes clear, the parliamentary vote is less the end of a debate than the beginning of a new ethical and legal era. Speaking from both personal experience and her professional role, Reynaud argues that the law represents meaningful progress while remaining more restrictive than the recommendations of France’s Citizens’ Convention. 

District One Freemasons commit $50,000 to Aroostook Hospice Foundation Suite 1 dedication The County, Presque Isle, ME; by Aroostook Hospice Foundation; 8/30/26 The Aroostook Hospice Foundation is pleased to announce a generous $50,000 commitment from the District One Freemasons in support of the Aroostook House of Comfort. ... David Basley, representing District One of the Freemasons, shared the significance of the commitment, “The decision made by the 1st District Freemasons to present a gift of $50,000 to the House of Comfort was an easy one for us. Since the facility first opened in 2018, we have had several members of our Masonic fraternity or family members experience the most compassionate end of life care offered by staff and volunteers. ..."