Literature Review

[Ireland] Developing a reflective practice program to support oncology and palliative care staff with patient deathJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Geena Kelly; 4/26Oncology and palliative care staff frequently encounter death yet often lack structured opportunities for reflection following these experiences. Oncology and palliative care staff in an Irish acute hospital collaboratively developed a structured reflective practice program to support coping with patient death. Using insider-action research, this pilot study demonstrates a feasible, staff-led approach to embedding reflective practice into routine clinical practice.  The project has contributed an adaptable model for structured reflection in the acute hospital setting and underscores the importance of acknowledging the emotional toll of caring for patients at the end of life. This is an important step towards embedding reflective practice into the culture of health care, with potential for future AR cycles to build on this work even more, involving greater numbers of staff and further evaluating the intervention’s effectiveness.  

Social Media Watch 5/29/26

Nurse and provider perceptions of palliative care Nursing Management; by Eydie Tipton, Tracy Viers, and Chelsea Wilson; 5/1/26 Conclusions: Findings suggest that knowledge gaps may not be the primary barrier to palliative care (PC) utilization. Instead, systemic and cultural factors likely contribute to under-referral. Leadership-driven strategies, including standardized referral processes, enhanced interprofessional education, and supportive clinical environments, may help translate knowledge into consistent practice.Editor's Note: Yes, real persons are behind each research article we post. Read this community's pride in the palliative care nurses of Quincy, IL behind this study. Eydie, Tracy and Chelsea saw a need, developed a research project, and saw it through to publication: National journal publishes palliative care research by area nurses.

[United Kingdom] Palliative care beds paused over lack of staffing BBC News, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom; by Laura Coffey; 5/28/26 Palliative care beds have been temporarily taken out of use for end-of-life patients due to an "unexpected shortfall in consultant cover", an NHS trust said. Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) said the six affected beds at Danetre Hospital in Daventry would instead be used for rehabilitation. ... In a statement, NHFT said: "A recruitment process is ongoing, and once the medical cover has been resolved, the beds will switch back to being palliative care beds. 

The estate planning mistake that could leave your family with nothing Due; by Petere Daisyme; 5/28/26 A friend’s father passed away last spring with $1.2 million in assets and no will. No trust, no beneficiary designations updated since the 1990s, no power of attorney documents. His ex-wife — not his current partner of 15 years — was still listed as the beneficiary on his life insurance and retirement accounts. Change your designations as soon as a life situation changes. ...

From loss to calling: Nursing students’ experiences of family terminal illness and death in the formation of professional identity and humanistic care Death Studies; by Laurie Glick and Adi Finkelstein; 5/10/26 ... This qualitative study examined nursing graduates who experienced the terminal illness and death of a close family member, providing them with early exposure to clinical settings and shaping their emotional insight and sensitivity to the psychosocial dimensions of end-of-life care. Their experiences often deepened their desire to enter the nursing profession and deliver compassionate, humanistic, family-centered care as clinical practitioners. 

BAYADA ranked on Forbes' Best Employers for New Grads list HomeCare News, Philadelphia, PA; Press Release; 5/27/26 BAYADA Home Health Care announced it has been named to Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for New Grads 2026, an annual ranking based on an independent survey of more than 100,000 United States employees with fewer than 10 years of work experience. BAYADA said it is the only home healthcare organization that made the list, ranked No. 116 out of the 500 companies recognized, spanning all industries. More than 2 million employer evaluations across a three-year period informed the final list. 

SOS – Should there be a six-month moratorium on new hospices and changes in majority ownership (CIMO) across the United States?Substack; by Joan Teno; 5/26/26A temporary nationwide moratorium on new hospices and changes in majority ownership could give regulators time to strengthen oversight, stop bad actors from reentering the system, and rebuild public trust in hospice care. Supporters argue that a pause would help address fraud, weak enforcement, and quality concerns before more providers enter the market. Key to this policy being effective is implementation that avoids penalizes good hospice providers... So, for me, the right policy needs thoughtful implementation to avoid unintended consequences.

Enhabit plans for ‘aggressive’ hospice growth Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/26/26 Enhabit Inc. plans to expand aggressively this year and beyond, with a goal of achieving a double-digit growth rate, according to the company’s new CEO Dale Clift. Clift took the helm at Enhabit last week, succeeding Barbara Jacobsmeyer. The announcement follows closure on Friday of Enhabit’s $1.1 billion acquisition by the private equity firm Kinderhook. The deal took Enhabit off of the New York Stock Exchange as a publicly traded company. ... Hospice News sat down with Clift to discuss Enhabit’s plans for growth and its future. 

Geographic distance between perinatal and pediatric palliative care services and implications for practice standards American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Radion Svynarenko, PhD, Meaghann S. Weaver, MD, PhD, MPH, HEC-C, Ambria Williams, BA,Ashley Kiefer Autrey, MD, DonnaMaria E. Cortezzo, MD, Abigail B. Wilpers, PhD, Abagail D. Cohen, MA, HEC-C,  Lisa C. Lindley, PhD, RN, FPCN, FAAN; 5/14/26 Background: Practice standards recommend early integration of perinatal and pediatric palliative care (PC) with seamless transitions across settings. Little is known about the proximity between these services nationally. Results: 418 pediatric PC physicians and 296 perinatal PC programs were included. Five states (CA, TX, NY, FL, OH) had the highest concentrations of pediatric PC physicians. ... Median drive times to the nearest pediatric PC physician for programs lacking on-site expertise reached approximately 5 hours in NM and SD; 3 hours in ND and MT; and 2 hours in AL, CO, WV, and TN.

Palliative care education boosts assisted living staff confidence, care quality for residents with dementiaMcKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 5/27/26...  Most assisted living staff members currently say they lack the training to engage in advance care planning, according to the researchers. The National Institutes of Health, which funded [this] study, said that the palliative care education intervention studied has the potential to be delivered more broadly among assisted living communities and could be vital in addressing workforce challenges in providing high-quality palliative and end-of-life care there. 

Sevierville teen seeking Eagle Scout rank turns personal pain into purpose WBIR 10 News, Knoxville, TN; by Heather Waliga; 5/27/26 A Sevierville teenager working toward her Eagle Scout rank is being recognized for a project that's helping families navigate one of life's hardest experiences: grief. Arrianne Witt, 17, transformed a once-empty prayer room inside Sacred Ground Hospice House into a peaceful space for reflection. ... The project quickly grew into a major undertaking. Witt spent months fundraising, collecting thousands of dollars in donations and organizing nearly two dozen volunteers to help bring the vision to life. The result is now a calming retreat inside the hospice house, complete with thoughtful décor and a soothing atmosphere meant to give families a moment of peace during difficult times. 

The interior experience of prescribing medical aid in dying: Carly Zapata and Dani ChammasGeriPal podcast; by Alex Smith, Eric Widera, Carly Zapata, Dani Chammas; 5/14/26In today’s podcast we focus on the equivalent experience of moral uncertainty, distress, and residue among prescribers of medical aid in dying. We are joined by Carly Zapata and Dani Chammas, prescribers of medical aid in dying in California. We discuss: