Literature Review

[India] Challenges and ethical considerations of palliative care in Indian prisonsJournal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Swapnil Kumar Barasker, Pankaj Singhai, Maya Nair, Deepali Kumar; 8/25The landscape of palliative care (PC) in India is still nascent, and when applied to the prison setting, it becomes a terrain fraught with unique challenges. There is a dearth of region-specific perspectives on end-of-life care (EOLC) and PC in Indian prisons. In Indian prisons, EOLC is complicated by issues such as overcrowding, inadequate medical facilities, and the societal neglect of incarcerated individuals, yet the need for it remains largely unrecognized... Prison deaths are frequently associated with brutality or neglect, but statistics reveal that most deaths occur due to natural causes such as ischemic heart disease, pneumonia, cancer, and liver and kidney disorders. Despite many prisoners having chronic illnesses, they often lack regular follow-ups and access to appropriate care due to insufficient medical staff and infrastructure.

CMS FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index FINAL Rule posted in Federal Register

The effects of private equity ownership in U.S. nursing homes quality and financial performance: A systematic reviewHealth Policy; by Gregory N. Orewa, Aizhan Karabukayeva, Rohit Pradhan, Itopa Jimoh, Robert Weech-Maldonado; 7/25Private equity (PE) investment in U.S. nursing homes has increased significantly over the past two decades. The emergence of this novel ownership model has prompted concerns regarding its effects on nursing home performance, especially quality... Across studies, PE ownership was linked to higher number of deficiencies, increased hospitalization rates, and higher mortality, although some improvements in care processes were noted. Financial outcomes showed initial financial gains but long-term challenges, primarily due to high debt loads... Findings suggest that PE strategies may prioritize short-term profitability, which may compromise quality of care in some instances. These findings highlight the need for financial transparency, and reimbursement models that incentivize long-term quality.

AMOREM cuts ribbon on long-awaited hospice patient care unit WataugaDemocrat.com, Boone, NC; by Abigail Eggers; 7/30/25 Boone’s long-awaited and first hospice patient care unit, AMOREM’s SECU Patient Care Unit, has officially opened. “AMOREM has long believed in the power of a hospice patient care unit. In fact, we opened North Carolina’s very first patient care unit in 1989. We’ve seen firsthand the comfort these places bring to our patients,” said April Moore, CEO of AMOREM, at the July 25 ribbon cutting. AMOREM purchased the land for the facility in January 2020. A month later, the property was annexed into the town of Boone. In October 2020, the state approved AMOREM’s request for six inpatient beds in Watauga County, and first broke ground on the property in September 2023.Editor's Note: Congratulations to AMOREM. Their January 2020 purchase plans were surely interrupted by March 2020's COVID. After breaking ground in September 2023, Hurricane Helene hit this mountain in September 2024. Having had family who lived in this area, your resilience and tenacity through especially challenging time is inspiring. 

The complexity of multi-service organizations Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Christ Comeaux with Rebecca Ramsy and Mark Jarman-Howe; 7/30/25 Rebecca Ramsay and Mark Jarman-Howe, two dynamic leaders who are navigating the evolving world of hospice and multi-service healthcare with vision and heart,  share their experiences in managing diverse service lines, emphasizing the importance of culture, workforce resilience, and community engagement. Rebecca and Mark discuss the challenges of balancing mission and margin while fostering innovation and collaboration. The conversation underscores the importance of strategic planning, mentorship, and understanding regulatory frameworks to navigate the healthcare landscape effectively.  

Medicare and Medicaid: 60 years of health care reform Medicare Rights Center; by Jisoo Choi; 7/30/25 On this day 60 years ago, Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law, creating a national health insurance program for older adults, people with disabilities, and people with limited incomes. In the first three years, Medicare and Medicaid enrolled nearly 20 million beneficiaries; today, Medicare has an enrollment of over 68 million and Medicaid, over 71 million. The programs, established amidst sustained public pressure and organizing by labor unions and older adults, have been and remain very popular: recent polling shows 82% of American adults hold a generally favorable view of Medicare, and 97% consider Medicaid to be important to people in their local communities.

Private equity in hospice care spurs workers to strike Capital & Main; by Jesse Baum; 7/30/25 When hospice nurse Kristina Nauheimer joined the growing unionization push among end-of-life care workers in 2022, she knew there was a fight ahead. But she and her coworkers at two Bay Area hospices in California didn’t expect to be at the negotiating table with Providence, their hospice operator, for more than two years — or that their employer would merge with a private-equity-owned firm. “I didn’t think it would take this long to achieve this little,” said Nauheimer, who joined about 100 workers from the company’s Hospice of Petaluma and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospice in a two-day strike with their union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, on July 2 and 3. They struck, said Nauheimer, because contract negotiations with Providence, their operator, have been at a standstill. 

Agrace: Selected as preferred hospice provider to Crossing Rivers Health WisBusiness; Prairie du Chien, WI; Press Release; 7/30/25 Agrace, Wisconsin’s largest nonprofit hospice, is pleased to announce that after months of discussions with Crossing Rivers Health, it will take over the health system’s hospice program. The two organizations have also entered into a Preferred Partner Agreement to support the local community’s ongoing needs for high quality end of life care. This agreement comes three months after Agrace’s preferred partnership with Oakwood Village Communities and supports Agrace’s rapid growth across the state of Wisconsin. Crossing Rivers Health, based in Prairie du Chien, has decided to close its hospice service line to focus on their core healthcare services. Current Wisconsin Crossing Rivers Health Hospice patients will have the option to transition to Agrace’s care by the end of September. 

The ‘accidental’ hospice chaplain The Dallas Weekly (DW), Dallas, TX; by Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware; 7/30/25 “I’m an accidental chaplain,” says Rev. Dr. Missiouri McPhee, an ordained African Methodist Episcopal minister who works with Orlando Health, a nonprofit healthcare company based in Florida. A Florida A&M University graduate, McPhee was working on her theology doctorate in Atlanta when a classmate, a chaplain at a hospital in Orlando, ... [kept saying to me,] "Missiouri, you need to come interview with my hospital." ... Fast forward a few years, and McPhee found herself taking on work as a hospice chaplain, arguably the most challenging and rewarding specialty in ministry. She currently works in the Central Florida area for VITAS Healthcare, a major provider of hospice and palliative care. ...

5 top types of quality data hospices should be watching Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/31/25 ... To attract payers and other potential business partners, hospices should focus on tracking live discharges, levels of care and care settings, visit frequency and timeliness, patient and caregiver experience and length of stay. This is according to a new report, Measures That Matter, which was prepared by a team of hospice leaders and experts. These experts, who convened multiple times between July 2023 and December 2024, sought to identify the indicators of quality that matter most to payers and referral organizations, particularly in the context of value-based care. “The best way hospices can leverage these data is to be excellent. This is where things are moving,” Dr. Ira Byock, hospice and palliative care physician and founder of the Institute for Human Caring at Providence St. Joseph Health, told Hospice News. 

Crossing Rivers Health hospice service closing after 45 yearsWGLR; by Courtney Chaffee; 7/30/25 An area hospital-based hospice service is closing. Crossing Rivers Health announced this week that it will close its hospice program effective Sept. 30. A press release states that the decision followed “a comprehensive evaluation of healthcare trends.” Crossing Rivers Health is based in Prairie du Chien and the hospice program was established in 1980. It serves patients in Crawford County and portions of Grant County in Wisconsin, as well as patients in portions of Clayton County in Iowa. The release states that Crossing Rivers Health is working with Agrace Hospice Care to help ensure continuity of care for Wisconsin hospice patients. 

How leaders undermine their own authority Harvard Business Review (HBR) On Leadership; podcast with Peter Bregman; 7/23/25 Does your organization lack quality leadership? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Peter Bregman, the CEO of Bregman Partners and author of the book Leading with Emotional Courage. They talk through what to do when your leaders are indecisive, unprofessional, or value the wrong things.Key episode topics include: leadership, decision making and problem solving, organizational culture, emotional intelligence.