Literature Review

Defining palliative care quality in a tight reimbursement environment Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 1/27/26 Palliative care delivery is undergoing an evolutionary period of change. These services are offered in several different ways across the country, which brings both benefits and challenges when it comes to defining quality in the space. Today’s palliative care providers are shaping the outlook of the field, but through diversified approaches, according to Brynn Bowman, CEO of Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). The field is reaching a pivotal stage when it comes to supply and demand or resources, an issue that greater standardization could help to address, she indicated. 

Meant to Be: Denise's journey into hospice nursing The McKenzie, Tennessee Banner; 1/27/26 When Denise lost her husband, Tony, to leukemia at only 39, her world shifted forever. She was 29. ... In her thirties, ... she enrolled in nursing school, determined to rebuild her own story, one chapter at a time. ...Then came a nursing hospice opportunity. ... For Denise, hospice nursing isn't about endings; it's about helping families find peace, honesty, dignity, and hope in the final chapter. She carries the responsibility with deep reverence. "We're the last chapter," she says softly. "And if that chapter ends poorly, a lot of it is on us." ... Denise's journey reminds us that sometimes the hardest heartbreaks lead us to the most meaningful callings. Editor's Note: [Full access to this may require a subscription.] What personal life experiences brought many of your clinicians to end-of-life care? You may be surpised how little you know about them; what brings meaning and purpose for them; how seeing their journeys inspires you in your leadership role.

Lifespark’s COMPLETE Senior Living Model sets new standard for senior living innovation Business Wire, Minneapolis, MN; Press Release; 1/27/26 Lifespark, a complete senior health company managing more than 50 senior living communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin, has unveiled its COMPLETE Senior Living (CSL) model with plans for significant growth in 2026. The CSL model integrates four key components: Lifespark Senior Living Management, SPARK Growth and Wellness led by Dr. Bill Thomas, Lifespark Medical Group, and Lifespark Hospice.

[United Kingdom] Winner's £25k hospice donation matched by lottery BBC News; by Rebecca Kenyon; 1/27/26 A lottery winner who donated £25,000 of her prize to a Kent hospice which cared for her late husband says she is "thrilled" her donation has been matched by the company which ran the draw. Linda Styles donated the money to the Heart of Kent Hospice in Aylesford in August after winning £250,000 in the People's Postcode Lottery. ... It costs £7.6m a year to provide services at the hospice but only 20% of that funding comes from the government. The hospices says this means it relies on voluntary donations for the other 80%.

How do I tell my patient they’re dying? Medscape; by Lisa Mulcahy; 1/27/26 Ruth Parry, PhD, still remembers a conversation she mishandled as a junior National Health Service stroke rehabilitation physiotherapist many years ago. ... Since then, Parry has analyzed nearly 100 video consultations between practitioners and patients with poor prognoses in stroke and head injury and with terminal diagnoses. Her research explores a critical clinical dilemma: How do doctors navigate the delicate balance of providing fair, accurate information about dire prognoses while respecting a patient’s feelings and personal choices?

Rethinking medications at the end of life for patients with advanced cancerCure; by Ruan Scott; 1/27/26 Key Takeaways

Briana Kohlbrenner: End-of-life care is under threat - as demand for hospice grows, workers say staffing and pay must keep paceVTDigger, Vermont; commentary by Briana Kohlbrenner; 1/27/26 As demand for hospice grows, workers say staffing and pay must keep pace. University of Vermont Home Health and Hospice (UVMHHH) is at a crossroads. As Vermont’s population ages, the demand for hospice care is growing. ... We are asking for fair and transparent pay scales, safe staffing and equity within the UVM Health system. Though we wear the same logo on our badges, we are paid less than our counterparts in other parts of the UVM Health system. A new nurse starting at UVM Home Health and Hospice earns $6.72 less per hour than a new nurse at the UVM Medical Center.

Family Care Palliative & Hospice expands palliative care access for Maricopa County residents ABNewswire, Tempe, AZ; Press release by Family Care Palliative & Hospice; 1/26/25Family Care Palliative & Hospice has expanded its service offerings to meet better the growing demand for specialized end-of-life and serious illness care throughout Maricopa County and surrounding areas. ... The expansion comes at a time when demand for quality best hospice care continues to rise across Arizona. 

Remembering the Holocaust with little-known story about a Jewish refugee and Cicely Saunders: Honoring the International Holocaust Remembrance Day - 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

Woman faked can­cer, death to get out of court cases, DA says The Boston Globe; by Tonya Alanez; 1/24/26 A Ply­mouth woman who allegedly pre­ten­ded to have ter­minal brain can­cer to get out of numer­ous court cases, and even fab­ric­ated her death, is facing numer­ous charges related to the obstruc­tion scheme, pro­sec­utors said Thursday. Shan­non E. Wilson had sev­eral crim­inal cases pending in Mas­sachu­setts dis­trict courts dur­ing 2022 and 2023, accord­ing to a state­ment from the office of Ply­mouth Dis­trict Attor­ney Timothy J. Cruz. “Dur­ing the pen­dency of those pro­ceed­ings, wilson allegedly rep­res­en­ted — both per­son­ally and through defense coun­sel — that she was suf­fer­ing from ter­minal can­cer, was under­go­ing treat­ment, had entered hos­pice care, and ulti­mately had died," Cruz’s state­ment said. 

How does palliative care work under Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Law? WorkersCompensation.com; 1/25/26 What does it take for an injured worker in Rhode Island to receive palliative care? State regulations spell out the steps ... "Palliative care" means the first 12 visits for medical services provided by a physician licensed by the State after maximum medical improvement has been attained. ... Additional palliative care beyond the 12 visits after the employee reaches maximum medical improvement, is conditioned on the authorization of the claim administrator (insurer, self-insured employer, third party administrator) upon the request of the employee’s treating physician (Medical Provider).

The role of specialty palliative care in cancer surgery: Rebecca Aslakson & Myrick ShinallGeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Rebecca Aslakson, Myrick Shinall; 1/29/26Recent randomized controlled trials have shown that routine perioperative palliative care does not improve outcomes for patients undergoing curative-intent cancer surgery. No, that wasn’t a typo. Regardless of how the data were analyzed, the findings remained consistent: perioperative palliative care DID NOT improve outcomes in the only two randomized controlled trials conducted in this area—the SCOPE and PERIOP-PC trials... One key takeaway for me from this discussion was the idea that patients undergoing curative-intent surgery might simply be too early in their cancer trajectory to derive meaningful benefits from palliative care, and maybe the focus should be more on geriatrics. I especially appreciated the closing discussion about the future of research in this area: if routine perioperative palliative care doesn’t improve outcomes, what should the next generation of studies focus on?

Fighting hospice fraud an OIG priority Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 1/26/26 The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has identified hospice fraud among top management and performance challenges. This is according to an annual document that OIG prepares, a statutory requirement that is designed to help HHS improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations. A major challenge for HHS is the “sizable” reduction in workforce and a slew of program changes instituted by the Trump Administration, the report indicated. “Effectively managing a changing organizational and workforce environment is itself a significant management challenge,” OIG said in the report.