Literature Review

University of Minnesota uses VR to study Alzheimer's, death Government Technology (GT) - Center for Digital Education; by Richard Chin; 5/2/25 At the University of Minnesota, medical school students have been using a virtual reality experience to understand the perspective of a woman dealing with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. ... When the University of Minnesota offered to let me experience what it’s like to die, naturally I said yes. Aren’t we all morbidly curious about the undiscovered country, as Hamlet put it, from which no traveler returns? Except this time, happily, I would get to return because it would be a virtual death, an experience in a VR studio that’s part of the university’s Health Sciences Library system. The dying experience is part of a series of VR simulations developed by a nine-year-old California-based company called Embodied Labs. They’ve created immersive, first-person experiences of what it’s like to have dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson disease, vision or hearing loss, to be socially isolated or to experience aging as a LGBTQ person. And what it’s like to die.

Hospice nurse caring for 97-year-old woman noticed something unusual. A Ring Camera allegedly showed the unthinkable People; by Samira Asma-Sadeque; 5/2/25 A Florida man is under arrest after a woman allegedly caught him on a Ring camera raping her 97-year-old aunt. The victim, who has not been named, is nonverbal and bedridden, her niece said, according to an arrest report cited by Local 10. Timothy Morris, a 66-year-old from Homestead, Fla., was arrested on a charge of sexual battery of a physically incapacitated person, according to Miami-Dade County online court records reviewed by PEOPLE. Investigators say the victim is in hospice care, where Morris would often assist with her care, reportedly in the absence of hospice staff, per the arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. 

American Nurses Enterprise celebrates the power of nurses furing National Nurses Week American Nurses Enterprise: American Nurses Association - American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Nurses Foundation, Silver Spring, MD; newsroom@ana.org; 4/20/25 Today, the American Nurses Enterprise — encompassing the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) — kicks off National Nurses Week (May 6–12) with a powerful message: The Power of Nurses™. This year’s campaign shines a national spotlight on nurses as the driving force behind compassionate care, innovation, and transformative changes in healthcare. From coast to coast, the enterprise is launching a series of high-impact events — including a national press conference, educational webinars, landmark light-ups, and direct engagement with policymakers—to celebrate the unparalleled contributions of nurses and call on the public to honor their essential role in shaping a healthier future for all.

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Little girl receiving hospice care comes home to hero’s welcome in ClaytonJohnston County News [NC]; by Maggie Newland; 4/19/25A little girl battling a devastating disease received a hero’s welcome in Clayton Saturday. For nearly a year, Noelle Franklin has battled an aggressive bone cancer. Now, she is back home receiving hospice care, and her community came together to show their love. As cheers and bubbles filled the air, people lined Main Street in Clayton to catch a glimpse of a hero.

RFK Jr. is gutting minority health offices across HHS that are key to reducing health disparities NBC New York 4, in partnership with CNBC; by Annika Kim Constantino; 4/30/25 

UnitedHealth Group, Amedisys to offload sites to BrightSpring, Pennant GroupMcKnight's Home Care; by Liza Berger; 5/2/25UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys this week entered into agreements to divest certain care, home health and hospice care centers to affiliates of home care firms BrightSpring Health Services and The Pennant Group, according to an 8-K filing dated Thursday. The divestitures are contingent on the completion of UnitedHealth’s acquisition of Amedisys. The acquisition, which has been in the works since 2023, has been beset by federal antitrust scrutiny. Earlier this month, court documents revealed that a lawsuit filed by the United States Justice Department to block the acquisition is set for mediation on Aug. 18.

U.S. Attorney announces $202 million settlement with Gilead Sciences for using speaker programs to pay kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe Gilead’s DrugsDOJ - NY Office press release; 4/29/25Gilead admits to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to high prescribers of Gilead’s HIV drugs to serve as speakers at programs and to holding programs at luxury restaurants.

Cybersecurity in Mergers and Acquisitions CybersecurityNews.com; by CISO Advisory; 4/30/25 Cybersecurity in mergers and acquisitions is crucial, as M&A activities represent key inflection points for organizations, offering growth opportunities while introducing significant security challenges. In today’s threat landscape, cybersecurity has become a decisive factor in M&A success, with studies showing that over 40% of deals face serious cybersecurity issues post-acquisition. 

Confronting racism at Duke University: 2017-24: The clash of expression and protection in an elite universityPersonal communication; by Donald H Taylor Jr; 5/2/25Confronting Racism at Duke University, 2017-24: The Clash of Expression and Protection in an Elite University is my story of serving in two university leadership posts that required me to pay attention to campus issues that I had avoided during my first two decades as a professor. Doing so helped me understand two interconnected realities: that race is the most persistent idea that has shaped my life, from growing up in rural eastern North Carolina to being a leader at an elite university, and that racist incidents disrupt the normal intellectual debate and dialogue of a University campus like nothing else. The word confronting in the title signifies a double meaning. This is a memoir of my coming to understand the power of race in my life, including realizing how incomplete was the version of U.S. history I learned in and out of school. The second meaning acknowledges the repetitive nature of high-profile racist events that disrupted the Duke community during the seven-year period recounted, and our efforts to combat them.

Private equity in health careAMA Journal of Ethics; 5/25One way private equity differs from other for-profit investments is by aiming to maximize profitability while minimizing long-term holdings in such investments. Valuation for private equity acquisitions in health care has grown to over 150 billion dollars since 2020, and expansion continues. One reason private equity investment in the health sector deserves close ethical attention is that private equity firms are, generally, not interested in managing patient panels, clinician personnel, or making service delivery streams work for patients. Another reason is that influx of private equity investment in health care tends to consolidate markets for health services, undermining competition and driving up costs for patients. This theme issue considers which criteria should be used to determine whether, when, and for whom buying and selling of private equity in health care stands up to ethical, clinical, and legal scrutiny and considers how to better guide and regulate private equity transactions in health care.Publisher's note: This entire journal issue (14 articles) focuses on the role of private equity in health care.

Hunterdon Health Auxiliary’s Splash of Sparkle raises $47,000 for Hunterdon Hospice Hunterdon Health, Flemington, NJ; Press Release; 4/22/25 On April 6th, the Hunterdon Health Auxiliary brought together supporters of Hunterdon Hospice for its signature event, Splash of Sparkle, held at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club. Guests gathered for an afternoon filled with bubbly, brunch, and giving back—raising $47,000 to support compassionate end-of-life care for patients and families across our region. ... One of the most meaningful moments of the afternoon came when Jean Hewens, a longtime friend of hospice, shared her family’s journey. Her husband, Dr. Jeremy Hewens, was a beloved family physician with Hunterdon Family Medicine at Delaware Valley for many years. ...

NPHI opens 10th Annual Summit in Las Vegas, celebrating a decade of impact National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI)m Washington, DC; Press Release; 4/29/25The 10th Annual Summit of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) officially kicks off this morning, April 29, at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. This milestone Summit, themed “A Decade of Impact,” brings together hospice and palliative care leaders from across the nation to celebrate ten years of remarkable achievements and to explore the innovative strategies that will drive the future of high-quality, community-based care. ... Key topics include advancing policy solutions to prevent fraud and abuse in hospice, harnessing artificial intelligence to improve care, exploring international hospice, elevating outreach and communications, and strengthening the quality and consistency of services across the board. During the summit, NPHI will also debut a newly developed Cancer Clinical Provider Guide—designed to help members deliver the highest standards of cancer care. ... “As we mark a decade of impact, this summit is not only a time to reflect on the extraordinary progress we’ve made, but an opportunity to be forward thinking and anticipating what comes next,” said Tom Koutsoumpas, NPHI CEO. [NPHI is a sponsor of our newsletter.]