Literature Review

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey matters in the end. ~ Ernest Hemingway

Nurses in ‘key position’ to embed culturally and religiously sensitive end-of-life care Nursing In Practice; by Cahal McQuillan; 3/2/26 Many Muslim patients prioritise end-of-life care that aligns with their faith and culture, with family-based care often being expected to achieve a peaceful death, a new study reports. The review, which was published in BMJ Open in January, collected and analysed data from 18 papers that presented primary research on end-of-life care among Muslims living in the UK. Their findings highlighted challenges faced by healthcare professionals in this area, and put forward several meaningful steps to help providers, such as nurses, provide culturally and religiously sensitive palliative care. 

How family caregivers are shaping their own future AARP; by Paul Wynn; 2/18/26 Applying hard-learned lessons from caring for others, nearly half of caregivers are planning their own legal, financial and medical futures. Helen Bundy Medsger spent three decades caring for multiple family members, including her parents and sister, an experience that shaped both her advocacy and her determination to plan ahead so her two children don’t inherit the challenges she faced as a caregiver. ... 

March is Social Work Month: "Uplift. Defend. Transform." NASW - National Association of Social Workers; retrieved from website, 3/2/26 Social Work Month was first celebrated in March 1963 to build public support for the profession. It has become an event celebrated by hundreds of thousands of social workers – and their supporters – each year. This year’s theme is “Social Workers: Uplift. Defend. Transform.” Learn more about why this theme was selected and what activities are planned for Social Work Month 2026!

What Enhabit’s $1.1B acquisition means for the hospice landscape Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 2/24/26 Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) has plans to grow its hospice and home health service lines to new levels upon the completion of its recent acquisition by the private equity firm Kinderhook Industries LLC. ... The recently announced $1.1 billion acquisition represents an important milestone in terms of expanding the provider’s patient reach and workforce, according to Barb Jacobsmeyer, president and CEO of Enhabit. ... Enhabit is among the largest hospice and home care companies in the United States, according to Hospice News’ Hospice Top 50 report. ... The timing of the Enhabit transaction comes at a pivotal point in its growth trajectory, according to Joe Widmar, director of the consulting firm West Monroe.

Humans aren't as good as we should be in our capacity to empathize with feelings and thoughts of others, ...  So maybe part of our formal education should be training in empathy. Imagine how different the world would be if, in fact, that were 'reading, writing, arithmetic, empathy.' ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

Azura Palliative Care & Hospice NBC WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, WI; Press Release; 2/27/26 Azura has been the leader in Memory Care & Assisted Living for many years. They are now opening a new location in Mukwonago. They also have a new sister company Azura Palliative Care & Hospice. The two companies allow them to offer assisted living, memory care, respite, hospice, palliative care and an adult day program called TIME. 

BrightSpring CEO: Hospice, home health have ‘unbelievable runway’ Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/27/26 BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG) is seeing accelerated growth as it works to integrate assets acquired from Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). The company purchased 107 home health branches from those companies for $239 million. The sale had been contingent on the outcome of the UnitedHealth Group’s own acquisition of Amedisys, which closed in August 2025. Some of the locations formerly belonged to LHC Group, which the insurance giant also acquired. “These assets are very complementary to our existing home health business from a geographic perspective, while also being in the same markets as our hospice locations in many cases,” BrightSpring CEO Jon Rousseau said in an earnings call. 

Choices Healthcare CEO Michael Link eyes growth, innovation while staying true to hospice mission LNP | Lancaster Online; by Rachel Curry; 3/1/26 Michael Link always admired the loyalty it took for a long, stable career — in terms of being loyal to the company and vice versa. In October 2025, Link became CEO of Choices Healthcare, the parent company of Hospice & Community Care, where he began working as an IT trainer in 2001. ... For Link, it was quickly apparent that the work he found himself in was meaningful, and staying within the organization afforded him the opportunity to work across all kinds of departments. In 2024, Hospice & Community Care merged with Hospice of Central PA to form Choices Healthcare. Together, they provide care across 11 Pennsylvania counties. The organization also operates the Pathways Center for Grief & Loss in Mount Joy. Much of Link’s new role involves maintaining a strong legacy of care.

Be where you are: Leadership, caregiving, and the courage to pause with Carla Davis | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Carla Davis; 2/25/26 In this powerful episode on Hospice leadership and healthcare leadership development, Carla Davis, Executive in Residence at Cressey & Company, shares what she learned after taking an intentional executive sabbatical to care for her mother. This conversation explores the intersection of caregiver resilience, leadership and burnout, and rediscovering identity beyond professional titles. 

March reminds us that progress is a journey—steady, patient, and full of promise.

From digital transformation to intelligent transformation CIO; by Rakesh Bhardwaj; 2/25/26 Over the past decade, digital transformation has focused on converting manual processes to digital ones, migrating infrastructure to the cloud, updating applications and creating new channels for customer and employee engagement. These efforts have resulted in tangible benefits such as accelerated cycle times, increased transparency and reduced costs. However, these initiatives have also revealed limitations: Simply digitizing a flawed process does not resolve its underlying issues; it only makes the inefficiencies operate at a faster pace.

Handmade patchwork quilts bring comfort to Taree palliative care patients and their families ABC - New South Wales, Australia; by Emma Siossian; 2/21/26 Kaye-Maree Hinton's husband Garry was in end-of-life care with a rare type of brain cancer, when a nurse laid a bright, handmade quilt over his hospital bed. Ms. Hinton, 62, says the simple act of kindness provided a spark of colour and comfort in the stark and sterile hospital environment. ... "It was so comforting … to cover him with something so beautiful, instead of just hospital sheets and hospital blankets in cold, stark white." ... The quilt is now set to become a family heirloom, already laid in a crib ready for the upcoming birth of Ms. Hinton's newest grandchild. ... Recently the project surpassed a total of 2,000 donated quilts.