Literature Review

East Texas woman celebrates 100th birthday, leaving legacy of faith and family The Lufkin Daily News; by Ruben Ibarra, Jr.; 6/6/26 A woman who spent her life caring for others turned 100 Monday, surrounded by family members who say her legacy is one of strength, faith and unwavering love. Alzonia Hood Freeman, born March 2, 1926, in Camden, reached the milestone under the care of Hospice in the Pines. A weekend gathering brought relatives from across Texas and neighboring states, while hospice staff held a birthday observance Monday to honor a life that has stretched across a full century. The celebration included a cake donated by Areles Bakery and flowers provided by Lufkin Flower Market.

Avow Hospice fights new rival in Naples Naples Today | Health; 3/5/26 Avow Hospice, a long-standing hospice provider in Naples, Florida, is objecting to the state's preliminary approval of a new hospice entity, Preferred Care Hospice, that Avow says would be detrimental to its operations of over 40 years in the community. Avow has filed a petition for an administrative hearing to try to overturn the state's approval of the new hospice. ... The battle between Avow Hospice and the new Preferred Care Hospice highlights the competitive nature of the hospice industry, especially in growing markets like Naples. 

Heart to Heart Hospice expands service in East Texas Cision | PR Newswire, Plano, TX; Press Release; 3/3/26 Heart to Heart Hospice, one of the country's largest private providers of hospice care, has opened two new agencies in East Texas, significantly expanding its ability to serve patients and families in the region. Heart to Heart Hospice of Huntsville and Heart to Heart Hospice of Hemphill are now making a broad range of hospice services available in nine additional Texas counties. The Huntsville agency serves the counties of Brazos, Grimes, Houston, Madison, Polk, Trinity, and Walker. The Hemphill location covers Sabine and San Augustine counties. 

BMI at diagnosis and pre-diagnosis weight loss as predictors of stage and survival in hepatocellular carcinomaJournal of Clinical Oncology; by Tatiana Ermi, Daniel Kiser, Gai Elhanan, Harry Menon, Joseph Grzymski, Katharine Thomas; 1/26Body mass index (BMI) is a recognized risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its relationship to stage at diagnosis, survival, and the “obesity paradox” remains uncertain. Obesity at the time of HCC diagnosis, but not years earlier, was associated with earlier stage and improved survival, while pre-diagnosis weight loss predicted worse outcomes, particularly within the first months after diagnosis. These findings may contribute to the “obesity paradox” discussion in cancer outcomes, in which obesity appears to increase cancer risk overall but paradoxically appears to offer survival protection after diagnosis. Additionally, further studies are needed to investigate this relationship. If validated, consideration should be made as to whether BMI at diagnosis could play a role in both prognostic discussions and risk stratification in HCC.

Palliative care physician explains living and dying with ALS Forbes; by Adaira Landry, MD, MEd; 2/26/26 Actor Eric Dane’s recent death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has drawn national attention. ... Beyond the headlines lies a deeper and more urgent discussion: what life—and death—look like for patients living with ALS. To better understand both the clinical and scientific landscape, I spoke with Dr. Maria “Marissa” Mapa, an internal medicine and palliative care physician who treats patients with ALS, and Dr. Melanie Leitner, chief scientific officer of the ALS Investment Fund, about current and future research directions.

The burden of the eldest daughter MedPage Today's KevinMD.com; podcast by Jessie Mahone, MD; 10/15/25 Were you the one who always held it together? The responsible one? The one who made sure everyone else was OK, sometimes at the cost of your own well-being? For most eldest daughters, this role is inevitable. We don’t choose it. We are handed it, early and often, because we are so “capable.” We accept this role and excel at it. That’s what most eldest daughters do with whatever is handed to us. Recently, my podcast cohost, another female physician, and I realized we had so many shared “eldest daughter” experiences. 

How compliance technology can improve day-to-day operations BusinessABC; by Peyman Khosravani; 2/25/26 ... Compliance technology, compliance software, or regtech, is the use of software and technology to help companies adhere to regulatory, legal, and internal requirements, and the automation of monitoring, reporting, and auditing of compliance. ...

Awards and Recognitions: February 2026

Friends of Hospice starts life longings bucket list program WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY; by Iris St. Meran; 2/26/26 Losing a friend or loved one is never easy. That’s why organizations like Friends of Hospice in Oswego County are important. They provide non-medical support and have a new initiative to help those facing a life limiting diagnosis fulfill bucket list requests. Elena Twiss, the executive director shared more about the Life Longings program. It is designed to support individuals facing a life-limiting diagnosis by fulfilling “bucket list” requests, making comfort improvements, or helping with milestone celebrations. To learn more about life longings and the other resources friends of hospice provides visit FriendsOfHospice.org.

Alliance 2025 Facts and Figures Report now available The National Alliance for Care at Home; Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 3/3/26 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) published the 2025 edition of Facts and Figures, an annual report on key data points related to the delivery of hospice care, including information on patient characteristics, location and level of care, Medicare hospice spending, hospice provider characteristics, and quality of care. Facts and Figures – the leading resource for hospice providers and others interested in understanding the work of the community – has been published annually for over two decades. The findings in this report reflect patients who received care in 2024, provided by hospices certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and reimbursed under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. ... The full 2025 Facts and Figures report is available for Alliance members online. The Executive Summary is available to the public.  Editor's Note: Pair this national data with the The Alliance and the Research Institute for Home Care release 2025 Hospice Chartbook that we posted on 2/20/26. The RIHC Hospice Chartbook mainly provides state views with some national treands, whereas this Facts and Figures report is mainly a national view with time trends.

Executive Summary: Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines on Adult End-of-Life Care in the ICUCritical Care Medicine; by Mary Faith Marshall, F Daniel Davis, Patricia A Fogelman, Simon Oczkowski, Julie C Reid, Daniel Arellano, Rebecca A Aslakson, Joshua Campbell, Katherine Courtright, Katarine Egressy, Elizabeth Epstein, Ebonye Green, May Hua, Preeti R John, Erin K Kross, Niels D Martin, Bethany A Melo, Susanne Muehlschlegel, Silvia Perez-Protto, Ben Roberts, Daniel Shalev, Jennifer Wescoe Singley, Shawna L Strickland, Karen A Korzick; 12/25[Recommendations include:]

Use of nebulized tranexamic acid (TA) in combination with nebulized recombinant coagulation factor VIIa to treat hemoptysis in pediatric patients with cancer at end-of-life (EOL)Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Santosh Yatam Ganesh, Nelda Itzep, Eduardo Bruera; 2/26Hemoptysis is a distressing symptom for both patients and families at end of life (EOL). In the acute care setting, this can be managed surgically or medically. However, research regarding interventions, such as nebulized tranexamic acid (TA) and nebulized factor VIIa, for palliative management of hemoptysis at EOL is limited. In our case series, we found that combination of nebulized recombinant factor VIIa and nebulized TA relieved hemoptysis in both pediatric cancer patients at the end of life. This case series highlights the potential use of this combination to reduce suffering and distress secondary to hemoptysis in the palliative setting.