Literature Review

Students organize death café to discuss the inevitable Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT; by Brad Thomas; 6/27/25 The annual event gathered more than 50 students and faculty from assorted disciplines for meaningful conversations about death and dying. ... [Student Jillian O'Brien '25] helped organize the second annual Death Café during her final semester at Fairfield. She and her classmates in “End-of-Life Communication,” an interdisciplinary course taught by Michael Pagano, PhD, wished to build on the success of last year’s event by continuing to create a space for meaningful conversation about death and dying. At the event, they led thoughtful table discussions about how their perspectives and ways of communicating about death have evolved.

Translating suffering through sculptureAAHPM Quarterly; by Ronit Elk; 6/27/25... I began to sculpt with clay at 15, and it was when the clay was in my hands that I became truly at one with what I was creating. I translated the untold suffering I had witnessed reflected in the eyes of the African women, together with their resilience and “can’t do otherwise” attitude, into the sculptures. I didn’t plan these, they literally emerged. In some of my sculptures the pain in the eyes of the women is so clear that people who see them often look away. In this sculpture I hope you can see reflected both the suffering of the African women and their strength and resilience to take care of and provide for their families and communities.Publisher's note: This brief article is a heartfelt expression through the arts.

LP Quinn Elementary students raise nearly $13K for High Peaks Hospice; Each grade chose a different way to fundraise The Sun, Tupper Lake, NY; News Report; 6/24/25 The students of LP Quinn Elementary School have once again proven the power of community, creativity, and compassion. During May, the entire school united in their annual fundraising campaign and raised an incredible $12,600+ for High Peaks Hospice. Each grade level chose a unique fundraising strategy, highlighting the ingenuity and heart of LP Quinn students:

National Health Care Fraud Takedown results in 324 defendants charged in connection with over $14.6 billion in alleged fraud: Largest Justice Department Health Care Fraud Takedown in history, more than doubles prior record of $6 billion Office of Public Affairs - U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC; 6/30/25 The Justice Department today announced the results of its 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other licensed medical professionals, in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General’s Offices across the United States, for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes involving over $14.6 billion in intended loss. The Takedown involved federal and state law enforcement agencies across the country and represents an unprecedented effort to combat health care fraud schemes that exploit patients and taxpayers.Editor's Note: For cases specific to hospice and palliative care, (1) go to our homepage, (2) ;ogin to your newsletter account, (3) use the search engine at the top of our page, using the key word "fraud". We have posted  204 articles about hospice fraud, since we began this format on 1/1/2024. Ongoing, use this search engine as your first "Go To" resource for targeted, timely information.

[Canada] Hospice Northwest receives support to help unhoused people get palliative careCBC; by Sarah Law; 6/27/25Kimberley Ramsbottom, outreach program coordinator at Hospice Northwest, says it's important for everyone to have access to quality end-of-life services, no matter their personal circumstances. Accessing palliative care can be stressful for anyone, but for people experiencing homelessness, even getting to medical appointments can be an impossible barrier. The Palliative Advocacy Care Team (PACT) in Thunder Bay, Ont., works to address these challenges by connecting unhoused individuals who have life-limiting illnesses with essential services, such as food, transportation, communication methods and primary care... The $10,000 award will go directly to meeting clients' needs, from helping them find transportation, to getting a cellphone so their doctor can reach them about upcoming appointments.

Grief literacy’s growing impact on hospice bereavement care models Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 6/27/25 Evolving trends related to grief literacy have trickled into the innovative bereavement approaches that hospice providers employ amid rising demand for family support. Hospices have fine-tuned how they measure quality and shape services within their bereavement programs as more is learned about the diverse ways people both understand and experience grief. Even the term “grief literacy” has been gaining ground in recent years, according to Sarah Saltee, executive director of Colorado-based 3Hopeful Hearts (3HH). The term generally refers to the ability to understand and recognize that grief experiences span beyond a person’s death and can apply to any significant loss of health, relationships, goals, self-identity or safety, Saltee stated.

Wisconsin author discusses her mother’s aging, dying in the American health care system: The long-term care system failed both her and her mother, she writes Wisconsin Public Radio; by Colleen Leahy; 6/27/25At age 99, Judy Karofsky’s mother was kicked out of her Wisconsin hospice facility. Within 48 hours of that decision, Karofsky became her mother’s default nurse. “I had to find a wheelchair for her. I had to keep track of her meds. I had to buy all the bandages and supplies that she would [need],” Karofsky told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” Karofsky is the author of “Diselderly Conduct: The Flawed Business of Assisted Living and Hospice.” In it, she chronicles nightmare scenarios as her mother aged and died in the American healthcare system: making her way through independent living, six different assisted living facilities, memory care, skilled nursing and hospice.  

Choice Bank’s 'Go Hawaiian for Hospice' campaign has raised $1.3 million since 2012 to support end-of-life care by HIA HospiceInForum; by Drew Berg; 6/24/25A Fargo bank is having fun while raising money for local end-of-life care. Choice Bank held its 14th annual “Go Hawaiian for Hospice” event on Tuesday, June 24. The event raises money for HIA Hospice, formerly known as Hospice of the Red River Valley... Choice Bank says the event has raised over $1.3 million since 2012.

New Day Healthcare acquires Dunes HospiceHospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/25/25The home health and hospice company New Day Healthcare has acquired Dunes Hospice in Indiana for an undisclosed amount. The deal marks New Day’s 16th acquisition to date, as well as its first entry into the Indiana market. The company plans to build density in that state by adding personal care services and skilled home health services to those markets. New Day now serves patients in six states... Just last week, Texas-based New Day inked an agreement to acquire New Mexico-based Heritage Home Healthcare LLC.

Big Bend Hospice unveils new mobile medical unit Thursday in Tallahassee[FL] WCTV; by Ava Van Valen and WCTV staff; 6/26/25Big Bend Hospice and its parent organization, Seven Oaks Health, unveiled Thursday their new Seven Oaks Health Care mobile medical unit. Seven Oaks Health said the new medical unit is part of its mission to bring compassionate, expert support to patients and families in our community. “The focus of our mobile unit is really to improve access to end-of-life care and palliative care services throughout our region,” said Chief Medical Officer Debrah Morris. “A lot of people love to come to Leon County, but a lot of people can’t, and many of our patients are homebound, but they have caregivers who can’t drive into Leon County.”

Why research palliative, supportive, and end-of-life care?Oxford Academic; by David C Currow, Nancy Preston; 5/25[Chapter 1 in Research Methods in Palliative, Supportive, and End-of-Life Care, Second edition.] It is crucial that clinical practice and public policy in palliative care are based upon the most robust research. In palliative care, the benefits of interventions offered have been systematically overestimated, and their harms underestimated. High-quality evidence is needed that directly informs practice by understanding how patients and carers experience palliative care and how best to respond to their feedback.

Tending to sexuality and intimacy in hospice and palliative medicineAAHPM Summer Quarterly; by Danielle Chammas, Teddy Scheel, Mike Rabow; 6/27/25Sexuality and intimacy are often absent from the list of concerns routinely addressed in hospice and palliative medicine (HPM), despite being central to quality of life for many patients. This is rarely an intentional omission and often reflects deep barriers that exist on multiple levels, including our own discomfort as clinicians. Building our capacity to tend to patients’ experiences with sex and intimacy is supported by clinician preparation in the domains of (1) personal reflection to understand the impact of our own attitudes, identities, and biases; (2) skill development to inclusively and nonjudgmentally open and hold space for these conversations; and (3) utilization of biopsychosocial assessment to guide treatment planning.

Inside the Archives: How George Soros Changed End-of-Life Care in AmericaOpen Society Foundations; by Elizabeth Rubin; 6/27/25The Project on Death in America (PDIA) ran from 1994 to 2003, with an ambitious goal: to transform the experience of dying in the U.S. Journalist Elizabeth Rubin spoke with Dr. Kathy Foley, the physician George Soros chose to lead it, to reflect on its impact... Soros’s fundamental belief was simple: Death deserves the same careful attention we give to life... [Dr. Kathy Foley commented] “We had to educate people that palliative care isn’t just about dying, but about supporting patients with serious illnesses and improving their quality of life.”Notable mentions: Kathy Foley, Susan D. Block, Robert ("Bo") A. Burt, Andy Billings, Robert N. Butler, David J. Rothman, Joanne Lynn, Patricia Prem, Ana Dumois, William Zabel, James Tulsky, Tony Back, Bob Arnold, Diane E. Meyer, Center to Advance Palliative Care, R. Sean Morrison, National Palliative Care Research Center, Richard Payne, Angola Prison Project, Lewis Cohen, Judy Nelson, Steve Pantalat, Tammy Quest, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Kornfeld Foundation, Bill Moyers, and On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying.