Literature Review

Building the continuum: Inside New Day Healthcare’s growth & acquisition strategies Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/27/25 New Day Healthcare in 2025 has been one of the home health and hospice sector’s most active acquirers. ... Founded in 2020, New Day’s roughly 10,000 employees provide hospice, home health, pediatric and personal care to roughly 180,000 patients annually. ... Brands under the New Day’s umbrella include Phoenix Home Care & Hospice, New Age Hospice, Compassion Hospice, Home Care Providers of Texas, Pathfinder Home Health, Envision Health Partners and AssistCare, among others. ... Hospice News sat down with New Day CEO G. Scott Herman to discuss the company’s growth, its approach to acquisitions, forthcoming changes in the C-Suite and where hospice fits into its strategy.

Reflections on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina - from Jamey Boudreaux, Executive Director for the Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care OrganizationSpecial Guest Reflections for Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Jamey Boudreaux; 8/28/25

[DRAFT] Today marks the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

[United Kingdom] 'The word hospice can be terrifying - but this is why it's giving us extra life' Verve Times, story from Wetherby, UK; by Craig Fedirighi; 8/27/25 The word “hospice” often conjures up images of people living out their final days in a room surrounded by nurses. But one mother says the hospice she goes to with her family has given them a life they could never have imagined would be possible. ... The 32-year-old said: “It’s one of those things where obviously the word hospice, everyone finds it scary. One thinks it’s the worst-case scenario, but it’s not. It’s giving you that extra life that you didn’t know you could have. ..."

Do dementia care management programs work? A podcast with David Reuben and Greg SachsGeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, David Reuben, Greg Sachs; 8/28/25With all the attention focused on Alzheimer’s biomarkers and amyloid antibodies, it’s easy to forget that comprehensive dementia care is more than blood draws and infusions. On today’s podcast, we buck this trend and dive into the complexities and challenges of comprehensive dementia care with the authors of two pivotal articles recently published in JAMA.

How to create meaning in every season of life with Dr. Trisha Welstad Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Trisha Welstad; 8/27/25 In this conversation, Dr. Trisha Welstad shares her philosophy on leadership, highlighting the importance of healthy leaders who can heal the world, demonstrating how personal pain can shape a person's purpose, and highlighting the value of reflection in leadership. Dr. Trisha Welstad explores how purpose emerges from our deepest wounds and why healthy leaders can heal the world through their wholeness.  She shares her belief that purpose isn't a luxury, but a necessity for our identity, one that develops throughout all stages of life.

Letter: A Strategic Path Forward for Hospice and Palliative Care must focus on equity: A response to ByockPalliative Medicine Reports; by Karen Bullock, Ramona L. Rhodes, Marisette Hansan, Kimberly S. Johnson; 8/21/25In a letter to the editor critiquing Ira Byock’s recent white paper, the authors say: “one of the most urgent uncomfortable truths is briefly and incompletely acknowledged in the article. That is, not only do historically marginalized communities face unequal access to the benefits and progress of our field; they endure a disproportionate share of practices that lead to poor quality care, including many of the challenges that Byock highlights.” While applauding the article’s call to action, they caution that: Standards must embed cultural and structural competence. Data must expose disparities and drive accountability. Quality-based competition must not deepen disparities. Rebranding the field must include building trust. Guest Editor Note, Ira Byock, MD: The authors’ perspectives and insights amplify and expand the approach outlined in the Strategic Path Forward white paper. I am grateful to them for calling on me – and us all – to keep equity as a core value and priority in strategic planning.

Hospice provider’s coast-to-coast expansion receives green light from California AGMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 8/26/25Chapters Health System, a Florida-based hospice and palliative care organization, received conditional approval for its expansion into California via affiliation agreements with Hospice East Bay and Hospice of Santa Cruz County. To finalize the two affiliations, Chapters agreed to: ensure that Hospice East Bay and Hospice of Santa Cruz County maintain certification with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; honor employment agreements with existing staff members; establish quality advisory committees for both East Bay and Hospice of Santa Cruz County; make a reasonable effort to continue providing specialized care services that are currently offered by both newly affiliated providers; and provide annual reports on its compliance with these conditions, according to the California Office of the Attorney General.

How older people are reaping brain benefits from new tech: New research “flips the script that technology is always bad.”Katie Couric Media; by Paula Span, KFF Health News; 8/24/25... Now [Wanda Woods] is an instructor with Senior Planet in Denver, an AARP-supported effort to help older people learn and stay abreast of technology. Woods has no plans to retire. Staying involved with tech “keeps me in the know, too,” she said. Some neuroscientists researching the effects of technology on older adults are inclined to agree. The first cohort of seniors to have contended — not always enthusiastically — with a digital society has reached the age when cognitive impairment becomes more common. Among the digital pioneer generation, use of everyday digital technology has been associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

DOJ probing UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx, alongside Medicare practicesModern Healthcare; by Chris Strohm, John Tozzi; 8/26/25The U.S. Justice Department’s criminal division is digging into UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s prescription management services as well as how it reimburses its own doctors under an ongoing probe into the firm’s operations, according to people familiar with the matter. The previously unreported areas of the probe show the scrutiny is broader than was known and goes beyond an inquiry into possible Medicare fraud. Investigators are looking into business practices at the company’s pharmacy benefit manager Optum Rx, in addition to the physician payments, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential matter.

When patients arrive with answersJAMA Network; by Kumara Raja Sundar; 7/24/25Patients arriving with researched information is not new. They have long brought newspaper clippings, internet search results, or notes from conversations with family. Potential solutions passed along in WhatsApp threads have at times been an integral part of my clinical conversations. Information seeking outside the health care setting has always been part of the landscape of care. But something about this moment feels different. Generative artificial intelligence (AI), with tools like ChatGPT, offers information in ways that feel uniquely conversational and tailored. Their tone invites dialogue. Their confidence implies competence. Increasingly, patients are bringing AI-generated insights into my clinic and are sometimes confident enough to challenge my assessment and plan. I heard these tools were helpful, but I understood their appeal only after using them myself. Recent studies have bolstered this claim: large language models (LLMs) show surprising strength in reasoning and relational tone. After seeing it firsthand, my reaction was simple: “Man, I get why my patients like it.”

Hospice AI - Compare hospice, palliative care, and PACE progamsHospice & Palliative Care Today staff; 8/25/25Today we asked ChatGPT "How are hospice and palliative care and PACE programs similar / different? Include infographic." Click here for a 3-page comparison of hospice, palliative care, and PACE programs - including an infographic.

Spokane hospice chaplain’s new book challenges comfort clichés at life’s endThe Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA); by Mia Gallegos; 8/25/25“Hospice Chaplain: Interrupted” examines how caring for the dying transforms the caregiver, exploring the profound discomfort and unexpected revelations that emerge when chaplains sit with patients at life’s end. Written by the Rev. Scott Kinder-Pyle, a hospice chaplain and Presbyterian ordained minister in Spokane, the collection of poems following an introductory essay challenges some of the typical mechanisms pursued by those who accompany people within their final moments of life.