Literature Review

National Alliance CEO Steve Landers on hospices’ top policy priorities Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/6/25Medicare advantage and telehealth are key hospice policy priorities for the National Alliance for Care at Home. On the home health front, the organization is also embroiled in efforts to stave off proposed payment and Medicaid cuts. The Alliance came into being last year with the merger between the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. Hospice News spoke with Alliance CEO Dr. Steven Landers about how the two legacy organizations are integrating, the hospice public policy landscape and how providers can get involved at a grass roots level.

What matters about what matters mostJAMA Network Open; by Mary E. Tinetti, Brenda S. Nettles; 10/25The authors note that “Identifying what matters is essential for providing person-centered care, guiding clinical visits, tailoring care plans, and providing a starting point to foster further patient engagement.” These are lofty expectations of a single, simple question ["what matters most?"]. While the what matters question alone cannot guide care planning or tailor interventions, it can serve as a starting point for ongoing conversations about patient health goals and care preferences. These priorities, in turn, can guide patient-centered decision-making and care. The question also provides an opportunity to get to know the patients we care for as individuals. That, in itself, is an invaluable gift reminiscent of a period when clinicians had more time with patients and cared for them over years.

Hospice of South Texas appoints Laurie Eder as Chief Executive Officer Press Release Distribution, Victoria, TX; by Hospice of South Texas; 11/5/25Hospice of South Texas® (HOST) has appointed Laurie Eder as Chief Executive Officer after her service as Interim CEO since March 2025. Eder is building on the forty-year legacy of Hospice of South Texas with a focus on compassion and community. ... Her passion for hospice began with her own family's experience with Hospice of South Texas and continues to shape her leadership today.

From good to better with Andrew Molosky Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Andrew Molosky; 11/12/25 In this week’s special joint episode of TCNtalks and Anatomy of Leadership, host Chris Comeaux welcomes Andrew Molosky, President and CEO of Chapters Health System.  Together, they explore what it means to lead with perseverance, authenticity, and vision in times of change. Andrew shares powerful insights on cultivating culture, navigating uncertainty, and the role of vulnerability in leadership. 

* Hospice organizations honor veterans Hospice & Palliative Care Today; compiled by Joy Berger; 11/10/25 Hospice programs across the U.S. observe Veterans Day 2025 with special events and recognition programs tailored for veterans in hospice care, focusing on honoring their service and providing supportive, trauma-informed care throughout the organization. These sample examples collectively help ensure Veterans Day 2025 is marked by meaningful recognition and support for veterans in hospice care, grounded in respect for their service and sensitivity to their unique needs.

LifeCare Home Health acquires Infinity Hospice Care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/7/25 LifeCare Home Health in Nevada has acquired Infinity Hospice Care for an undisclosed amount. Infinity serves patients across Nevada and Arizona. Through the deal, LifeCare also obtains a Las Vegas-based inpatient facility. The transaction marks the company’s first entry into the Arizona marketplace. Editor's Note: LifeCare Home Health recently acquired St. Gabriel's Hospice & Palliative Care in Texas. 

Sunday newsletters focus on headlines and top read stories of the last week (in order) - enjoy!

Home-delivered nutrition services for older adults under the Older Americans ActJAMA Network Open; Em Balkan, Emily A. Gadbois, Emma L. Tucher, Kimberly P. Bernard, Kali S. Thomas; 9/25... the federal government supports the provision of food to older adults through the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program. These funds are used by state and local aging agencies to administer OAA nutrition services primarily through contracts with nonprofit community-based organizations ... [including organizations like] Meals on Wheels (MOW) ... This qualitative study of 54 participants found that home-delivered meals meet the Older Americans Act’s stated goals to (1) reduce hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition; (2) promote socialization; and (3) promote the health and well-being of older adults. In addition, participants said home-delivered meals improved the health, well-being, and finances of their caregivers. The findings also support funding the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program. 

Trends of palliative care utilization for nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage: Analysis of the national inpatient sampleJournal of Clinical Neuroscience; by Andrea Loggini, Victor J Del Brutto, Faddi G Saleh Velez, Jonatan Hornik, Denise Battaglini, Shawn S Wallery, Amber Schwertman, Alejandro Hornik, Christos Lazaridis, Adnan I Qureshi; 10/25We investigated the trends and hospital outcome measures associated with the utilization of consultative palliative care (PC) services among patients with nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Of 452,250 ICH cases during the study period, 69,360 (15.3 %) received PC. ... ICH patients receiving PC were older, ...more frequently women, ... White, ... and more likely to be in the highest income quartile ... Conclusions: The use of PC in ICH patients has increased over the past two decades. PC is associated with more efficient healthcare resource utilization and higher odds of discharge to hospice/in-hospital mortality. Disparities in PC utilization persist among underprivileged groups and racial minorities.

Understanding challenges and barriers to quality end-of-life care for patients with hematologic malignancies: A GIMEMA surveyAnnals of Hematology; by Leonardo Potenza, Fabio Efficace, Eleonora Borelli, Paola Fazi, Thomas Baldi, Francesca Tartaglia, Francesco Sparano, Claudio Cartoni, Pasquale Niscola, Claudia Mucciarini, Oreofe Odejide, Eduardo Bruera, Camilla Zimmermann, Marco Vignetti, Mario Luppi, Elena Bandieri; 10/25Patients with hematologic malignancies often receive aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care, which may be partly related to hematologists' discomfort with discontinuing aggressive treatments at EOL. We assessed a cohort of Italian hematological oncologists through a GIMEMA online survey to explore their attitudes toward standard measures of quality EOL care, their opinions on barriers to providing this care, and potential interventions. In conclusion, Italian hematologists find most standard EOL quality measures acceptable, they identify barriers to quality care, and are open to interventions, including early integration of palliative care, to improve patients' EOL care. However, they lack familiarity with GOC [goals of care] and ACP [advance care planning] discussions, highlighting the need for communication skills training.

End-of-life care and health promotion in Black and African American religious communities: A systematic reviewThe Journal of Aging & Social Change; by Chesney Ward; 10/25Blacks and African Americans have the highest mortality rates of any racial or ethnic group, yet they are less likely to complete advanced directives in the United States.  This systematic review found that faith-based health promotion for end-of-life planning is an effective strategy for engaging Black Americans in discussing end of-life care despite Black and African Americans’ preference for treatment. By implementing faith-based health promotion in churches, Black Americans are more likely to engage in end-of-life care discussions and complete advanced directives, enhancing their quality of life as they age.

Home-based psilocybin-assisted therapy for a patient with advanced cancer: A case reportPalliative & Supportive Care; by Houman Farzin, Benjamin Koren, Héléna Ferrier, Justin J Sanders, Nicolas Garel; 10/25 Psychospiritual distress affects many patients with cancer, contributing to diminished quality of life, decreased survival and a desire for hastened death. The current standard of care, which primarily consists of antidepressants and psychotherapy, has demonstrated only modest benefits. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has shown evidence of rapid, durable, and significant effects on measures of both depression and anxiety in this patient population. A 51-year-old man diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, referred to palliative care (PC) with a prognosis of less than 6 months, experienced depression and anxiety in the context of demoralization and existential distress. PAT was well tolerated, with significant decreases in both anxiety and depression [and] the patient subjectively reported a sustained reduction in suffering and improved well-being at 2 months post-intervention. 

Using natural language processing to assess goals-of-care conversations for patients with cancerJCO Clinical Cancer Informatics; by Melissa K Greene, Gloria Broadwater, Donna Niedzwiecki, Thomas W LeBlanc, Jessica E Ma, David J Casarett, Brittany A Davidson; 10/25This is a retrospective review of patients at a single US center who died with cancer between 2018 and 2022, and had documented GOC [goals of care] notes in the last 12 months of life. Eight GOC components were identified: current understanding of illness, information preferences, prognostic disclosure, goals, fears, acceptable function, trade-offs, and family involvement. The most common GOC component addressed was family involvement (75.0%) and the least common was fears (21.1%). Only 5.4% had all eight components documented. More comprehensive GOC notes were associated with lower rates of aggressive EOL care; 73.2% received aggressive care when 0/8 components were documented, compared with 56.8% and 50.3% with six or seven components discussed, respectively.