Literature Review

Jewish hospice volunteer goes beyond ‘Shabbat blessings’ with ‘Froth and Bubble’ Jewish News; by Shannon Levitt; 5/20/25 Jeff Lewis, 71, had about 100 boxes of books with him when he moved to the Valley from California more than a decade ago. Surprisingly, those books became his first link to Hospice of the Valley (HOV), an organization that would become very important to him through the years. ... Thus, when he decided to retire from his photography business but wanted to stay busy, his friend again nudged him toward HOV and its Shabbat Blessings volunteer program. ... As a Shabbat Blessings volunteer, Lewis, a member of Temple Solel in Paradise Valley, offers hospice patients a small Shabbat service, including lighting Shabbat candles, saying the Hamotzi and Kiddush blessings and offering small prayers. [Story of patient financially choosing between medicine and food.]  ... [Lewis} started buying $75 grocery gift cards to give away. [This developed into] The Froth and Bubble Foundation for Food Assistance. Editor's note: This inspirational Shabbat blessings story tells the rich background behind our 3rd top-read story from last week, Hospice volunteer donates 10,000 gift cards to cancer patients. Scroll to the end of this story for the meaning behind the name "Froth and Bubble." 

Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it... success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it. ~Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

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

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. ~Margaret Fuller

A single academic site study of five years evaluating pharmacy students’ palliative care clinical reasoning using Script Concordance TestingAmerican Journal of Hospice ad Palliative Medicine; Florence Labrador, PharmD-c; Kyle P. Edmonds, MD, FAAHPM; Toluwalase A. Ajayi, MD, FAAP, FAAHPM; Rabia S. Atayee, PharmD, BCPS, APh, FAAHPM; 5/25This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a Pain and Palliative Care elective didactic course on enhancing clinical reasoning skills among Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students using the Script Concordance Test (SCT). The elective course was offered six times, covering various palliative care topics such as opioid management, procedural pain, and end-of-life care. The study found a statistically significant improvement in SCT scores from pre- to post-course assessments ... This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a targeted palliative care elective in improving clinical reasoning skills among pharmacy students.

Palliative care for patients with end-stage renal disease-An examination of unmet needs and experiencing problemsJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; Darawad, Muhammad W. PhD, RN; Reinke, Lynn F. PhD, ANP-BC, FPCN, FAAN; Khalil, Amani PhD, RN; Melhem, Ghaith Bani PhD, RN; Alnajar, Malek MSN, CNS, RN; June 2025Patients with end-stage renal disease face numerous physical, emotional, and financial burdens, necessitating palliative care (PC) interventions. This cross-sectional study ... revealed that 64.7% of participants experienced significant challenges, primarily financial difficulties (78.5%), autonomy concerns (68.8%), and a need for information (68.0%). More than half (51.9%) reported needing PC [palliative care], particularly for managing fatigue (78.3%), pain (79.8%), and depression (72.9%). Unmet needs were common (47.6%), with the most notable gaps in financial support (52.5%) and information provision (50%). These findings underscored the urgent need for tailored PC interventions for end-stage renal disease patients, particularly in addressing symptom management, psychosocial and spiritual support, financial support, and information deficits, to enhance their quality of life.

Describing the impact of physician end-of-life communication training on simulated stress using a novel stress marker American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Amy H. J. Wolfe, MD, MEd, Pamela S. Hinds, PhD, RN, FAAN, Adre J. du Plessis, MD, Heather Gordish-Dressman, PhD, and Lamia Soghier, MD, MEd-2; 3/25/25 Introduction: Empathetic end-of-life (EOL) communication is important for high quality pediatric patient and family outcomes. Trainees may have limited exposure and training in caring for patients at EOL which may impact communication-related stress. ...  Conclusions: Pediatric residents report limited opportunities to communicate with patients/families at EOL, which may impact stress responses when communicating life-altering news to families. Simulated communication encounters can be designed to evoke subjective and objective stress which can be measured using novel technology and may help address limited EOL opportunities.

Avoidant and approach-oriented coping strategies, meaning making, and mental health among adults bereaved by suicide and fatal overdose: A prospective path analysisBehavioral Sciences; Jamison S. Bottomley, Robert A. Neimeyer; 5/25The current study shed light on the role of avoidance- and approach-oriented coping strategies in aggravating or ameliorating the longer-term distress of the survivors of such losses, roughly half of whom showed continued clinical-level elevations of prolonged grief, posttraumatic stress, and depressive symptomatology two years following the death. The results provided cautionary evidence that avoidant coping through denial, distraction, and behavioral disengagement prospectively predicted higher levels of prolonged grief and posttraumatic stress, with the impairment of meaning making about the loss accounting for much of the variance in the former outcome. In contrast, actively approaching others for support and attempting to confront and surmount the problems posed by bereavement consistently predicted a reduction in prolonged grief, posttraumatic stress, and depression symptoms in the months that followed. The latter impacts were found to be fully mediated by the enhancement of meaning making about the loss, carrying practical implications for bereavement support and grief therapy for this vulnerable population of mourners.

[Singapore] An interdisciplinary approach to legacy work for a young cancer patient - A case illustrationJournal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care; Deborah Tan, Grace Yong, Vivian Wong, Benjamin Hooi, Eng Koon Ong; 4/25An interdisciplinary approach to care is essential and crucial in the practice of end-of-life and hospice care. However, there is a lack of data on how social workers and art therapists may work together to provide psychosocial-spiritual interventions. This case study illustrates how the home hospice medical social worker and art therapist employed complementary methods to fulfill the wish of a young adult with advanced cancer through legacy work. Similar team approaches in practice may benefit other patients with similar needs.

GreenCape Health partners with Central Valley Hospice Palliative Medicine WLUS FM 98.3, Greenville, SC; Press Release; 6/5/25 GreenCape Health is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Central Valley Hospice Palliative Medicine (CVHPM), an innovative hospice agency committed to delivering state-of-the-art, compassionate end-of-life care in medically underserved areas across California. ... At the heart of this partnership is mPRO, GreenCapes patient-reported outcomes platform, which enables individuals to report symptoms in real time from home. These insights allow hospice care teams to anticipate needs, respond quickly to changes in condition, and continually adjust care plans to align with each patients evolving goals. 

Research study participation, 6/7/25

CMS budget proposal would shift nursing facility oversight Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Gregerson; 6/4/25 Key changes put forth in President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget may have downstream effects on the survey and certification of skilled nursing facilities. ... Here are three things to know about the proposed changes:

NPHI proud to announce its partnership on the upcoming documentary for PBS, Caregiving, from Executive Producer Bradley Cooper National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; 5/19/25 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is proud to announce its partnership on the upcoming PBS documentary Caregiving, a powerful new film executive produced by Academy Award-nominated actor, director, and producer Bradley Cooper. Created in collaboration with Cooper’s production company, Lea Pictures, as well as WETA Washington, D.C., and Ark Media, Caregiving will shine a national spotlight on the often unseen yet essential work of caregivers across the country. NPHI is honored to serve as a national partner on this important project. Narrated by Uzo Aduba (The Residence, Orange Is the New Black) and directed by Chris Durrance, Caregiving intertwines deeply personal stories of caregivers with the untold history of the American care system. The documentary examines how caregivers—often family members, friends, and frontline professionals—navigate the immense challenges and unseen achievements of their roles.