Literature Review

Re-imagined Hospice Ball raises record funds for health care in the Northern Hills Black Hills Pioneer, Spearfish, SD; 5/6/25 More than $136,000 was raised during the first ever Monument Health Foundation event: A Night at the Derby. This event evolved from the success of the Northern Hills Hospice Ball which successfully supported health care in the Northern Hills for 27 years. A Night at the Derby, held on April 26 included themed games, raffles and bidding opportunities to help raise awareness, funds and support for hospice patients and their families. 

New York State Department of Health announces revision of Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY; 5/2/25 The New York State Department of Health announced the revision of the Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) Form, a form that records a patient's preferences for life-sustaining treatments, such as CPR, ventilation, and other interventions, to ensure all patients are considered. The comprehensive revision was a collaboration of the Department, New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), and the MOLST Statewide Implementation Committee. ... All information regarding the MOLST, including the form, supporting checklists, glossary, and instructions are available on the NYSDOH Center for Hospice & Palliative Care's webpage.

Understanding grief: A journey with Belize Hospice and Palliative Care AssociationChannel 5 Belize; by Sabreena Daly; 5/2/25Grief is often seen as something that begins after a loss, but for many, it starts much earlier. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a role, a routine, or even a sense of identity, grief can take many forms and often arrives long before death itself. At the heart of this journey is the Belize Hospice and Palliative Care Association, which offers compassionate care not only for those nearing the end of life but also for their loved ones who walk that path with them. The organization provides support for anticipatory grief and healing, embracing the whole person—physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. This week, and for the rest of the month, Sabreena takes a deep dive into understanding grief. She brings us this week’s story and a look on the Bright Side, exploring how the association helps individuals navigate their grief journey with care and compassion.

1-on-1 coaching, leadership academies: 5 systems developing the next generation of leaders Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 4/30/25 With an aging U.S. population and healthcare workforce, many hospital and health system leaders are focused on building the next generation of leaders to tackle the work ahead. Healthcare executives from across the country recently shared with Becker’s how their systems are developing leadership pipelines.

Why did you choose to become a nurse?Yuma Sun, Yuma, AZ; by James Gilbert; 5/5/25 In honor of National Nurses Week, the Yuma Sun is proud to celebrate the dedicated nurses who serve our community with compassion, strength and resilience. ... To mark this special week, we asked nurses from across Yuma a simple but powerful question: Why did you choose to become a nurse? Their answers reflect the heart of the profession—stories of inspiration, personal sacrifice and a deep commitment to caring for others.

Dombi: At-home care providers must overcome ‘self-inflicted challenge’ to flourish Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 5/2/25 Despite operating on razor-thin margins and facing persistent reimbursement challenges, some home-based care providers are setting themselves apart by leaning into innovation. By embracing alternative payment models, virtual health and opportunities like hospital-at-home programs, providers can save themselves from home-based care’s “self-inflicted challenge” of not capitalizing on the industry’s evolving opportunities, according to Bill Dombi, senior counsel for Arnall Golden Gregory law firm. He also formerly led the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), which following a merger is now the National Alliance for Care at Home. While workforce shortages, potential Medicaid cuts and unsustainable payment rates threaten the industry, opportunity awaits those willing to evolve, Dombi said.

Amedisys deal would bring BrightSpring into range of new marketsHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/5/25 ... Amedisys is selling an unspecified number of home health and hospice locations to Adoration Home Health Acquisitions, LLC, Adoration Hospice Care Acquisitions, LLC, and Senescence, LLC, DBA All Saints Hospice. These three companies are all affiliates of BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG). ... Few details about the Amedisys-BrightSpring transaction are available due to confidentiality agreements among the parties, according to BrightSpring CEO Jon Rousseau. However, the acquired locations could greatly expand the company’s service region. ... BrightSpring is a home- and community-based health care services platform that serves more than 400,000 patients daily across all 50 states. ... BrightSpring’s provider services segment brought in $346 million in revenue during Q1, up 12.5% year over year. The segment includes the company’s home health, rehab services and personal care businesses. Its home health business is inclusive of hospice and home-based primary care. ... Looking ahead, the company plans to be conservative when it comes to acquisitions beyond the potential Amedisys deal, according to [Bright Spring CEO Jon] Rousseau.

Pharmacist-led care in palliative settings: Using anticholinergics thoughtfully and compassionately Pharmacy times; by Diana Violanti, PharmD, Pamela S. Moore, PharmD, BCGP, and Alana Hippensteele; 5/5/25 The use of anticholinergic agents to manage terminal secretions, often referred to as the death rattle, remains a nuanced and evolving area of end-of-life care. While these medications are frequently used in hospice and palliative care settings to reduce secretion-related sounds that may be distressing to caregivers, their efficacy in improving patient comfort is less clear and often debated. ... Diana Violanti, PharmD, and Pamela S. Moore, PharmD, BCGP, discuss the nuanced use of anticholinergic agents for managing terminal secretions at end of life, highlighting practical considerations, timing, safety concerns such as delirium, and the limited yet evolving evidence supporting their role in palliative care.

Hillsdale woman celebrates 100th birthday [hospice pioneer, 1970's] HudsonValley360, Hudson, NY; by Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon; 5/2/25 A Hillsdale resident is celebrating a big milestone - turning 100. Dr. Irma Waldo was born on May 1, 2025, and recently celebrated joining the centenarian club with an openhouse celebration at the Copake Community Center Friday afternoon. ... [Dr. Waldo] opened her own pediatric practice in Hillsdale in 1952 - often making house calls and getting to know the families she was caring for. ... For Waldo, the most rewarding part of her medical career was the hospice service she helped create, Roe Jan Hospice. She received a call in the 1970s from a doctor in New York City who had a 9-year-old patient with a brain tumor. ... The hospice was expanded to cover the all of Columbia County over the course of 18 years, eventually becoming Columbia County Hospice, and then being absorbed into Hudson Valley Hospice. "That was the best thing, most important part of my practice, forming that hospice," Waldo said.Editor's note: Click here for more history.

[France] Deputies approve bill creating Right to Assisted Dying Time.News; 5/3/25 Is the right to die a fundamental human right, or a risky step towards devaluing life? France is grappling with this profound question as a new bill edges closer to legalizing aid in dying. the implications could ripple far beyond French borders, influencing the debate in the United States and around the world. The bill, initially presented by President Emmanuel Macron in March 2024, faced delays due to the dissolution of the National Assembly. Now,revived and championed by Prime Minister François Bayrou,the executive text has been divided into two separate legal proposals. One focuses on enhancing palliative care, while the other addresses aid in dying.

University of Minnesota uses VR to study Alzheimer's, death Government Technology (GT) - Center for Digital Education; by Richard Chin; 5/2/25 At the University of Minnesota, medical school students have been using a virtual reality experience to understand the perspective of a woman dealing with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. ... When the University of Minnesota offered to let me experience what it’s like to die, naturally I said yes. Aren’t we all morbidly curious about the undiscovered country, as Hamlet put it, from which no traveler returns? Except this time, happily, I would get to return because it would be a virtual death, an experience in a VR studio that’s part of the university’s Health Sciences Library system. The dying experience is part of a series of VR simulations developed by a nine-year-old California-based company called Embodied Labs. They’ve created immersive, first-person experiences of what it’s like to have dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson disease, vision or hearing loss, to be socially isolated or to experience aging as a LGBTQ person. And what it’s like to die.

Hospice nurse caring for 97-year-old woman noticed something unusual. A Ring Camera allegedly showed the unthinkable People; by Samira Asma-Sadeque; 5/2/25 A Florida man is under arrest after a woman allegedly caught him on a Ring camera raping her 97-year-old aunt. The victim, who has not been named, is nonverbal and bedridden, her niece said, according to an arrest report cited by Local 10. Timothy Morris, a 66-year-old from Homestead, Fla., was arrested on a charge of sexual battery of a physically incapacitated person, according to Miami-Dade County online court records reviewed by PEOPLE. Investigators say the victim is in hospice care, where Morris would often assist with her care, reportedly in the absence of hospice staff, per the arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. 

American Nurses Enterprise celebrates the power of nurses furing National Nurses Week American Nurses Enterprise: American Nurses Association - American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Nurses Foundation, Silver Spring, MD; newsroom@ana.org; 4/20/25 Today, the American Nurses Enterprise — encompassing the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) — kicks off National Nurses Week (May 6–12) with a powerful message: The Power of Nurses™. This year’s campaign shines a national spotlight on nurses as the driving force behind compassionate care, innovation, and transformative changes in healthcare. From coast to coast, the enterprise is launching a series of high-impact events — including a national press conference, educational webinars, landmark light-ups, and direct engagement with policymakers—to celebrate the unparalleled contributions of nurses and call on the public to honor their essential role in shaping a healthier future for all.