Literature Review

[United Kingdom] Dying patients bundled into ambulances and transferred in their final hours after 'cruel' managers shut hospice without warning Daily Mailm United Kingdom; by Liz Hull; 8/15/25 Dying patients were bundled into emergency ambulances and moved in their final hours after managers shut down a hospice without warning. Nurses on duty at the Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice, in Leeds, were left in tears after being told to ring relatives of end-of-life patients with the distressing news that their loved ones were being immediately transferred. ... One woman died within five hours of being moved, while another two patients had passed away within 48 hours. At least two families lodged formal complaints about their treatment in the aftermath.

YoloCares: A caring coalition for California The Davis Enterprise; by Craig Dresang; 8/15/25 In his closing remarks at a 2016 stakeholder meeting, hosted by the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Victor Dzau (academy president) said, “We need a coalition, a movement, a critical mass. We need to work together so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We need to come together to develop resources for policy and communication. We need to improve our communication — to patients and families, healthcare providers, government, and the public.” His words perfectly captured the founding spirit of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California. ... The group is a small but mighty powerhouse that works closely with healthcare systems and providers, patient advocacy groups, professional associations and policy — and lawmakers to promote high-quality care for seriously ill Californians. 

Do you care about your legacy? 54% of Americans want to leave mark on the world Study Finds, New York, NY; by StudyFindsAnalysis, reviewed by Steve Fink; 8/15/25 Getting older changes everything, including what we care about most. A new survey of 2,000 Americans reveals ...

BrightSpring taking modest approach to M&A in 2025 Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/15/25 BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG) is taking a slow and steady look at acquisition opportunities through the remainder of the year. The company is allowing the dust to settle on the divestiture of its community living business to Setiva for $835 million before once again investing heavily in acquisitions, according to CEO, President and Chairman Jon Rousseau. The divestiture is expected to close in the fourth quarter. But that doesn’t mean that BrightSpring is out of the market for deals. 

Federal Register: United States, et al. v. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, et al.; Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement Federal Register - U.S. Government - A Notice by the Antitrust Division; by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division; 8/14/25 Notice is hereby given pursuant to the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act, 15 U.S.C. 16(b)-(h), that a proposed Final Judgment, Stipulation, and Competitive Impact Statement have been filed with the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in United States of America et al. v. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, et al., Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-03267. [Formal document, in the midst of many articles about the ruling.]

In the face of ALS, Raleigh 33-year-old faces hospice journey with joyWRAL News [NC]; by Grace Hayba; 8/11/25The first thing on Olivia “Whitford” Wooten’s mind isn’t her terminal diagnosis, it’s December 13th. That's her sister’s due date. “I really want to meet him,” she said. “That’s the goal.” Each day for the Raleigh 33-year-old is a fight against time. Just two years after being diagnosed with ALS, she is now in hospice... “ALS doesn’t define me. It’s not who I am, it’s just a small portion of my testimony and who I am,” said Whitford.

McGill Palliative Care National Grand Rounds: Dignity, Personhood and Intensive Caring: New Insights into Patient Suffering - Dr. Harvey Max ChochinovMcGill Palliative Care announcement; 8/13/25This free presentation has the following objectives:

Mark Swillinger makes $1.5m donation to FAU College of Nursing Boca Magazine, Boca Raton, FL; by Christiana Lilly; 8/13/25 What was expected to be a typical speech turned into one that called for a round of applause: A $1.5 million donation would be made to Florida Atlantic University College of Nursing by local attorney Mark Swillinger in honor of his late wife, Marilyn. The announcement came during FAU President Adam Hasner’s speech at the 15th annual White Coats-4-Care reception at The Addison, an event that supports FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. ... Not only is it a hefty amount, but the donation will create a hospice and palliative care program in FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. Swillinger says he was inspired after seeing the attentive care his wife received in 2023, when she died from lung cancer.

It is better to have one person working with you than three people working for you. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Long COVID and returning to work: A hard and frustrating road Medscape; by Sara Novak; 8/5/25 ... Around 16 million workers have been affected nationwide by long COVID. Many who initially contracted the virus as a result of their jobs are left with the additional burden of proving that they acquired the condition in the workplace. Without it, they may be unable to file a claim for workers’ compensation insurance, which provides benefits to employees who are injured or become ill on the job.

[Updated] DOJ files proposed final judgment on Amedisys, UnitedHealth Merger Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 8/7/25 On Thursday, Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorneys General of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York filed a proposed final judgment regarding the UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) planned acquisition of Amedisys. UnitedHealth and Amedisys agreed to the proposed final judgment, which, if approved, would resolve the DOJ’s and states’ opposition to the merger. The proposed judgment would require UnitedHealth and Amedisys to divest at least 164 home health and hospice facilities, including one affiliated palliative care facility, across 19 states, worth approximately $528 million in annual revenue. It would also impose a $1.1 million civil penalty on Amedisys for falsely certifying that it had provided “true, correct and complete” responses under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, according to a DOJ announcement. 

CIOs’ top 16 emerging technologies Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 8/4/25 Emerging technologies such as AI continue to command CIOs’ attention. Here is the emerging tech prioritized by IT chiefs, according to a global survey of more than 200 CIOs by market researcher Futurum published July 28:

Hospice claim denial remanded to ALJ in absence of explanation, (Aug 4, 2025) VItalLaw; by Leah S. Poniatowski, JD; 8/4/25 ... A hospice provider that was denied Medicare reimbursement for two patients was granted remand to the administrative law judge (ALJ) because the ALJ’s decision was without any reasoned discussion, which impaired review and suggested that the ALJ had used her lay assessment of the medical record, the federal district court in Delaware ruled (Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care of Delaware, LLC v. Kennedy, No. 24-175-GBW-LDH (D. Del. July 31, 2025)).