Literature Review

Grant supports hospice and home care in Juneau Juneau Empire, Juneau, AK; by Juneau Empire Staff; 7/29/26 A funding boost has provided a lifeline for home health and hospice care in Juneau. The Foundation for End of Life Care provided a $21,643 grant to Bartlett Regional Hospital to support critical equipment and staff training needs for home health and hospice patients and families. Bartlett Regional Hospital controller Andrew Erikson said Home Health and Hospice at Bartlett has relied on a medical equipment distributor to provide essential equipment for home health and hospice patients.

Medical Aid in Dying Act faces 2 lawsuits ahead of Aug. 5 effective date Spectrum News 1, Buffalo, NY; by Jack Arpey; 7/27/28New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act faces two lawsuits just over a week out from its Aug. 5 effective date, though there are currently no injunctions stopping it from going into effect.An initial lawsuit brought by disability rights groups ... claims that people with life-threatening disabilities belong to a protected class under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are at risk of harm if the law goes into effect. ... In a second lawsuit filed earlier this month, four orders of Catholic nuns and several Catholic healthcare ministries argue that the law infringes on their religious freedoms by forcing them to participate in care that goes against their religious beliefs.

Physicians: proposed California rule threatens livelihood, providersHospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/28/26Some hospice medical directors contend that proposed emergency regulations in California represent a threat to their livelihood, as well as creating access risks for patients. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) proposed the rules in June in an effort to combat fraud. Within the 143-page document, the sticking point for physicians is a requirement that, if finalized, would limit hospice medical directors to serving only one hospice. CDPH recently held an online stakeholder meeting regarding the proposal in which several physicians called on the agency to allow medical directors to serve as many as three hospices, or to eliminate the limitation altogether for at least some doctors.

WVU Medicine gave $25K in cash to hundreds of aspiring nurses. Did it work? Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Paige Twenter; 7/27/26 When WVU Medicine started handing aspiring nurses up to $25,000 in cash, the bet was that money for life’s expenses, not just tuition, would keep them in school. Early returns suggest it is. As of late July, the Morgantown, W.Va.-based system had signed 985 students to its Aspiring Nurse Program and expected to cross 1,000 within a month, said Jessica Huffman, DNP, RN, assistant vice president of system nursing services. The program, which launched in August 2023 at two sites before expanding systemwide, gives students their stipends upfront to cover living costs — a flat tire, a utility bill, groceries — in exchange for a three-year commitment to work as a full-time direct care registered nurse at the 25-hospital system. The premise, drawn from student surveys, was that money is what pushes West Virginia nurses out of school before they finish, not a lack of aptitude.

At and end-of-life care home, a young cancer survivor finds his calling  The Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY; by Jon Harris; 7/28/26  Seated in the chapel at Sloan Comfort Care Home, 22-year-old Evan Folsom reflected on what working at the end-of-life facility has meant to him. "The Home did come at the right time for me," said Folsom, hours after finishing an overnight shift there, and a day before taking the daylong Medical College Admission Test. Folsom survived a brain tumor as a toddler and spent years recovering. That alone shaped an interest in medicine. ... His work at Sloan Comfort Care Home helped him come to terms with certain issues and fueled his interest in studying the complex moral and ethical questions that arise in medicine. So he took a "shot in the dark" and applied to Harvard Medical School's Master of Science in Bioethics program, along with a few other schools. He got into all of them but chose Harvard because Boston holds a special full-circle meaning for him. Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, is where he received treatment as a toddler. "Harvard was specifically deep for me, because that's kind of where my journey started," he said. Folsom leaves for Boston on Aug. 1 ...

Same team, same care, new name: interim healthcare offices in Lubbock and throughout West Texas become ExcelaCare Newsnet, Lubbock, TX; by EIN Presswire; 7/27/26 A trusted provider of home health and hospice care in communities throughout West Texas, formerly known as Interim Healthcare, is officially transitioning to a new name: ExcelaCare. These local offices across the region, including Lubbock, TX and surrounding areas, will continue delivering the same patient-centered care under new branding. “While our logo and colors are changing, our ownership, management, and the local teams you have come to know and trust are not,” said the organization’s founder. ... The rebrand comes as the organization continues to pursue excellence across all its services and reflects an effort to elevate its ongoing dedication to the communities it has served for years as Interim. The local staff and day-to-day operations remain unchanged; only the name and visual identity are new.

There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. YouTube; by Navacare; 6/27/26There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. Recently, I had the privilege of attending a ceremony honoring a veteran for his service to our country. During the ceremony, Grace from AccentCare Hospice sang "I Will Always Love You." It was beautiful. It was moving. And if I'm being honest, it brought a few tears to my eyes. Not only because we were honoring someone who had given so much, but because it was also my dad's favorite song. Music has a remarkable way of connecting us to people, memories, and emotions that words alone often can't reach. For many older adults, especially those living with dementia or memory loss, music can spark recognition, comfort, and moments of connection that feel truly extraordinary. [Watch the video to the end, to hear the dad's response.]

'Jeopardy!' champion Courtney Shah dead at 52 after brain cancer battle US Weekly; by Danielle Campoamaor; 7/26/26 Beloved seven-time Jeopardy! champion Dr. Courtney Shah has died. She was 52. "My mom died today, at 4:57am on July 22, 2026, in the comfort of her home," Shah's daughter, Maya Shah, wrote via CaringBridge, announcing her mother's death after battling brain cancer. "I don't know what you believe about death, but I like to think that she's at peace now. We loved her in this world, and we loved her out of this world, and we'll go on loving her." ... In her final [Caring Bridge] update prior to announcing her mother's death, Maya described what her new reality was like as she watched her mother receive hospice care.

Life’s Treasures Thrift Store plans Dade City locatioThe Laker Lutz News, Dade City, FL; Press Release; 7/26/26Chapters Health System, a nonprofit hospice organization, has leased a 10,000-square-foot retail space at 12709 U.S. 301 in Dade City to serve as a new Life’s Treasures Thrift Store location. The thrift store is moving from Zephyrhills to provide a more modernized shopping experience. The relocation is part of a strategic update of the health system’s thrift stores that benefit the charity grief and hospice services of HPH Hospice and LifePath Hospice, affiliates of Chapters Health System. The organization also recently leased a 10,000-square-foot thrift store location planned for The Villages.

Nearly 500 readers shared stories of deathbed visions. Here are 10. The Washington Post; by Caitlin Gibson and Stephanie Arrigotti; 7/26/26 When we pub­lished our recent project about end-of-life dreams and vis­ions, we invited Post read­ers to share their per­sonal exper­i­ences with this phe­nomenon. ... I hoped we might col­lect a few dozen anec­dotes. To date, we’ve received about 500 sub­mis­sions and count­ing. It’s been a priv­ilege to read every one. ... The major­ity of people who wrote in — no mat­ter how they made sense of what they’d seen — described an exper­i­ence that seemed to instill a sense of calm or solace in the per­son who was dying, and in turn, brought a last­ing com­fort to their bereaved care­givers. From those hun­dreds of accounts, here is a selec­tion of 10. The fol­low­ing are drawn from writ­ten sub­mis­sions and fol­low-up inter­views, and edited for length and clar­ity.

[Global] Following WHO Global Cancer Report, international nursing and palliative care leaders call for urgent workforce investment for rising cancer needs World Health Organization (WHO) and Internationalouncil of Nurses (ICN); Joint Statement on World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Report on Cancer 2026; 7/24/26Based on the evidence in WHO’s recent Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) and International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) urge leaders to invest in and protect the nursing and health workforce to urgently strengthen health systems and improve cancer outcomes across the full continuum of care. ICN, ISNCC, ICPCN welcome the report’s clear message that the future of cancer care will not be secured through medicines and technology alone, but through the health workforces that are the backbone of care. We affirm that meeting the world’s most urgent cancer challenges depends on investing in nurses and multidisciplinary teams; addressing workforce shortages and burnout; and moving away from medicalized models towards people-centered, equitable health care across prevention, treatment, survivorship, rehabilitation and palliative services.

Grief support matters beyond the hospice journey | opinion The Star | USA Today Network via Reuters Connect; by Miral Ackman; 7/26/26August is National Grief Awareness Month, a time to recognize that while grief is universal, every person's journey through loss is unique. I've learned that one of the greatest acts of integrity is continuing to support families long after a loved one's hospice journey has ended. When families invite us into their homes during one of life's most difficult seasons, they place extraordinary trust in us. ... Grief doesn't follow a timeline. It can resurface during holidays, milestones or ordinary moments, and no one should feel they have to face it alone. This National Grief Awareness Month, I encourage our community to make space for conversations about grief. A simple phone call, a listening ear or a kind gesture can remind someone they're seen, supported and not alone in their healing.   

What Cleveland can teach us about aging with dignity: Robert Phillips-Plona Cleveland.com, Cleveland, OH; by guest columnist Robert Phillips-Plona, director of facilities for Reserve Care; 7/26/26 During my career, I have had the privilege of working in -- as well as participating in creating --hospice care environments in Northeast Ohio. ... These spaces evolved over time as the needs of patients, families and staff changed. Each space and project looked different. The integration of technology that supported, but did not distract from, the human experience of patients, their loved ones and caregivers offered new challenges. Community needs changed. But one thing remained constant: People deserve dignity, comfort and compassion during life's most difficult moments. As Cleveland's population continues to age, conversations around health care often focus on hospital capacity, staffing shortages and rising medical costs. Those challenges matter, but we also need to ask a different question: How do we create environments where people can age and die with dignity?