Literature Review

The Big Beautiful Bill: A new era for health policy? w/ Katie KeithHealth Affairs podcast; by Jeff Byers, Katie Keith, Chris Fleming; 7/25/25Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Katie Keith of Georgetown Law and Deputy Editor Chris Fleming to the pod to discuss Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill and how this will affect Medicaid, Medicare, health savings accounts, rural hospitals, and more.

Hospice East Bay workers to strike Tuesday KRON-4, Bay Area, CA; by Bay City News; 7/29/25 Hospice East Bay workers say they will strike Tuesday to protest spiking caseloads. Nearly 80 nurses, social workers, chaplains and bereavement counselors at Hospice East Bay joined the National Union of Healthcare Workers in 2023. The group said they’re still seeking their first contract after about 18 months of negotiations. The group said Friday in a statement they “are fed up with a severe understaffing of nurses and frustrated that management is bargaining in bad faith and refusing to enshrine existing patient care protocols into a contract before the hospice turns over control to an out-of-state chain.” 

Hearing loss, loneliness may contribute to cognitive decline in older adults McKnights Senior Living; by John Roszkowski; 7/28/25 Hearing loss and loneliness can contribute to dementia in older adults, and simple interventions to address hearing loss, such as hearing aids, may reduce cognitive decline in some cases, new research finds. ... Results of the study showed that higher levels and worsening self-reported hearing impairment were associated with steeper decline in episodic memory issues and executive functioning (verbal fluency). Further, the researchers found that individuals who were not socially isolated but still felt lonely saw their cognitive decline accelerate if they were deaf.

Tell us more: Episode 1-Dr. Betty FerrellJournal of Palliative Medicine; podcast by Betty Ferrell, Yilong Peng, William E Rosa, Richard E Leiter; 7/22/25The Journal of Palliative Medicine'sTell Us More: The Palliative Care Oral History Project" seeks to tell the story of hospice and palliative care through informal interviews with pivotal leaders in the field. In each episode, hosts Drs. Ricky Leiter and Billy Rosa, along with research assistant Dr. Yilong Peng, sit down with an Hospice and Palliative Care luminary and do what our field does best-ask questions, listen, and reflect. In the first episode, Drs. Leiter and Rosa interviewed Dr. Betty Ferrell, Director of Nursing Research and Education, and a Professor at City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, California. Editor's note: Listen now to this inspiring interview with Dr. Betty Ferrell.

Why more seniors are going broke in the last 5 years of life SavingAdvice.com; by Riley Jones; 7/27/25 ... According to recent data, more seniors than ever are entering the last five years of life with little to no savings, and some are accumulating serious debt. Despite years of work, careful budgeting, and modest living, the final chapter of life is becoming one of the most financially devastating. ...

By the Bay Health CEO on stretching home health dollar, surviving proposed rate cuts Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 7/25/25 ... By the Bay Health CEO Skelly Wingard aims to improve the quality and accessibility of the company’s home health care line by enhancing the company’s clinical informatics and collaborating across service lines and managed care. These initiatives emerge amid regulatory uncertainty, as proposed Medicare home health rate cuts have raised alarms across the industry. Wingard warned that such cuts could force many providers out of business.By the Bay Health is an affiliate of the University of California San Francisco Health. The organization’s service lines include hospice, palliative, pediatric and skilled home health care. The company serves the entire Bay Area.

There'll be a part of me that goes on.You created something. You made a mark on your time. I don't know why that's so important to me. It just is. But I'm not finished!I'm as lost as everybody else.I'm still looking, I'm still searching.I may not ever figure it all out, but I'm trying.~ Billy Joel, from And So It Goes - Part 2 documentary 

Vet to Vet Cafe brings veterans together Tribune Chronicle, Warren, ; by Bob Coupland; 7/26/25 Veterans looking for a casual place to gather for fellowship, conversation, snacks and education can visit the newly formed Vet to Vet Cafe at the Warren SCOPE Senior Center. The new program, which started this summer, runs from 2 to 4 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the senior center, ... John Bower, chaplain for Grace Hospice, said there are educational programs focused on veterans, including assistance with therapy access, acquiring necessary items such as hearing aids and utilizing services offered by the Veterans Association.  “We started in June as an opportunity to get veterans together for conversation or educational programs,” Bower said. ... Autumn Lopez, administrator for Grace Hospice, expressed enthusiasm for organizing the Vet to Vet Cafe with participating veterans. “The goal is to connect veterans with the services and programs that are out there to help them,” she said.

Hospice | CMS.gov/Fraud Fast FactsCMS.gov/Fraud; by CMS; July 2025 ... Medicare hospice utilization has increased in recent years. In Fiscal Year 2024, Medicare payments for hospice reached over $27 billion, with approximately 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries receiving hospice care. CMS has taken significant action to address likely fraudulent behavior occurring in Medicare-enrolled hospices, including long lengths of stay, co-located hospices, and high rates of beneficiaries discharged alive. [This Fast Facts one-page sheet includes:]

Hospice of Wichita Falls hosts ceremony for Wall of Service KFDX /KJTL Wichita Falls, TX; by Aaron Gonders; 7/24/25 The Hospice of Wichita Falls’ Wall of Service is empty following a first-of-its-kind ceremony in the hospice’s garden. The Wall of Service was created as part of a Texoma Gives project. It has room for 54 individual plaques, each recognizing a veteran or first responder who entrusted their end-of-life care to Hospice of Wichita Falls. Sheppard Air Force Base was also involved in the ceremony, with service members acting as volunteers and providing a guest speaker. Wichita Falls Hospice hopes to do more of these ceremonies, but only once the wall is filled again.

When grief involves trauma − a social worker explains how to support survivors of the recent floods and other devastating losses The Conversation; podcast by Gemma Ware with Dr. Liza Lane; 7/17/25 The July 4, 2025, floods in Kerr County, Texas, swept away children and entire families, leaving horror in their wake. Days later, flash floods struck Ruidoso, New Mexico, killing three people, including two young children. ... When death is sudden, violent, or when a body is never recovered, grief gets tangled up with trauma. In these situations, people don’t only grieve the death. They struggle with the terror of how it happened, the unanswered questions and the shock etched into their bodies. I’m a social work professor, grief researcher and the founder of The Young Widowhood Project, a research initiative aimed at expanding scholarship and public understanding of premature spousal loss. Both my personal loss and professional work have shown me how trauma changes the grieving process and what kind of support actually helps. To understand how trauma can complicate grief, it’s important to first understand how people typically respond to loss.

Hospices navigating ethically complex end-of-life situations Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/25/25 The final stages of life can be filled with challenging, nuanced situations for some patients and their families. Ensuring goal-concordant care and autonomous end-of-life decision-making requires careful ethical, legal and operational considerations. Staff education and proactive policy development are important for hospices to harness in complex situations, according to Jeanne Chirico, president and CEO of the Hospice & Palliative Care Association of New York State (HPCANYS). A number of difficult life circumstances can limit hospices’ ability to provide patients with care that is in line with their wishes, Chirico indicated. Hospices need to have a firm understanding of the possible ethical and legal limitations that staff may encounter, as well as establish procedures that help address them.