Literature Review

Hawaiʻi Care Choices is expanding services, care options to North Hawaiʻi this month Big Island Now; Press Release; 2/11/26 Hawaiʻi Care Choices is expanding its palliative care program to North Hawaiʻi, ... Beginning this month, the Kupu Palliative Care Program will be available through a dedicated clinic space within the North Hawaiʻi Hospice office, extending palliative care services to residents of Hāmākua, Waimea, North Kohala, and South Kohala. ... “This partnership with Hawaiʻi Care Choices expands the support available to our community,” said Faye Mitchell, executive director of North Hawaiʻi Hospice. ... “We are both honored and excited to bring Kupu Palliative Care to North Hawaiʻi and to work with a trusted organization that shares our values of compassion, dignity, and community,” said Brenda Ho, CEO of Hawaiʻi Care Choices.

Expanding access to compassionate hospice care in Northern Virginia The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington; Press Release; 1/27/26 We are excited and proud to share that JSSA, a longtime Federation partner, is expanding its hospice services to Northern Virginia—an important step in ensuring individuals and families in our region have access to high-quality, community-based end-of-life care when it matters most. ... For more than 40 years, JSSA has been a trusted provider of hospice care in Montgomery County, supporting patients and families with expert clinical care alongside emotional and spiritual support. This expansion builds on JSSA’s more than 45 years of serving Northern Virginia through mental health services, aging-in-place programs, and its Holocaust Survivor Program.

Kids’ Grief and Healing Camp provides space for kids experiencing loss WVIR-29 News; Charlottesville, WV; by Kyndall Hanson; 2/7/26 Hospice of the Piedmont hosted its Kids’ Grief and Healing Camp on Saturday, February 7, giving children a space to share feelings and memories about their loved ones while connecting with others experiencing similar loss. “I’m not alone in this,” said Ella Matucci, an 11-year-old attending the camp. “Everyone is gonna lose someone in their life. Sometimes, I guess, it just happens earlier to some people, but we all have to go through it.” The free day camp works to provide children with a sense of togetherness and support during grief, offering a place for kids to come together, be kids, and express themselves in a safe space.

Why patient flow will decide hospital performance in 2026 Healthcare Business Today | Clinical Care | Patient Experience; by Russel Graney, 2/7/26 ... Why 2026? Health systems are entering a period where demand accelerates, reimbursement pressure tightens, and building new capacity becomes a distant solution. That’s why the next phase of performance will not be decided by who hires faster or cuts deeper, but by who moves patients through the system better. ...

Governor Hochul signs Medical Aid in Dying Act into New York state law New York State - Governor Kathy Hochul, Albany, NY; Press Release; 2/6/26 Governor Hochul today signed legislation S.138/A.136 that will allow medical aid in dying to be available to terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live. This historic bill signing comes after careful reflection and deliberation with the sponsors of the bill, advocacy organizations, and everyday New Yorkers ... The bill, as passed by the Legislature originally included a number of protections in order to ensure that no patient was coerced into choosing medical aid in dying and that no health care professional or religiously affiliated health facility would be forced to offer medical aid in dying. The Governor worked with the Legislature to include additional guardrails that will make sure people won’t be taken advantage of, while still ensuring terminally ill New Yorkers have the choice to die comfortably and on their own terms, including: [continue reading] ...

[Austria] Hospice nurses' views about the necessity for palliative sedation in existential sufferingPain Management Nursing; Dana Hagmann, Susanne Fleckinger, Piret Paal; 1/26Disagreements between nurses and doctors regarding the assessment and management of existential suffering in terminally ill patients represent a critical challenge in palliative care, particularly in the context of inpatient adult hospices. The study highlights the limited involvement of nurses in decision-making processes regarding palliative sedation despite their critical insights into patients' existential suffering. The findings emphasize the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of nurses' perspectives to achieve more holistic and ethically sound care in inpatient hospices.

“This is what loneliness looks like”: A description of a high-risk population of palliative and oncology patients American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Tamia Ross, MSPH, Ruwanthi Ekanayake, BA, Lucy Rabinowitz Bailey, MPH, Kain Kim, MD, and Emily Pinto Taylor, MD; 1/9/26 Background: Loneliness exacerbates symptom burden and reduces quality of life in serious illness. Social prescribing–linking patients to non-clinical community activities–offers a novel approach to address loneliness in palliative care. Results: Most patients were older, non-Hispanic Black women experiencing financial strain, food insecurity, and transportation barriers. Anxiety exceeded depression severity; mood disorders, loneliness, and social isolation were leading referral reasons.

Honoring Black History Month: Advancing equity in hospice and end-of-life care Gilchrist; by Gilchrist Staff; 2/3/26 Black History Month is a time to honor the resilience, contributions, and leadership of Black Americans, past and present, while also reflecting on the work that remains to ensure equity across all areas of society, including healthcare. In hospice and palliative care, Black leaders, clinicians, advocates, and community members have played a vital role in expanding access, shaping compassionate care models, and addressing long-standing disparities at the end of life. At Gilchrist, Black History Month is not only about reflection, but also about action. 

National policy framework for Pediatric Palliative Care Homes National Center for Pediatric Palliative Care Homes; email and webpage; 2/3/26The NCPPCH recently formally released its National Policy Framework for Pediatric Palliative Care Homes, and has begun early engagement with key national partners. This framework is intended to help policymakers at the state and federal level better understand the structural, licensing, and reimbursement pathways needed to support Pediatric Palliative Care Centers nationwide. Review the Policy Framework and Executive Summary here: https://www.ncppch.org/national-policy-framework.

How to responsibly use AI in palliative care and hematologic malignancies CancerNetwork; podcast by Ram Prakash Thirugnanasambandam, MBBS; 2/2/26 In a conversation with CancerNetwork®, Ram Prakash Thirugnanasambandam, MBBS, discussed the evolving roles that artificial intelligence (AI)–based tools may play in palliative care and the management of different hematologic malignancies. ... According to Thirugnanasambandam, implementing AI into one’s workflow may help accurately predict disease subtypes and burdens among patients with leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma. ... Thirugnanasambandam also discussed some of the ethical considerations surrounding the growth of AI-based tools, highlighting information privacy concerns and potentially biased datasets as notable issues with these platforms. Although AI may assist with decision-making, Thirugnanasambandam stated that it ultimately cannot replace a human’s nuanced clinical judgment and empathy.

Los Angeles County hospice industry under scrutiny for suspected Medicare fraud Santa Monica Observer, Santa Monica, CA; by Chet McSnark; 2/1/26 With 2,000 hospice agencies, Los Angeles County has more than 36 states combined and 30x more than Florida and New York. ... Recent reports indicate that the county accounts for approximately 18% of the nation's total Medicare billing for these services, despite representing only about 2.5% of the U.S. population. According to statements from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz ... has estimated that fraudulent activity in Los Angeles County hospice and home health care could amount to roughly $3.5 billion annually. Federal data shows the county hosts nearly 1,923 hospice providers, a number that exceeds the total in many other states combined.

Retired VA Nurse shares what she learned from over 10,000 dying veteransTampa Bay 28-ABC, Tampa Bay, FL; by Wendy Ryan; 1/30/26“Everything I've learned that has really mattered, I learned from the dying. Perspectives shift dramatically as death approaches. The day before you're given a terminal diagnosis, you take your life for granted. The day after, you wake up,” said Deborah Grassman, reading her book ‘Soul Injury.’ For over three decades as a VA hospice nurse practitioner, Deborah Grassman helped over 10,000 veterans take their final breath in peace. In those sacred moments, she began to see something they all carried. She calls it a “Soul Injury”, a wound that quietly haunts you. ... 

Protecting patients at the end of life why CON still matters - part 2 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Paul A. Ledford and Tim Rogers;  1/30/26 In Part Two of Protecting Patients at the End of Life: Why CON Still Matters, host Chris Comeaux continues the conversation with two of the nation’s most respected hospice policy leaders—Paul A. Ledford, President & CEO of the Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association, and Tim Rogers, President & CEO of the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina. This episode moves beyond regulatory theory and into the real-world patient and family experience—especially in states without hospice Certificate of Need (CON) laws. Drawing on decades of leadership, personal stories of loved ones in hospice, and data-informed insights, Paul and Tim explore what families actually face when hospice markets are oversaturated, fragmented, or poorly regulated.