Literature Review

'They took care of me too': HIA Heather's House marks 1-year, nearing 400 patients InForum | Fargo Forum, Fargo, ND; by Kevin Wallevand; 8/28/26 Heather's House is celebrating its first year open, with nearly 400 patients receiving care through HIA so far this year. [HIA's Heather's House is North Dakota's first freestanding, inpatient hospice house. HIA had previously been known as Hospice of the Red River Valley before changing its name in June.] Editor's Note: Congratulations on this significant success. From an article we posted one year ago when they opened: "Ground was broken for the facility three years ago and administrative offices were moved into the building in February, but the dream began many years before that with hospice trailblazers Mary Lou Dahms, Sonia McManus and Edie Lohr." Be inspired by connecting-the-dots between their "dreams" and your own with today's "Today's Encouragement."

An exploration of gratitude on well-being in hospice and palliative care familial caregiversJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Kathryn Levy, Pei C Grant, Hannah Rachiele, Gina Schuster, Jonathan L Rossi, Sheila Conboy, Andrew Gasper, Christopher W Kerr; 7/26Familial caregivers (FCGs) play a critical role in health care by providing unpaid care to loved ones with serious illness. Although caregiving is often associated with emotional and physical burden, increasing attention has been directed toward potential sources of meaning and psychological growth, including gratitude. Higher levels of gratitude were associated with greater flourishing and recognition of positive caregiving experiences and were inversely associated with caregiver strain among FCGs of hospice and palliative care patients. Future longitudinal and intervention-based research is needed to determine whether gratitude-focused approaches can improve resilience, psychological well-being, and relational connection in end-of-life caregiving.

Nonreporting of race and ethnicity in medical research harms us all JAMA Internal Medicine | Editorial | Health Equity; by Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, Jerard Kneifati-Hayek, MD, MS, Annette Flanagin, RN, MA, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS; Raegan W. Durant, MD, MPH; 8/24/26 At JAMA Internal Medicine, we have become increasingly aware that some US researchers are unable to report on race or ethnicity as demographic variables to describe their sample or to conduct stratified analyses by these variables. In some cases, we have been informed that based on 3 recent US federal executive orders, the stewards of federal databases, such as those responsible for distributing data from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), are unable to release any race or ethnicity data for research purposes. The restrictions may be particularly prohibitive when study investigators are US federal employees. We have been informed of similar concerns occurring at other biomedical journals. Editor's Note: This theme recurs throughout our American history. Stark examples repeatedly emerged when I was researching and writing my recent e-book: A History of Care: 250 Years of Need, Service and Hope.

Housing instability complicates end‑of‑life care for aging unhoused populationsThe Miami Times; Pilar Ingle; 8/25/26 ... Nationally, 771,480 people — the highest number ever recorded — experienced homelessness in 2024. As the number of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. grows, so too does the need for palliative and end-of-life care for these individuals. ... Research has found that specialized health care in general is more effective and affirming for unhoused individuals than traditional health services. Examples of such specialized palliative programs in the U.S. and internationally include the Rocky Mountain Refuge, the INN Between and the Harborview Homeless Palliative Care Team in the U.S., and Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless in Canada.

Understanding the hospice journey: care, comfort, and connection in assisted living WriteUpCafe; Oakdale Heights Assisted Living; 8/25/26 Hospice care can feel like unfamiliar territory for families, especially when a loved one is already receiving support in assisted living. It is natural to have questions about what happens next, who provides care, and how everyday needs will be handled. ...

Aging Luzerne County prison population cited as challenge The Dallas Post; by Jennifer Learn-Andes; 8/22/26 During recent legislative testimony about crime trends, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo highlighted the aging prison population as a concern that must be addressed. Older inmates with “escalating chronic health needs” are contributing to rising medical costs and challenging a prison staff “increasingly called upon to manage geriatric and end-of-life care in a setting never designed for it,” she told the Senate Majority Policy Committee and House Republican Policy Committee at a hearing earlier this month in Hazleton. “Corrections officers are trained for security, not hospice care,” Crocamo told the legislators, emphasizing “graying behind bars” is an emerging issue statewide. 

Pittsburgh Caregivers get federal lifeline as dementia cases swell across Allegheny County hoodline; by Ryan Miller; 8/21/26 Caregivers looking after loved ones with dementia in Pittsburgh now have a new federal tool to lean on, and it is already showing up at a day center in Squirrel Hill. The Anathan Club, run by the Jewish Association on Aging, has begun connecting families to the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, a Medicare program that can cover up to $2,500 a year in respite care for qualifying beneficiaries. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, known as GUIDE, was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and launched nationwide on July 1, 2024, as an eight-year voluntary pilot running through June 30, 2032, according to CMS. Nearly 390 provider organizations across the country are participating. 

Nearly one in five Medicare hospice patients now leaves the program alive rather than through death Medical Daily; by Dorothy Brooks; 8/17/26 Almost one in five people who leave Medicare hospice care each year leaves alive rather than through death, and the share has climbed every year since 2021. Federal data released this spring put the live discharge rate at 19.1 percent in fiscal year 2025, up from 16.9 percent four years earlier. For families, this is the rule almost nobody explains at enrollment. Hospice is not a permanent placement. It is a benefit tied to a prognosis, and when that prognosis changes, the benefit can end while the patient is still living, still ill, and still needing care. Understanding it before it happens is the difference between a planned transition and a phone call that lands like an eviction.

Anonymous donor helps Grace House buy Highland Square’s Leonora Hall Signal Akron; Akron, OH; by Shams Mustafa; 8/17/26 A new chapter is beginning for Highland Square’s Leonora Hall after a nonprofit organization, Grace House Akron, purchased the property with the unexpected help of an anonymous donor. ... The acquisition means the property has a new owner following the closure of the Francesca Residence and the displacement of its mostly elderly residents. In a statement, Grace House representative Jen Boroff said that the nonprofit, which provides end-of-life care and housing for people who are indigent, unsheltered or abandoned, sees potential for the site to strengthen its mission and serve the broader community but that the organization has not yet decided how it will use the property.

45 minutes saved per admission: how one hospice is re-shaping their businessHospice News; by Jack Silverstein; 8/17/26When Dar Miller came to Faith Hospice of Arizona two years ago, the organization’s census was just over 100 and their staff worked overtime to enter patient profiles. Now, their average daily census is 135-140, while their nurses have more time available at the bedside and with families. The change? Faith Hospice’s relationship with their pharmacy partner OnePoint Patient Care, whose combination of collaboration, communication, integrated technology and process ensures that hospices are not only getting the best pharmacy service possible, but that their operation is always evolving with the times.

Reports from Duke University describe recent advances in managed care (the South had the lowest rates of hospice and palliative medicine-certified providers in the Us, 2024): managed care Insurance Newsnet; by Staff; 8/13/26 A new study on Managed Care is now available. According to news reporting originating in Durham, North Carolina, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To improve access to care for serious illness, policy makers need evidence on how workforce capacity aligns with the need for palliative care. This study evaluated the palliative care workforce and policy environments at the state level, using a new data source: the 2024 Center to Advance Palliative Care’s comprehensive Serious Illness Scorecard.” Funders for this research include US Department of Veterans Affairs, Duke University, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discover and Practice Transformation (ADAPT) at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Read the study here.