Literature Review

Indian Health Service receives gift membership to expand training for serious illness care U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | Indian Health Service | The Federal Health Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives; Press Release; 6/16/26 The Indian Health Service (IHS) has received a two-year membership to the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) through a grant-funded initiative, expanding access to training and resources that support care for patients with serious illness. Through this gifted membership, targeted IHS workforce development participants, including Models of Care initiatives and clinical training programs, will gain access to CAPC’s comprehensive library of web-based courses, tools, webinars, and expert support. 

Vance’s fraud task force is sweeping up legitimate small businesses The Washington Post, Washington, DC; by Isaac Arnsdorf; 6/15/26 The vice president and other officials have downplayed evidence of collateral damage in their crackdown on fraudulent hospices. In April, when the Trump administration began suspending about 800 hospices in the Los Angeles area suspected of fraud, a small local agency started accepting patients from the affected providers. The owner never thought he would be next. ... “The Trump administration is taking a pretty aggressive tactic here, but the downside is you’re often going to catch up legitimate actors because you’re not really taking the time to do your due diligence,” said Hillary Loeffler, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for the National Alliance for Care at Home, an industry group, who worked on hospice issues at CMS until 2025.

The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care celebrates grand Opening of the Dorion Family Pediatric Center PR Newswire, Jacksonville, FL; by The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care; 6/12/26The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Dorion Family Pediatric Center on Thursday, June 11, marking a significant milestone in expanding care for children with serious and complex illnesses in Northeast Florida. More than 300 community leaders, donors, families, and supporters gathered at the Earl B. Hadlow Campus to commemorate the opening of the new center, which is the first-of-its-kind pediatric hospice and palliative care center in Florida and one of only a few in the United States.

Chapters Health System awarded $150,000 grant from the Golisano Foundation to expand inclusive pediatric hospice care in Southwest Florida PR Newswire, Temple Terrace, FL; by Chapters Health System; 6/9/26 Chapters Health System, the nation's leading chronic illness innovator and largest nonprofit hospice provider, has received a $150,000 grant from the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation through the Chapters Health Foundation ... The grant will support the launch of "Advancing Inclusive Pediatric Hospice Care," an initiative designed to expand access to developmentally appropriate, family-centered end-of-life care, particularly for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the integration of a Certified Child Life Specialist and Hospital-Hospice Liaison at Hope Healthcare, a Chapters Health affiliate in Fort Myers.

Providing inclusive and affirmative palliative care for the LGBTQ+ community: why inclusive care for LGBTQ+ patients is essential CAPC - Center to Advance Palliative Care; by Kimberly D. Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, CSE, FNAP, Anup Bharani, MD, Brynn Bowman, MPA, Brittany Chambers, MPH, CHES, Diane Farquhar, LCSW, ACSW (1957 – 2023), Noelle Marie Javier, MD, Rabbi Max Zev Reynolds, BCC, MA, Billy Rosa, PhD, MBE, APRN, Rayna Ross, CHES; retrieved from the internet 6/9/26 Despite the historical efforts to advance civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning (LGTBQ+) community – there continues to be ongoing discrimination in society, including in health care. Providing inclusive care for seriously ill LGBTQ+ patients is essential for ensuring equitable, respectful, and comprehensive health care. ... The Bottom Line: For patients that have experienced discrimination from the health system, trust-building is a key priority and the foundation on which health care is delivered.

Pastor-endorsed hospice education increases willingness to accept hospice among African American congregants in rural North Carolina American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Tiffany D. Morris, DNP, MS, Ed, MSN, CNE; 5/28/26 ... This preliminary quality improvement project evaluated a culturally tailored, pastor-endorsed hospice education intervention in two African American Baptist churches (n = 49). Guided by humanistic nursing theory, pastors used the African American Outreach Guide for End-of-Life Care to dispel myths and explain hospice services. Willingness to accept hospice (AARP End of Life Survey) increased from 60.4% to 93.6% (51.7% relative increase), and uncertainty decreased from 39.6% to 6.4% (84.2% reduction).

VITAS Healthcare’s growing Florida footprint Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 6/4/26 Florida-headquartered VITAS Healthcare is expanding its reach across the Sunshine State. The Chemed Corp. subsidiary recently launched a new inpatient hospice center in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a part of its existing service region since 2019. Meanwhile, VITAS also announced its expansion into Florida’s Gulf Coast region of Manatee County. Both strategic moves are intended to improve access to hospice and palliative care, according to VITAS Executive Vice President Patty Husted.

Families struggle to secure home hospice U.S. News; by Cameron Blake; 6/3/26 A woman’s effort to honor her husband Craig’s last wish to die at home became a second fight alongside his bladder cancer, highlighting growing strains in access to hospice care outside the hospital. The caregiver, who asked to speak about her experience, said the couple faced delays and mixed guidance when trying to arrange home-based support in the final weeks of his illness. Their story mirrors a national problem as more families seek comfort-centered care while agencies report tight staffing and stricter eligibility reviews.

Hospice enrollments from the Emergency Department feature short admissions and high-acuity hospice care Health Affairs; by Helen P. Knight, Kourosh Ravvaz, Alexander Fiksdal, Lin Shen, Isaac S. Chua, Claire K. Ankuda, Haiden A. Huskamp, Hojjat Salmasian, Joan M. Teno, and David W. Bates; 6/1/26 ... The 10 percent of hospice agencies with the highest proportion of ED-to-hospice enrollments were less often for-profit than agencies ranked below the fiftieth percentile in respect to proportion of ED-to-hospice enrollments. Further research is needed to increase understanding of how much patients benefit from ED-to-hospice transfers when their hospice stays before death are very short, and what drivers lead to these ED-to-hospice transfers.

We couldn't afford to pay for my mom's dementia assisted living anymore. She moved into a tiny house next door to me. Business Insider; as told to Noah Sheidlower; 5/31/26 This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lori Bufka, 64, who is caring for her mother with dementia in Arizona. Assisted living became too expensive for her mother, so Bufka moved her into a trailer next to their home, where her mother would have enough space and safety. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Editor's Note: From this essay, "She went into hospice care, and we hired someone to come for a few hours a week. It was supposed to be $37 for two hours, but when I got the bill, they tacked on mileage, so it became $92. We figured it wasn't worth it, so now hospice volunteers visit every now and then, and hospice covers medically necessary appointments. ..."

[Global] The Real World Charity Challenge surpasses 1,200 volunteer acts in 7 months BusinessWire, Miami, FL; Press Release; 6/1/26 The Real World members have completed 1,251 documented acts of community service through the platform's global Charity Challenge, New Era Learning LLC announced today. ... "The Charity Challenge was designed to test whether members would commit to high-effort work without immediate financial return, and the submission numbers gave us a clear answer," said Mark Berringer, spokesperson for New Era Learning LLC. "The 1,251 verified completions in seven months, across 14 countries and causes ranging from hospice care to environmental cleanup, show that the program's structure works across very different local contexts."Editor's Note: Beyond Compliance — Volunteer hours may fulfill CMS requirements, but what else do they tell you? How intentionally do you use volunteer data to recognize service, strengthen recruitment and retention, and better understand volunteer impact throughout patient and family care?

Bristol Hospice acquires Hope Hospice & Palliative Care Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 6/2/26 Bristol Hospice has purchased Hope Hospice & Palliative Care for an undisclosed amount, expanding its geographic footprint in the South. Established in 2020, Hope Hospice & Palliative Care serves patients across the region of Memphis, Tennessee. The hospice and palliative care provider has built a strong, trusted reputation for high quality across these communities, said Bristol Hospice President and CEO Alex Mauricio. The acquisition represents an opportunity to preserve and expand sustainable access, Mauricio indicated.