Literature Review

Stakeholder perspectives on integrating ADEPT into end-of-life care for nursing home residents with dementia: A qualitative descriptive studyInternational Journal of Older People Nursing; by Susanny J Beltran, Latarsha Chisholm, Emily Jaijairam; 5/26Nursing homes care for a significant proportion of individuals with advanced dementia, yet timely hospice referrals remain a challenge. The Advanced Dementia Prognostic Tool (ADEPT) is a mortality risk score instrument that holds promise for improving care planning by providing a standardised, accessible method for identifying residents at risk of death within 6 months. Current processes for identifying hospice-eligible residents rely on regular assessments and interdisciplinary collaboration but reveal significant gaps, including delays in referrals and inconsistent practices. Participants viewed ADEPT as a promising tool to complement goals-of-care conversations and enhance care planning, rather than exclusively triggering hospice initiation. Implementation barriers included the need for electronic system integration, regulatory compliance and staff education, while facilitators encompassed strong leadership support, interdisciplinary coordination and alignment with existing workflows.

The missing middle in healthcare—and why it matters | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Bridget Sumser and Sonya Dolan; 6/20/26 What happens between a life-changing diagnosis and hospice care?  In Part One of this thought-provoking conversation, Chris Comeaux welcomes Mettle Health co-founder Sonya Dolan and Director of Counseling & Programs Bridget Sumser to explore what they call healthcare’s “missing middle.” ... Together, they unpack how Mettle Health was created to provide a different kind of support: one centered on accompaniment rather than treatment, resilience rather than answers, and human connection rather than healthcare transactions.

The Pennant Group and Hartford HealthCare expand collaboration to advance home-based care in Connecticut Stock Titan; Press Release; 6/4/26 Pennant Group (NASDAQ:PNTG) and Hartford HealthCare are expanding their strategic collaboration to advance home-based care in Connecticut. The partners plan mutual investment and a transition into a unified, forward-looking operating entity.

Central Coast VNA & Hospice expands focus on aging-in-place support as regional demand grows K99.1 XLG, Monterey, CA; by Presswire.com; 6/5/26 Central Coast VNA & Hospice, a nonprofit home healthcare organization serving Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and South Santa Clara counties, is expanding its community education and outreach efforts around aging-in-place care services. The initiative responds to a growing number of families in the region seeking structured, professional support to help older adults live safely and independently at home, a trend observed broadly across California and the nation as the senior population continues to grow.

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.

Community Hospice and Health Services invests in behavioral health Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/3/26 California-based Community Hospice and Health Services is extending its mission to improve quality of life into the behavioral health space. In addition to the nonprofit’s bereavement care program, five years ago it established Hope Counseling Mental Health Services, to provide talk therapy to individuals from the community in need of additional support. Licensed clinical social workers and a marriage and family therapist staff the center, according to Monica Ojcius, director of strategic development at Community Hospice. “We formalized a mild to moderate outpatient mental health program. We did that because folks heard about our services for people experiencing grief and bereavement after hospice,” Ojcius told Hospice News.

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?

Lawmakers boost grant awards for local nonprofits The Honolulu Star, Honolulu, HI; by Andrew Gomes; 6/1/26 About 170 Hawaii nonprofits providing food, healthcare and other services are slated to share $40 million in legislative grants this year. ... ... This year, the biggest award was $1 million for Hospice of Hilo [doing business as Hospice of Hilo] ...  in part to help the organization build a workforce training center in Hilo that would help turn out a new generation of palliative care professionals to serve more Hawaii island community members.

CMS myth vs. fact: what hospice and home health providers need to know about the new Medicare enrollment moratoria JD Supra; by Stephen Angelette, Mary Canavan, Simran Nijjar, Ross Sallade, Elizabeth Tucker, and Deja Williams; 5/26/26 [Responding to the CMS nationwide six-month moratoria barring new Medicare enrollments for hospice and home health agencies (HHAs), effective May 13 ... ] Any actions that trigger an initial Medicare enrollment are prohibited during the moratoria. This can include changes in ownership, new practice locations, additions of provider types, or other transactions requiring a new enrollment application.In this alert, we address common myths surrounding the moratoria and key considerations for providers during the six-month period. Guest Editor's Note, Judi Lund Person: Review this guidance for application to your hospice or home health planning, including mergers, acquisitions, and establishment of new practice locations or new branches.   

First do no harm: communication surrounding non-beneficial treatments American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Cassie Stanzler, MD, Adam Marks, MD, MPH, and Laura Taylor, MD, MSc; 5/21/26 Despite a consensus in the medical community that clinicians should not offer non-beneficial treatments (NBTs) to their patients, little guidance exists on the particular communication needs around this fraught topic. While intended in the spirit of non-maleficence, setting limits around NBTs can be seen by patients and families as abandonment, resulting in conflict. In this paper, we propose a framework to guide Palliative Care clinicians in communicating about these complex issues with patients and families. ... Our framework emphasizes proactive relationship building with patients and families, close attention to their values, and compassionate limit-setting when medically appropriate.