Literature Review

Daughter embraces mom’s hospice journey City Sun Times, Phoenix, AZ; by Lin Sue Flood; 3/25/25 As a nurse, Robin Benton is used to caring for people who are ill. But it’s different when your mother is the one who is sick. Her mom, Charlotte Brewer, a former nurse herself, has multiple myeloma, a rare type of blood cancer. In March 2024, the 80-year-old Valley resident decided to stop curative treatments in favor of comfort care with Hospice of the Valley, where she worked for over 10 years, before retiring in 2007. ... Charlotte’s Hospice of the Valley nurse, Kelly Langston, admires the way the family is living this stage of life with great intention, creating new ways to deepen their love for each other. “They came up with an idea for a hug shirt,” shared Kelly. “Everyone in the family painted their arms then took turns hugging each other — stamping an imprint of encircled arms on the shirts. It’s a way to feel each other’s hugs even when they aren’t together.” [Continue reading ...]

Avoidable mortality rises in US, bucking global decline Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mackenzie Bean; 3/26/25 Avoidable mortality has increased in the U.S. for more than a decade, contrasting decreases seen in many other high-income countries, according to a study published March 24 in JAMA Internal Medicine. For the study, researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health analyzed mortality data from the CDC and World Health Organization for people 74 and younger between 2009 and 2021, spanning all 50 states and 40 high-income countries. Avoidable mortality includes deaths that could have been prevented through effective public health measures or timely, high-quality healthcare. [Continue reading ...]

Seen Health opens first PACE Center in San Gabriel Valley, delivering a new standard of culturally-focused senior care PR Newswire, Alhambra, CA; by Seen Health; 3/18/25 Seen Health, an innovative health care provider transforming senior care, celebrated the grand opening of its first flagship Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center in San Gabriel Valley on Saturday, March 15. ... With California's rapidly growing senior population, the need for innovative care has never been more urgent. In San Gabriel Valley alone, over 17% of residents are 65 or older, with over 300,000 seniors in the area and approximately 30% identifying as Chinese-American.  ... Designed for comfort and connection, Seen Health's PACE center features open communal areas, natural lighting, and cultural elements that promote dignity and social interaction. Unlike traditional senior services, Seen Health blends expert clinical services with highly personalized social and cultural support, ensuring care feels familiar, enriching, and provided in the participants' native languages. [Continue reading ...]

Healthy Colorado: Expanded hospice care in El Paso County KRDO TV-AM-FM, Colorado Springs, CO; 3/24/25 It's hard to talk about, and even harder for many families to live through. But it's important to know how many options there are for supported care. CommonSpirit Home Hospice recently expanded its program into El Paso County. They've been providing compassionate, end-of-life care for more than 30 years now. [Continue reading ...]

Calvary Hospital doubles down on palliative care and hospice expansion Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 3/24/25 Michael Fosina began serving as president of Calvary Hospital in New York City in January, bringing decades of healthcare experience to the role. ... Mr. Forsina told Becker’s he’s excited about Calvary’s mission as the organization celebrates its 125th anniversary. Recently, the hospital integrated services with its parent organization, ArchCare, the healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. Mr. Fosina shared his perspective on Calvary’s role in New York and its future in meeting patient needs. ... [Michael Fosina described:] "ArchCare has all of the components of post-acute care when you include our end-of-life hospital and our hospice program. The integration allows us to accept patients, move patients around, have them stay connected with the physician — the team physician. So the transitions of care are not as dramatic as if you’re going from one organization to the next organization." [Continue reading ...]

SouthernCare Hospice of Milan decorates Vermilion and Milan with yellow ribbons in honor of Vietnam Awareness Day The Morning Journal, Milan, OH; by Heather Chapin; 3/23/25 SouthernCare Hospice of Milan has hung yellow ribbons throughout Vermilion and Milan in honor of Vietnam Awareness Day, which is observed March 29. ... “Many people are still unaware of Vietnam Veterans Day, often confusing it with Veterans Day in November,” Huhra stated. National Vietnam War Veterans Day honors the veterans who served in the Vietnam War, with the date chose to mark the withdrawal of the last United States combat troops March 29,1973, he stated. “On March 29th, please show support to Vietnam Veterans that you know by saying ‘Welcome Home,’ ” the release stated. “It’s a national effort to acknowledge and thank the service and sacrifices of those who served in the Vietnam War, recognizing that they were not given the proper welcome upon their return from duty.”Editor's note: More information is at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2025.

Bringing palliative care to every patient with cancer: A conversation with Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO The ASCO Post, in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology; by Jo Cavallo; 3/25/25 Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO, ... has become a widely recognized leader in the field of supportive care and palliative medicine, serving for nearly a decade on the leadership team of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and helping to craft the first Hospice and Palliative Medicine certifying examination offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine. ... In a wide-ranging interview with The ASCO Post, Dr. Abrahm discussed the importance of providing every patient with cancer access to palliative medicine throughout survivorship, how oncologists can become more effective communicators, and strategies to alleviate patients’ suffering at the end of life.

How a Lewiston health care nonprofit diversified to sustain services Mainebiz; by Laurie Schreiber; 3/20/25 Ken Albert leads Lewiston-based Andwell Health Partners, an independent, nonprofit home- and community-based health care organization. The former Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice, founded in 1966, focused on home health care and hospice in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties. Rebranded in 2024 to reflect its expansion in recent years, Andwell now has locations throughout Maine, with additional service lines including in-home hospice care, Maine’s first inpatient hospice facility, the Maine Center for Palliative Medicine, community and behavioral health, mobile wound care, in-home care giving, private-duty nursing, therapy care, ad maternal and child health. This week, it opened Andwell Audiology in Lewiston. 

Global Partners in Care, Elea Institute partner to improve palliative care access worldwide Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 3/21/25 Global Partners in Care (GPIC) and Elea Institute have formed a partnership designed to extend access to palliative care services worldwide. The two organizations are currently working to convene teams of experts to meet in Dublin, Ireland, later this year. These experts will design a tangible framework for addressing barriers to palliative care access globally, including increasing awareness, workforce development, identifying policy and research gaps and preparing future leaders, according to John Mastrojohn III, CEO and president of Global Partners in Care. 

Disparities in end-of-life symptom burden linked to complex interplay among wealth, health, and social supportJAMA Network Open; Peter A. Boling, MD; 3/25On average, US health care spending in the last year of life alone was $80,000, with 12% ($9,500) being out of pocket and mostly incurred before the final 6 months. This problem worsened in the past decade when the nonspecific diagnosis of failure to thrive was removed as a condition eligible for hospice care and more stringent definitions were applied for dementia, which became the next bubble as the hospice balloon was squeezed. Hospice care is a means of reducing symptom burden, but the Medicare payment model discourages prolonged enrollment during slowly progressing advanced chronic illness and effectively limits funding of social support during hospice care, which is particularly problematic for patients with cognitive and functional impairment and for their friends and families. Considering suffering as a medical condition warranting treatment rather than a social problem requiring support services might help with the evolution of a Medicare policy that might provide a more graduated approach to end-of-life care.

10 things hospice doesn’t tell you, shared by a Cleveland Clinic doctor The Healthy; by Patricia Varacallo, DO (author) with Laura Hoeksema, MD, MPH, FAAHPM (medical director for Cleveland Clinic Hospice); 3/19/25 ... Dr. Hoeksema shares key insights about hospice care and reminds patients and families that the hospice team is always available to answer questions and provide support when things feel uncertain.What hospice does not tell you, but you should know:

Improvement plans for hospital car park BBC News; by Ruth Lucas; 3/18/25 ... NHS Frimley has announced plans to make "positive improvements" to the car park at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey Heath. ... NHS Frimley says this will increase capacity by 10%, while LED lighting and improved parking bay markings will also be installed. ... Free parking is currently available for disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and visitors with relatives who are gravely sick, terminally ill or under palliative care.Editor's note: For hospital-based hospice/palliative care, do you provide any type of free parking, vouchers, middle-of-the-night security, or some other type of support for families of persons in your hospice/palliative care units? Consider the common experience of the patient dying in the middle of the night, and family leaving the hospital--especially if your parking conditions are unsafe or expensive. 

Salutes hospice staff, volunteers The Messenger, Fort Dodge, IA; Letter to the Editor by Mary E. Larson; 3/19/25 My heart was saddened when I heard that the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home is closing. I was the volunteer coordinator for UnityPoint Hospice volunteers from 2003-2022. A lot of our volunteers spend many hours in our wonderful Hospice Home helping our patients, their families and guests and staff. This home is such a blessing to our community. When our patients would come to the hospice home, our staff would care for them so their loved ones could spend more time being with them in their final days. ... It will be a huge loss for our community when it closes. Mary E. Larson