Literature Review

TCN & HPCT Podcast: Plans of Care, Ethics, Robotics, and more! Top News Stories, June 2025 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 7/2/25 What makes Hospice special isn't magic—it's the masterful implementation of coordinated care plans that align interdisciplinary teams with patient priorities.  This month's deep dive into June's most critical Hospice and Palliative Care developments explores how this "secret sauce" remains simultaneously the heart of our philosophy and our most common survey deficiency. In this episode of TCNtalks, host Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner, Publisher of Hospice & Palliative Care Today & CEO and Founder of Hospice Analytics, discuss relevant top news stories in Hospice and Palliative Care for June. They also explore technology's dual-edged potential, suggesting that AI and robotics should enhance, rather than replace, the human elements of Hospice Care.  As Daniel Pink notes, "if a robot can replace you, you should be"—allowing us to focus our irreplaceable human capacity on meaningful connection rather than routine tasks.

Hospice News ELEVATE: C-suite perspectives on hospice in 2025 Hospice News; by Sophie Knoelke; 6/30/25... This article is based on a Hospice News discussion with Susan Ponder-Stansel, CEO of Alivia Care, Scott Levy, Chief Government Affairs Officer for the National Alliance for Care at Home and Dr. Derrel Walker, CMO of The Pennant Group. This discussion took place on April 10th, 2025 during the Hospice ELEVATE conference. 

[Canada] Hospice Northwest receives support to help unhoused people get palliative careCBC; by Sarah Law; 6/27/25Kimberley Ramsbottom, outreach program coordinator at Hospice Northwest, says it's important for everyone to have access to quality end-of-life services, no matter their personal circumstances. Accessing palliative care can be stressful for anyone, but for people experiencing homelessness, even getting to medical appointments can be an impossible barrier. The Palliative Advocacy Care Team (PACT) in Thunder Bay, Ont., works to address these challenges by connecting unhoused individuals who have life-limiting illnesses with essential services, such as food, transportation, communication methods and primary care... The $10,000 award will go directly to meeting clients' needs, from helping them find transportation, to getting a cellphone so their doctor can reach them about upcoming appointments.

St. Joseph’s Center of Trumbull to permanently close Aug. 9 Westfair Business Journal, Trumbaull, CT; by Gary Larkin; 6/30/25The Town of Trumbull and the state Department of Labor (DOL) have reported they are trying to help the 179 employees laid off by St. Joseph’s Center after its parent company [Genesis Healthcare] announced it was closing the nursing home on Aug. 9. ... St. Joseph’s Center has been serving Trumbull for more than 50 years with an array of services such as: independent living, short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, and hospice services. 

Healthcare’s broken math: 11 signs the numbers don’t add upBecker's Hospital Review; by Scott Becker, Molly Gamble; 6/25/25Healthcare has a daunting and growing supply and demand problem. We have a growing population in the United States and not enough physicians, nurses, allied healthcare providers and technicians. It is a very clear and simple math problem. We have approximately 340 million people in the United States and only about 840,000 direct patient care physicians and about 5.3 million nurses. Similarly, we face shortages across the board in other provider types and critical staff roles. [Imbalances include:]

How AI tools help home health providers dramatically lessen OASIS time burdenHome Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 6/18/25 As home health leaders continue to identify areas where artificial intelligence (AI) can be most beneficial to their businesses, some are beginning to utilize these tools to reduce the time burden of the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). Payment and outcomes are directly impacted by OASIS data collection, making accurate OASIS data collection crucial for home health providers. Yet for many clinicians, OASIS data collection can be a major pain point due to its complexity and time demands. Providers who have turned to AI-powered tools report “dramatic” efficiency gains. Still, experts note that some “fine tuning” remains to be done before the technology reaches its full potential. 

“Her toes fell off into my hand”: 50 moments that changed healthcare workers forever BoredPanda; by Dominyka; 6/18/25 When we go through traumatic events, our brain can shut out feelings and thoughts as a way to protect us from emotional or physical damage. This can make people go numb in stressful situations, so our bodies have time to figure out the best course of survival.  Healthcare workers are frequently exposed to traumatic experiences, so when they were asked what event made them go permanently numb, they shared many devastating stories. Scroll down to find them below, and don’t forget to share similar ones if you have any. 

Empath revamping physical, digital workspace for improved employee experience Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/16/25 ... [Empath is updating] its physical locations to enhance the workspace for employees. “Some of this workspace design that we’re doing is innovative. We’ve invested in common workplace environments. We have quiet rooms, where people can go and focus on rest, relaxation and ease in the middle of the day. We leave your laptops, leave your phones out of that room,” Fleece told Hospice News. “We’ve invested in common kitchen areas and gathering places that are like a workplace cafe, with coffee, lounge chairs, TVs and things like that, so people can get together and socialize while they are in the office.” Florida-based Empath Health is the parent company of 17 affiliates and four philanthropic foundations. The organization provides care to more than 81,000 patients annually. 

Medicare Home Health Care is the ideal platform for home-based palliative care at the end of lifeJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Tessa Jones and Sean Morrison, with Guest Editor note by Ira Byock, MD; 6/10/25Recognizing the central role of HH as a de facto means of providing home-based palliative care—and strategizing how to integrate palliative care principles and education into it—holds the potential to expand access to palliative care services and improve the quality of end of life for older Americans. The authors identify four main barriers to successfully integrating HH into the suite of palliative care delivery models. First, the HH workforce lacks training in fundamental palliative care. Second, the current lack of ongoing physician involvement in the HH setting. Third, reimbursement. Palliative care services are often excluded from traditional payment models, particularly in the HH setting. Lastly, financialization of the HH sector. They say that integration of palliative care within for-profit HH agencies may require a strategic emphasis on financial incentives.Guest Editor Note, Ira Byock, MD: This academic oped extends the drumbeat toward alternatives to hospice care. Overcoming barriers to home-based palliative care requires steps that are strikingly similar to those needed to make hospice programs successful. The authors repeatedly refer to HH interdisciplinary teams. In fact, home health is a multidisciplinary model of service delivery that lacks the clinical synergy of high-functioning interdisciplinary hospice teams.

New Hampshire woman’s father dies in hospice care [in fire evacuation zone] when California fires broke out CBS News WBZ, Boston, MA / YouTube; 1/15/25, published in our newsletter 1/15/25Just two hours before the fire evacuation--Merle Fetter--Barbara's husband of 64 years died in Royal Oaks Hospice Care, with Barbara holding his hand until the end . … As the fire moved through Altadena towards Monrovia Barbara was forced to leave Merrill's body, unable to be evacuated. ... [Daughter in New Hampshire:]  “I didn't know where my mother was. I didn't know what happened to my father's body.” Barbara's daughter—Joy—thousands thousands of miles away in New Hampshire couldn't fly to Los Angeles until Friday. When she finally landed she received a reassuring call from Royal Oaks her mom was OK and her father's remains taken to the coroner's office. Staff feel like residents here are their family. 

The healthcare customer of the future, with Marcus R. EscobedoTeleios Collaborative Network (TCN); video/podcast by Chris Comeaux with Marcus R. Escobedo; 6/11/25 In this episode of TCNtalks, Marcus Escobedo, Vice President of Communications at the John A. Hartford Foundation, joins Chris Comeaux to discuss the future of healthcare for aging populations. Marcus shares how the Foundation’s Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative transforms care for older adults through the evidence-based 4Ms framework: focusing on what matters to older adults, medication management, cognitive health, and mobility. The conversation dives into the impact of ageism in healthcare and the importance of reshaping language and practices to serve older adults better. 

7 browser extension rules every organization should follow to stay secure PI - Programming Insider; by Mar Berman; 6/9/25 Browser extensions have become essential for workplace productivity. Yet, they pose serious security risks that many organizations ignore. These small programs can access sensitive data, alter web content, and create openings for cyberattacks. ... This article presents seven important rules for organizations to manage risks effectively. Whether you work in IT or lead a team, these steps keep your network safe and easy to use. ...

Sacramento hospice for terminally ill homeless people to open after decade-long effort Sacramento Business Journal; by Chris Campbell; 6/9/25 A new hospice facility in Sacramento will open its doors to terminally ill homeless people on June 18. Joshua's House Hospice ... will provide end-of-life care for up to 15 residents. The project, a decade in the making, was funded by more than $3.5 million in contributions from individual donors, local foundations, the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County. "This project began with simple but profound conversations I had with people living on the streets," said Marlene Von Fredericks-Fitzwater, founder and CEO of Joshua's House. "They weren't afraid of dying, they were afraid of dying alone." The facility consists of six residential units, each approximately 670 square feet ...