Literature Review

[United Kingdom] One in five hospice beds closed, report warns in end of life care crisis Express - Health and Social Affairs; by Lucy Johnston; 1/10/26 Almost one in five hospice beds in England is now closed or standing empty, despite growing demand for end-of-life care, a study by Oxford University researchers has found. The analysis exposes a deepening funding crisis in the hospice sector - which its authors have described as “a national scandal.” ... [Oxford University professors describe that] ... increasing numbers of frail and elderly patients are dying “in pain, alone, often hungry and dehydrated,” while others are being admitted to hospital in emergency situations, adding pressure to already stretched NHS services.

CMS expands PPEO and EPR to Georgia and Ohio JD Supra; by Bryan Nowicki; 1/8/2026 CMS has extended its Provisional Period of Enhanced Oversight (PPEO) and its Expanded Prepayment Review (EPR) enforcement efforts to Georgia and Ohio. The enhanced enforcement efforts can lead to the revocation of a hospice’s Medicare billing privileges, termination of Medicare/Medicaid enrollment, and/or the prepayment review of 100% of a hospice’s claims. VERY Brief PPEO/EPR Overview: CMS’s process relating to these efforts is quite inconsistent, but generally . . .

OhioHealth, Columbus family foundation end decades-long relationship Columbus Business First - Healthcare, Columbus, OH; by Carrie Ghose; 1/9/26 The primary benefactors for OhioHealth Corp.'s hospice facility have shifted their family's support to another nonprofit, Dayton-based Ohio's Hospice - citing dissatisfaction with the involvement of private equity in end-of-life care. ... "In the bright glare of machines and the cold calculation of metrics, some in our society have allowed the final days of human life to become a logistical and financial puzzle, measured in reimbursement rates and hospital capacity," said a statement from the Kobacker family of Columbus. OhioHealth will announce new naming rights for its Kobacker House in the coming months, the system said in a statement to Columbus Business First. No patients are affected by the transition. [Access may be limited due to paywall.]

Home-based care type II workplace violence nurse provider experience a literature review Home Healthcare Now; by LaDawna Goering DNP, APRN, ANP-BC, BC-ADM, CDP and Tracy Ashby, MLIS; Jan/Feb 2026 Home-based healthcare workers are at risk of violence from patients or visitors, known as Type II workplace violence (WPV). A review of studies from 2014 to 2024 found that WPV in home care is often underreported, and current training programs are not tailored for home settings. This leaves workers vulnerable to physical and psychological harm. The review suggests the need for specialized training for home care providers, focusing on patient screening, situational awareness, and de-escalation techniques. Future efforts should aim to create specific WPV prevention and reporting protocols to enhance safety and accountability in home healthcare.

More services at Central Missouri hospital fall victim to economic pressures News Tribune, Kansas City, MO; by Meg Cunningham; 1/4/26 Fitzgibbon Hospital, a Central Missouri health care system, announced recently that it would shutter some services effective Dec. 31, citing mounting financial pressures. The nonprofit hospital said the closures will affect about 30 employees and hundreds of patients. Fitzgibbon, located in Marshall, operates several primary and specialty care clinics in Central Missouri. Services that are closing include the Grand River Medical Clinic in Brunswick, Fitzgibbon Family Health in Fayette, the hospital's inpatient behavioral health unit, a home health and hospice agency and a pain management clinic.  

Dying with dignity - personal perspective: The sacred ending we don’t talk about enough. Psychology Today; by Cynthia Chen-Joea DO, MPH, FAAFP, DABOM; 12/24/25 In the U.S., we spend enormous amounts of energy keeping people alive, curing, fixing, and prolonging life at all costs. What we rarely talk about is how people die. And more importantly, how poorly our system supports them when the end is clearly approaching. ... [Background story about her dad's Parkinson's and eventual death] ... Then came our request for hospice. After an evaluation, we were told he didn’t “qualify” because he had gained some weight and his albumin levels were “too high.” An arbitrary checklist, based on labs values, prevented him from getting into hospice. [Keep reading] So we tried for palliative care instead. I made call after call, only to be bounced between departments, many unclear on the difference between hospice and palliative care, ... Even as a physician, I was stunned by how many barriers we encountered simply trying to do the most humane thing: to advocate for dignity, comfort, and respect at the end of my father’s life.

Pediatric respite homes provide a survival mechanism for struggling families [podcast]Medpage Today's KevinMD.com; by KevinMD; 1/1/26Certified coach and professor Kathleen Muldoon and co-founder of Ryan House and Children’s Respite Homes of America Jonathan Cottor discuss the article “The need for pediatric respite care.” Kathleen shares the personal story of raising her son Gideon who lives with over 42 medical diagnoses and explain why the family had to move across the country to find safety. They highlight the critical difference between taking a break and surviving the relentless cycle of 24/7 medical vigilance required for medically complex children. 

The hospice conversations that defined 2025 - Best of TCNtalks Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Chris Comeaux; 12/24/25 With nearly 45,000 total downloads across TCNtalks and Anatomy of Leadership, this milestone reflects a shared commitment to thoughtful leadership, courageous conversations, and care as it should be. We’ve curated standout moments from episodes that challenged assumptions, clarified complexity, and pointed toward a better future for serious-illness care. ... This highlight episode isn’t just a recap—it’s a reflection of where hospice and serious-illness care has been, where it is, and where it must go next. These conversations underscore the urgency of leadership rooted in clarity, compassion, and courage. Whether you’re revisiting a favorite or discovering an episode you missed, we hope this collection sparks insight, conversation, and renewed purpose as we head into 2026.

Today’s cyberattacks may be too advanced for traditional antivirus protection Kenosha.com; by Mark Hoffman; 12/19/25 ... The cybersecurity landscape has fundamentally shifted, with endpoint devices now the primary targets of malicious actors seeking to infiltrate business networks. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, businesses reported over $12.5 billion in losses from cyberattacks in 2023, representing a 22% increase from the previous year. Remote work has exponentially expanded the attack surface, creating millions of new endpoint vulnerabilities that traditional endpoint security tools struggle to monitor effectively.

Health systems shun black-box AI, choose human-validated models for safety and accuracy, survey finds Complete AI Training; 12/17/25 Hospitals and health systems are clear: AI should work with clinicians, not replace them. A new November 2025 market survey from Reaction Data, commissioned by Carta Healthcare, shows strong preference for "hybrid intelligence" - AI paired with clinical oversight - for safer, more reliable outcomes. The message is consistent across findings. Fully autonomous, black-box AI is viewed as risky and insufficient for high-stakes clinical use. Human validation and clinician involvement are seen as essential for accuracy, safety, and adoption.

Hospice of Wichita Falls expands outreach with renovated facility CBS News-6, Wichita Falls, TX; by Rachel Gomez Ramirez; 12/12/25 Today [12/12/25], Hospice of Wichita Falls held an open house showcasing their newly renovated facility, built by and for the community. Isha Howerton, Director of Development for Hospice of Wichita Falls, explained that the Building on a Legacy of Care fundraiser campaign initially began in 2017 and is nearing completion. Through this campaign, the community raised $15 million to build a new inpatient care center and renovate the existing one. Today’s event marked the new facility’s final renovation phase. ... [Additionally, by] meeting their campaign goal of $340,000, the non-profit hospice can continue to support charity care for those who need end-of-life care.

Navigating the AI frontier: Legal guardrails for home health and hospice providers in 2025 and beyond JD Supra; by Jason Bring, Bill Dombi, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP; 12/12/25 Key Takeaways

Volunteers woven into the fabric of Horizon Hospice and Palliative Care The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA; by Cindy Hval; 12/11/25 Ruth Wagley believes home is a profound place. The volunteer coordinator for Horizon Hospice and Palliative Care said her life experience has come full circle. “I had home births. I home-schooled my kids. Now, I work in a place where we value home death,” she said. “The heart of hospice is that no one dies alone, or in pain, and everyone can die at home.” Although she had managed volunteers throughout her career, she had never worked for a company where that type of service was essential to the funding and operation of the business. Medicare/Medicaid mandates that hospices provide at least 5% of patient care hours through volunteers. “Volunteers are woven into the fabric of Horizon Hospice,” she said.Editor's Note: Do you think of your hospice volunteers as being "woven into the fabric" of the services you provide, or as an add-on, an afterthought, just another regulatory requirement? Especially at the holidays, be sure to thank your volunteers in ways that are meaningful to them.