Literature Review

Lawmakers: hospice staffing bill still a priority Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/29/26 U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) remain committed to passing the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA). If enacted, PCHETA would provide support for hospice and palliative care training programs for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and chaplains. The legislation would also expand continuing education and career-development opportunities, as well as incentives for professionals in these fields. Both Baldwin and Capito have served as caregivers for seriously ill family members.

A new way to measure nursing productivity: Total labor cost per admission HFMA - Health Operations Management; by Sylvain Trepanier, DNP, RN, CENP and Cynthia Salisbury, MSN, RN, NEA-BC; 9/25/26An innovative model for measuring nurse productivity better accounts for patients’ care needs and the team-based nature of nursing care. ... Leaders at Providence [a large regional health system based in Renton, Washington] decided it was important to create space for nurses to define for themselves how to deliver care most effectively in the acute care setting. Nurses were invited to deconstruct their current role and create a new model of care based on the needs of their patients, with an appropriate distribution of patient care across a collaborative team.

Healthcare doesn’t need forward deployed engineers. It needs forward deployed operators. HIT Consultant; by Frederik Mueller; 9/22/26 The forward deployed engineer model, embraced across enterprise technology, is built on a seductive assumption: that the gap between a technology’s potential and its adoption is primarily a technical gap. A missing integration. A misconfigured workflow. A feature not yet built. Fix the code, and the organization will follow. In most industries, that assumption is partially right. In healthcare, it is almost entirely wrong. In part, healthcare organizations contribute to the problem because most evaluate technology vendors the same flawed way. They audit the roadmap, assess the integrations, and negotiate the contract. They rarely ask enough how the vendor will be embedded in their operations after go-live, and what discipline that ongoing partnership requires. 

Finger Lakes Nurse Honor Guard gives late nurses a final tribute Democrat and Chronicle; by Mike Murphy; 9/21/26 As Ruth Benjamin was getting ready to retire after more than 50 years in nursing, two of her colleagues passed away. ... Nursing is a calling and a way of life, Benjamin said by way of explanation, and many like her and her colleague gave everything they had to their profession. ... After some research, Benjamin founded the Finger Lakes Nurse Honor Guard, which celebrates its third anniversary in October. The all-volunteer honor guard ensures that late nurses are recognized, in a similar way that honor guards pay tribute to late military or first responders. ... The service is free.Editor's Note: Though this article is behind a paywall, you can learn more about this inspirational Finger Lakes Nurse Honor Guard from their website.

IBM study finds 60% of employees worry AI is eroding critical thinking skills Complete AI Training; 9/21/26 A new IBM study finds that 60% of employees worry AI is eroding their skills, with critical thinking cited most often as declining. The research, released September 21, 2026, surveyed 1,500 CHROs and 8,800 employees globally, revealing a gap between the skills HR leaders say AI demands and what workers prioritize. While 71% of CHROs identify the ability to supervise, validate and override AI outputs as the workforce's most essential skill, only 29% of employees rank judgment as important. At the same time, CHROs cite critical thinking (57%) and human judgment (48%) as among the most important workforce capabilities.

Capstone University offering Clinical Pastoral Education for hospice and palliative care chaplaincy NEWSnet; Press Release; 9/18/26 Capstone University [in University Place, WA] now offers clinical pastoral education (CPE) with a specific focus on hospice and palliative care chaplaincy. This transformative program centers on spiritual caregiving in response to aging, serious illness, dying, and bereavement. It enables chaplains to deepen their ability to provide culturally responsive, patient-led spiritual care to individuals and families throughout the end-of-life experience. 

UVM Health will eliminate nearly 200 jobs Vermont Public; by Lola Duffort; 9/15/26 Months after cutting dozens of jobs, the state’s largest healthcare provider is announcing an even larger round of layoffs. University of Vermont Health leaders said Tuesday that 199 positions would be eliminated across the regional healthcare system in late October. About a quarter of the positions will be restructured into new roles that impacted staff can apply for. ... UVM Health includes three hospitals in Vermont, three in New York, a medical group, home health and hospice services, and skilled nursing facilities. The job cuts ... span the organization.

Hospice families and Mercy patients navigate overlapping Allina strikes as health system reports 37 doctors crossed picket linesMedical Daily, Minneapolis, MN; by Elena Vega; 9/16/26Allina Health says only about half of the nearly 150 physicians represented by Doctors Council SEIU walked off the job when a four-day strike began Monday, Sept. 14, at Mercy Hospital's Coon Rapids campus and Unity campus in Fridley. Allina spokesperson Blois Olson told the Minnesota Reformer that 37 union doctors crossed the picket line and 40 were not scheduled to work this week. ... As of Wednesday, Sept. 16, MedicalDaily had not found a newer official count or a public response from the union. The physician strike is running alongside a separate seven-day walkout by roughly 60 Allina hospice nurses that began Friday, Sept. 11, and is scheduled to run through Thursday, Sept. 17.

Your culture isn't what you say—it's what you tolerate | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Chris Comeaux; 9/926 Your organization’s culture isn’t defined by the values hanging on the wall—it’s defined by the behaviors leaders allow to continue. In Part One of Your Culture Isn't What You Say—It's What You Tolerate, host Chris Comeaux sits down with Tom Foster, President of Foster Learning Corporation and author of Premeditated Culture: The Consequences of What We Tolerate, for a compelling examination of how organizational culture is actually created.  Foster challenges a common leadership assumption: culture begins with defining what an organization believes. Instead, he argues that leaders should start by identifying the specific behaviors they want to see—because beliefs, values, customs, and ultimately culture become visible through what people actually do.

24 hour home care to lay off over 700 employees Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 9/4/26 24 Hour Home Care plans to lay off 738 employees, according to a California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing. The layoffs are scheduled to take effect on Sept. 15, according to the filing. 24 Hour Home Care said the layoffs were the result of Health Net’s planned discontinuation of Personal Care and Homemaker Services (PCHS), an optional Community Support under the insurer’s Medi-Cal managed care plans, effective Jan. 1, 2027. Health Net is a California health insurer and managed-care organization.

Your culture isn't what you say—it's what you tolerate | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Chris Comeaux; 9/926 Your organization’s culture isn’t defined by the values hanging on the wall—it’s defined by the behaviors leaders allow to continue. In Part One of Your Culture Isn't What You Say—It's What You Tolerate, host Chris Comeaux sits down with Tom Foster, President of Foster Learning Corporation and author of Premeditated Culture: The Consequences of What We Tolerate, for a compelling examination of how organizational culture is actually created.  Foster challenges a common leadership assumption: culture begins with defining what an organization believes. Instead, he argues that leaders should start by identifying the specific behaviors they want to see—because beliefs, values, customs, and ultimately culture become visible through what people actually do.

Using case studies to bridge the undergraduate nursing education gap in palliative and hospice careJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; by Katherine Adams, Lisa Cross; 8/26Undergraduate nursing students struggle with understanding pharmacological pain management, especially in palliative care. New nurses indicate needing more experience with pain management and ethical dilemmas surrounding pain management. This project aimed to develop real-life case scenarios aligned with palliative competencies for use in undergraduate courses. Traditionally, palliative and hospice content is delivered with community courses, possibly limiting student competency across settings. These case studies present an opportunity for formative student assessment in pharmacological and other palliative management over 4 settings. Facilitation requires reflective techniques, and nurse faculty may need support in guiding discussions.

Celebrating Connie Fox: 96 years young and 25 years of giving backHERLIFE Magazine; by HERLIFE Magazine; 9/1/26This year, we proudly celebrate Connie Fox, our oldest active volunteer, as she turns 96 years young. Connie began volunteering with Hospice of San Joaquin in 2001, after our hospice cared for her husband. ... When asked why she continues to volunteer, Connie’s answer is simple. “The satisfaction. I’ve loved every minute of it. ... We are family. I love Hospice of San Joaquin.” The feeling is mutual. ... At 96, Connie continues to embrace life with enthusiasm. ... She firmly believes that staying involved and positive is the key to a fulfilling life.