Literature Review

Health systems are building for 2030 Becker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 10/26/26 Health systems have spent years building organizational infrastructure around the work of gathering information, compiling reports and moving data between functions. Artificial intelligence is beginning to automate that work and in some systems, the displacement is already underway. Peter Banko, president and CEO of Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass., has said he expects AI to displace significant categories of work including roles in finance, law and administrative functions, and his system is already building retraining programs in response. Executives planning for the next three years are examining the existing organizational structure and questioning whether their purpose is still relevant, or needs a reboot.

ChristianaCare palliative care founder blasts outsourcingDelawareOnline; by Sophia Voight; 10/23/26 ChristianaCare is discontinuing its in-house palliative care services, choosing to outsource the services to its hospice partner AccentCare. "We want to be clear that ChristianaCare is not stepping away from palliative care," ChristianaCare’s Chief Physician Executive Kert Anzilotti said in a statement to Delaware Online/The News Journal. "The delivery model is changing, but palliative care will continue to be an important part of our approach to high-quality, patient-centered care." But the retired physician who founded ChristianaCare’s palliative care services warns that outsourcing them could hurt patients and diminish the quality of care.

The wisdom circle Buccino Leadership Institute; by Tom Dahlborg; 10/19/26 I have watched brilliant leaders make decisions in isolation that later cost them everything. Not because they lacked intelligence, but because they lacked a circle. Good judgment, I’ve come to believe, is rarely a solitary act. It is built in relationship, tested in trust and sharpened by the courage to be truly seen and truly heard. This is the story of how we discovered that and how Circle changed the way we led, decided and cared for one another.

Maine Hospice Council - Closure announcementPersonal communication; 10/20/26Maine Hospice Council to cease operations. For more information contact: Executive Director Kandyce Powell, (207) 882-4032, kandycepowell65@gmail.com or Board President Alicia Murray, DNP, MSN, RN, CHPN, (207) 941-7046, murrayal@husson.edu. After careful consideration and extensive evaluation of available resources, the Maine Hospice Council Board members have made the difficult decision to cease operations and close the organization effective October 17, 2026. Referring to her one-on-one work with people, public speaking, and consulting, MHC Executive Director Kandyce Powell, RN, MSN said, “I will continue to be available to anyone searching for hospice and end-of-life care resources at either (207) 882-4032 or KandycePowell65@gmail.com.”

The workforce crisis healthcare leaders can’t afford to ignore | part two Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Ron Hetrick; 10/16/26 The greatest threat to your organization’s future may be having too few people to deliver the care you promise. In Part Two of The Workforce Crisis Healthcare Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore, Chris Comeaux welcomes back Ron Hetrick to explore how healthcare leaders can prepare for a future shaped by an aging population, growing care needs, and a shrinking pipeline of workers. Hetrick moves from demographic warning signs to practical leadership decisions: redesigning difficult jobs, building training pipelines, creating workplaces people want to stay in, and evaluating expansion through the lens of available talent. He also explores how private home care could intensify competition for caregivers ...  

Partnership in practice: How Tanzanian and United States leaders are advancing palliative careeHospice; 10/15/26A two-decade partnership between Global Partners in Care (GPIC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) shows how sustained, reciprocal learning can expand access to palliative care and inspire new models of community-based support in both Tanzania and the United States. GPIC (formerly the Foundation of Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa – FHSSA) and ELCT have worked together to advance palliative care in Tanzania and the United States. In Tanzania, the partnership has expanded services for orphans and vulnerable children, those with life-threatening illnesses, and populations affected by HIV/AIDS. In the United States, lessons from Tanzanian partners have strengthened community-based approaches to palliative care.

SOS Y1 A31 – How many hospices are there in the USA???Substack; by Joan Teno; 9/21/26This analysis asks how many hospices listed in federal data appear to be functioning, “real” hospice programs. Although 6,669 hospices were listed in the August 2026 refresh, many lacked patient experience data, had very small numbers of deaths, or were not shown in PECOS as able to bill Medicare. The biggest concern is the large group of unrated hospices with fewer than 50 deaths, especially because many are for-profit and concentrated in a few states such as California and Texas. Using several screening rules, the estimate of likely real hospices may be substantially lower than the total number listed, potentially closer to 3,600–5,200 depending one of my 3 proposed rules. Overall, the findings suggest that public hospice listings may include many programs that are inactive, questionable, or no longer able to participate meaningfully in Medicare.

Empassion CEO: MA Can Help with Hospice Program Integrity Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/13/26Structures like Medicare Advantage (MA) can help improve hospice program integrity and reduce the health care spend, according to Robin Heffernan, CEO of Empassion Health. Empassion Health operates in 45 states... Hospice News sat down with Heffernan to discuss past program integrity issues within the home health benefit, how MA may have helped and what this means for hospices.

BJC HealthCare to build 1st dedicated hospice house in St. LouisBecker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 10/7/26St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare plans to open the first dedicated hospice house in the city on its Barnes-Jewish Hospital campus. Evelyn’s House will be a 12-bed hospice house that builds on the system’s original model, which launched in 2017... Construction is expected to begin in 2027, and the facility is expected to open in 2028.

A new question for health system C-suitesBecker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 9/30/26For years, hospitals across the country aimed to be the one-stop shop for all healthcare needs. They owned every part of the care journey, including hospitals, physician practices, imaging centers and labs. The instinct was to build or acquire capabilities internally, on the assumption that ownership was the only reliable path to quality and control. But C-suites are now focused on a different question. Executives across system types have stopped asking “can we build this?” and instead posing the question: “who is the best in the world at this, and how do we build a deep relationship with them?”Publisher's note: How might this same question apply to hospice leaders?

BlackDoctor launches first-ever medical advisory board  BlackDoctor, Chicago, IL; Press Release by BlackDoctor; 10/1/26 BlackDoctor, the leading health and wellness platform for Black America, today announced its first Medical Advisory Board. The board brings together eight physicians from across the country. They will help inform the company’s product and content development strategy for clinicians, advance its health education efforts, help shape new products and tools and facilitate strategic engagements across the healthcare ecosystem. ...  It gives the company, which reaches 30 million people each year, a formal layer of clinical oversight from physicians who understand the challenges facing Black patients and clinicians with specialities spanning cardiovascular health, cancer, mental health, kidney disease, clinical trials, dermatology and vision care.

The annual journey plan —turning strategy into an organizational rhythm Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Chris Comeaux; 10/1/26A great year is not created in the final quarter. It is created through a disciplined rhythm of listening, deciding, executing, learning, and renewing. A great year is not created in the final quarter. It is created through a disciplined rhythm of listening, deciding, executing, learning, and renewing. Consider a liturgical calendar. It does more than mark dates. It gives a community a shared rhythm with seasons for preparation, reflection, renewal, celebration, and recommitment. Each season has meaning because of what came before it and what follows. The calendar keeps people oriented to what matters most, even when daily life competes for attention.

Dr. Martin McCormack: The healthcare leader connecting education, governance and a safer world Global Healthcare Magazine; September 2026 issue Long before he held a title [Chief Executive Officer of the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland], ... Dr. Martin McCormack sat with families in the hardest hours of their lives, [as a palliative care physician, trauma counselor with patients and families in intensive care, supervising a team of 36 medical social workers, developing bereavement services. ... He measures his own leadership less by what has been delivered in any one period than by the capability it leaves behind. ... Dr. McCormack has been asking some version of the same question that has remained consistent throughout his career: What does this person need from the system around them, and how do we build it so it holds?