Literature Review

Compassus, Providence Execs: greater transparency needed on hospice quality Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/29/26 Greater transparency around hospice quality could help counter eroding trust among the public due to widespread fraud, according to executives from the home health and hospice provider Compassus and the Providence Health System. ... “We’ve got a big narrative about fraud and to use that that should, and probably does, engender fear in the average person who is not working in the industry,” Compassus CEO Mike Asselta told Hospice News. “Can I trust the provider if this industry is fraught with abuse? Am I going to be on the receiving end of that abuse? Just that narrative by itself could have a chilling effect on beneficiaries and families who otherwise need hospice.”

2 Ann Arbor nurses who transformed how people die mentored her. Then, she became their caregiver.MLive.com, Ann Arbor, MI; by Jennifer Eberback; 6/28/26 For in-home private caregiver Kathy Hopps, caring for two trailblazers who helped revolutionize in-home nursing and hospice care in their final days of life brought her journey full circle. Hopps cared for Ingrid Deininger, who co-founded Individualized Home Nursing Care (IHNC) in Ann Arbor in the early 1980s when hospice and in-home care did not yet have the presence in the U.S. as it does today. ... Now she cares for Lois Jelneck, another IHNC founder who is currently under hospice care at the age of 97.

Executive Personnel Changes - 6/26/26

Leading with care WilmingtonBiz, Wilmington, NC; by Beth A. Klahre; 6/22/26 Following a nationwide search, Karen Brubaker Miller was named president and CEO of Lower Cape Fear LifeCare this spring, becoming just the fourth CEO in the organization’s 46-year history. ... Miller said she plans to continue to grow palliative care services. In addition, with $5 million from the New Hanover Community Endowment, LifeCare will also administer The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Program, a Medicare initiative launched in July 2024. Looking further ahead, Miller hopes to expand LifeCare’s geographic reach while building on the services in place.

Hospice, ethics & capitalism:  a powerful conversation with  UVA Darden School of Business — part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Lauren Kaufman and Stephen Maiden; 6/17/26 Few topics spark more debate in healthcare than the intersection of compassionate care, ethical responsibility, and financial sustainability. Will mission-driven hospice organizations survive—and thrive—in a healthcare landscape increasingly dominated by for-profit providers? In Part One of this compelling conversation, host Chris Comeaux welcomes Lauren Kaufmann, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and Stephen Maiden, Managing Director of the Darden Case Writing Research Group. Together, they discuss the groundbreaking business case developed around Teleios Collaborative Network and the evolving hospice industry.

Hospice, ethics & capitalism:  a powerful conversation with  UVA Darden School of Business — part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Lauren Kaufman and Stephen Maiden; 6/17/26 Few topics spark more debate in healthcare than the intersection of compassionate care, ethical responsibility, and financial sustainability. Will mission-driven hospice organizations survive—and thrive—in a healthcare landscape increasingly dominated by for-profit providers? In Part One of this compelling conversation, host Chris Comeaux welcomes Lauren Kaufmann, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and Stephen Maiden, Managing Director of the Darden Case Writing Research Group. Together, they discuss the groundbreaking business case developed around Teleios Collaborative Network and the evolving hospice industry.

The missing middle in healthcare—and why it matters | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Bridget Sumser and Sonya Dolan; 6/20/26 What happens between a life-changing diagnosis and hospice care?  In Part One of this thought-provoking conversation, Chris Comeaux welcomes Mettle Health co-founder Sonya Dolan and Director of Counseling & Programs Bridget Sumser to explore what they call healthcare’s “missing middle.” ... Together, they unpack how Mettle Health was created to provide a different kind of support: one centered on accompaniment rather than treatment, resilience rather than answers, and human connection rather than healthcare transactions.

What a CMS fraud chief learned by caring for her parents in hospice Forbes; by Wes Kilgore; 6/11/26  The realization came to Dara Corrigan in late August, when she and her younger sister had to place both of their parents into hospice care within days of each other. Corrigan was not a typical stressed relative, navigating end-of-life care. She'd worked for decades in senior federal service, serving as the Acting Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and directing the Center for Program Integrity at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Her career was built on protecting Medicare from fraud. Yet, sitting by the bedside as a daughter, the benefit looked entirely different from how it appeared on a regulatory spreadsheet. ...A New Model for Dignity: Corrigan thinks a completely different approach could be the solution: a new, dedicated federal palliative care benefit tailored to the reality of long, slow neurodegenerative declines. She envisions a system built from day one with modern anti-fraud controls. 

Home care/hospice salary & benefits studies: participation now open LeadingAge; by Josh Moore; 6/8/26 Participation is now open for the annual Home Health and Hospice Salary & Benefits Studies, conducted in cooperation by LeadingAge’s partner Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS), and LeadingAge is encouraging our members to participate.  The study is recognized as the standard for reliable and comprehensive compensation data, including management salaries, nonmanagement wages, fringe benefits, and other facility metrics. ... Last year’s Home Care Report contained data from 1,111 home health agencies and the Hospice Report had data from 1,091 hospice agencies.

When the storm hits: how hospice providers help protect Florida’s most vulnerable patients South Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report; by Kathleen Coronado; 6/1/26 In South Florida, hurricane preparedness is a part of life. Hospitals activate emergency operations centers, nursing homes review evacuation plans, and families rush to gather supplies before a storm makes landfall. For hospice providers, preparedness carries an additional layer of responsibility. Patients receiving end-of-life care are among the most medically vulnerable members of our communities. Many rely on oxygen, medications, specialized equipment or around-the-clock support that cannot simply pause when severe weather arrives. At VITAS Healthcare, hurricane preparedness is not a seasonal checklist. It is a year-round operational priority designed to ensure continuity of compassionate care before, during and after a disaster.

Dr. Joan Teno exposes the hidden problems with hospice ratings and quality scores | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Dr. Joan Teno; 6/3/26 What if the hospice ratings patients and families rely on don’t tell the full story?   In Part One of this thought-provoking conversation, renowned hospice researcher and policy expert Dr. Joan Teno joins Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner to unpack the hidden flaws within today’s hospice quality measurement systems. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience shaping hospice and palliative care policy, Dr. Teno explains why many publicly reported quality measures may fail to capture the true experiences of patients and families.  She discusses the challenges of transparency, the unintended consequences of current reporting systems, concerns about fraud and oversight, and how artificial intelligence could help transform the future of hospice quality measurement. 

Dr. Joan Teno exposes the hidden problems with hospice ratings and quality scores | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Dr. Joan Teno; 6/3/26 What if the hospice ratings patients and families rely on don’t tell the full story?   In Part One of this thought-provoking conversation, renowned hospice researcher and policy expert Dr. Joan Teno joins Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner to unpack the hidden flaws within today’s hospice quality measurement systems. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience shaping hospice and palliative care policy, Dr. Teno explains why many publicly reported quality measures may fail to capture the true experiences of patients and families.  She discusses the challenges of transparency, the unintended consequences of current reporting systems, concerns about fraud and oversight, and how artificial intelligence could help transform the future of hospice quality measurement. 

The secret to great leadership from a Chick-fil-A executive — part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); pocast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Mark Miller; 5/27/26 What does it take to build a leadership culture that scales across generations, industries, and millions of customer interactions? In this powerful conversation, Chris Comeaux sits down with Mark Miller — former Vice President of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A and bestselling co-author of The Secret and Lead Every Day— to explore the principles behind extraordinary leadership. ... Throughout the episode, Mark unpacks the foundational leadership framework behind the acronym SERVE: See the Future, Engage and Develop Others, Reinvent Continuously, Value Results and Relationships, and Embody the Values.  He explains why leadership is ultimately about service — not position ...