Literature Review

Reflections on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina - from Jamey Boudreaux, Executive Director for the Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care OrganizationSpecial Guest Reflections for Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Jamey Boudreaux; 8/28/25

NorthStar Care Community announces partnership with Beads of Courage Fox 17 - West Michigan;by Nicole Stoner; 8/19/25 Beads Of Courage is an organization that helps pediatric patients document their health journey through beads of different sizes, shapes, and colors. ... NorthStar Care Community, already established for their compassion in pallative and hospice care, has announced a partnership with Beads Of Courage. This time, the partnership honors patients entering hospice care through their own treatment stages, milestones, and moments of courage. ... In addition, the Carry A Bead Initiative invites the public to support these patients on their journey during end-of-life care by carrying a NorthStar Bead with them, then returning it with a message of encouragement. The bead is then gifted to someone in hospice care, ensuring that these patients are not alone in their health journey.

A photo essay of birth & death doulas Charlotte Magazine; by A.M. Stewart; 8/17/25 I photographed my first death at 17. It was my great-grandmother’s funeral, and something inside me said it was an important moment to document. But it wasn’t until 2018—19 years later, when my father died—when I began to devote part of myself as a documentary photographer to the subject of death and dying.

Hospice patients using virtual reality to fulfill final wishes WRDW-12 / WAGT-26 On Your Side News, Augusta, GA; by Staff; 8/7/25Patients at Crescent Hospice in Augusta are using virtual reality headsets to fulfill their last wishes. The headsets allow patients to experience new things before the end of their lives. The hospice aid and community liaison used one of the headsets and spoke about how one of the patients got to experience mardi gras through VR before he died.

Healthy Together Cleveland receives foundation grant [from Hospice of Cleveland County] The Home Page for Cleveland County, North Carolina; Press Release; 8/14/25 The Board of Directors for Hospice Cleveland County Foundation recently awarded a $50,000 grant to support the Everyone Eats Emergency Food Fund Drive, spearheaded by Healthy Together Cleveland (HTC) to combat food insecurity in Cleveland County. "As we continue to face unprecedented challenges, community support is vital. Everyone Eats is a testament to what we can achieve when we come together with a shared purpose. We are delighted to provide this grant to launch the campaign and hope it will inspire others to participate," said Katie Borders, President, Hospice Cleveland County Foundation. Last month, HTC announced that 1 in 6 people in the county are experiencing food insecurity. ... The mission of the Foundation is to strive to maintain the success of the hospice tradition in Cleveland County by supporting efforts to help people lead healthy, productive lives and experience peaceful, dignified deaths. We seek to ensure that all people - especially those with the fewest resources - have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and in life.Editor's Note: May we all learn and live from Hospice Cleveland County Foundation's mission and action. Thank you.

Emerald Coast Hospice hosts Annual Back-to-School Drive-Thru Jackson County Times; by Shelia Mader; 8/4/25 Emerald Coast Hospice Care once again stepped up to support the community it serves, hosting its third annual back-to-school drive-thru supply event this past Friday morning. Though not held consecutively each year, the effort continues to grow in impact, reaching nearly 140 children this year with essential school supplies and a few extra treats. ... Through their ongoing efforts, Emerald Coast Hospice Care continues to be a vital presence not only in healthcare but also in the daily lives of families across the region. Editor's Note: How inspiring. Due to the philanthropic nature of our hospice work, giving to a hospice organization is an easy norm. This out-of-the-box example of a hospice supporting the community--and for children instead of senior adults--encourages us all to see needs, creatively respond. Make a difference. Thanks Emerald Coast Hospice!

After losing his wife, 92-year-old man turns grief into comfort for other Spectrum News 1 - Greece, NY; by Seth Voorhees; 8/4/25 The loss of a spouse can be devastating. A Rochester area man is turning his personal grief into comfort for others. The gesture has special meaning for families of people in hospice care. Howard Jones has always dabbled in art. At 92, the Kodak retiree has made painting his full-time job. ... [His wife through 68 years,] Estella spent her final weeks at Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center, where staff noticed Howard Jones would pass the time by painting rocks. Someone told him the story of the cardinal, and how some believe their appearance is a sign that a departed loved one is near.  ... [Now, he paints] “every day, eight hours a day,” said Jones. ... “It’s all a matter of getting the bird to look right,” he said. ... “My hope is always that when someone takes one of the stones out of the basket, they can feel the emotion that went into painting it,” said Jones. Since he began keeping track in February, Howard Jones says he’s painted over 500 cardinals. “And that's kept me going,” he said.Editor's Note: This demonstrates beautifully the "instrumental style of grieving" (identified by Ken Doka and Terry Martin in Grieving Beyond Gender) where men (and women) tend to grieve through actively doing something, in contrast to verbal and emotional expression. We described this more in our post, To Be or To Do? Women and Men's different styles of grieving.

A hospice volunteer has a fascinating new take on people's most common deathbed regret Upworthy; by Cecily Knobler; 8/1/25 ... Over the years, many hospital and hospice workers have paid close attention to what people who are on their deathbeds say. What they're most proud of, and yes, what are their main regrets. ... [This author refers to] Jancee Dunn's New York Times article, "3 Lessons for Living Well, from the Dying." In it, she discusses her friend who is a hospice volunteer. "She hears one regret over and over from patients: letting relationships wither. They wish that they had made more plans with good friends, or they thought about getting back in touch with an old buddy, and talked themselves out of it." ...  One wrote,"My mother always told me, 'Your friends will get you through life.'"Editor's Note: What friend do you want to reach out to, today? 

Montville Township man golfs 100 holes for charity The Gazette, Montville Township, NJ; by Sara Crawford; 7/29/25 While a thick fog may have covered Fox Meadow Country Club on Monday morning, Montville Township resident Pat Spoerndle didn’t let that stop him from starting to golf at 6:30 a.m. as he played 100 holes of golf in one day as part of his annual charity event, “100 for Hospice.” In 2009, Spoerndle decided to host a one-time charitable golf outing. He set a goal of $10,000 and made plans to play 100 holes of golf within a day, all for Hospice of Medina County. “I was going to do it just the one time,” he said. “(I then) decided it would be wrong to do because we were able to raise so much money for a great organization. We just built on it every year.” Since the fundraiser’s start 17 years ago, Spoerndle has raised almost $600,000 for Hospice of Medina County. He expects to raise more than $25,000 this year, but said it’s too early to tell how much they’ve raised.

Willey Family Foundation dedicates patient suite and garden at Aroostook House of Comfort The County, Presque Isle, ME; Press Release; 7/24/25 The Aroostook Hospice Foundation is honored to announce the dedication of its first named patient suite at the Aroostook House of Comfort, made possible through a generous commitment from the Willey Family Foundation. This marks a major  milestone in the Foundation’s recently revitalized Naming Opportunities Campaign, launched to sustain and strengthen its mission while offering a meaningful way for donors to create lasting legacies. With a pledge of $15,000 annually, the Willey Family Foundation will fulfill and exceed the $50,000 naming level for a patient suite. This dedication is in loving memory of Philip and Vivian Willey. In addition to the suite, the family is also naming a garden area outside the suite  window, providing a serene space for reflection and comfort. Through donor-advised funding managed by the Maine Community Foundation, the Willey Family Foundation has contributed more than $47,000 to the Aroostook Hospice Foundation to date.

A woman in hospice granted a wish of one last swim WEAU-13 News, Bloomer, WI; by Danile Gomez; 7/16/25 Often times the small things are taken for granted. Like a dip in the pool. For Barbara Melby, it was on the final list of things to do as she lives out her time in hospice care. “Barbara has been doing pretty well. She has had some fatigue and some tiredness,” said Leah Grace, the registered nurse with St. Croix Hospice assigned to Melby’s case. ... Grace worked hard to make sure Melby’s last dip in the pool would come to fruition. She cleared it with Melby, her family and the managers at the hospice center. The aquatic center helped in granting the wish too. ... “The way the chair put me in down the water was very nice,” said Melby. Of those in Melby’s family that jumped in the pool with her included Stoll and her kids Colby, Sydney and Brody. “I grew up swimming in my grandmother’s pool. ...” said Stoll. She is happy to be there for her grandmother’s last swim. “Just a pretty special memory we will all hold on to for a pretty long time.” Melby was a swim instructor, ... It was something she always loved and it made her happy to have had her wish granted.

Caring for a difficult elderly parent during a transitionPsychology Today - Caregiving; "Personal Perspective" by Franne Sippel, EdD, LP; 7/21/25 I am the only child of an only child who lives in an assisted living facility thousands of miles away. I unofficially diagnosed Mom with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder after struggling for years with a relationship fraught with guilt and frustration. ... It’s difficult enough to care for a frail parent when their health is failing. However, the added OCD personality, with its micromanaging, rules, and demands, tests patience beyond compare.  ... A good friend suggested I call hospice to evaluate her. Jim, a hospice RN in his 70s, arrived and instantly assessed the situation with laser-like precision. ... I spend many months going back and forth between South Dakota and Arizona to see my mom. Hospice continues to visit her three to four times a week at the assisted living facility, and a dear family friend also visits her several times a week. ... Editor's Note: Keep reading this article to its end. The insightful, practical, sensitive care from these hospice clinicians generated life-long transformations for this burdened caregiver-daughter. 

Cyclist to ride coast-to-coast for hospice care MyMotherLode.com, Calaveras, CA; by Nic Peterson; 7/27/25 John Silva, a 66-year-old retired Amador County Sheriff’s deputy and longtime Calaveras-area resident, is preparing to bike 4,700 miles across the United States to raise money for Hospice of Amador & Calaveras. The journey begins Aug. 1 at Cape Flattery, Washington — the northwesternmost point in the contiguous U.S. — and will end at West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine, the nation’s easternmost point. ... The trip is entirely self-funded and performed alone. Silva’s route will take him through Washington, Idaho, Montana, a stretch of Canada, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, New York, and Maine. More than a test of physical endurance, Silva says the ride is a personal mission. Each week of the ride will honor a community member who received hospice care, transforming every mile into a tribute to those who faced death with dignity.