Literature Review

[Scotland] We aim to grant dying wishes with special final ambulance trips BBC News, Northeast Scotland; by Ken Banks; 7/29/26 A group of Aberdeen paramedics have launched a venture aimed at granting terminally ill patients around Scotland a final journey to a place or event that is special to them. Kieran Hutcheon, 30, was inspired to act after his mother was unable to even go out for a coffee with him before she died from cancer. With co-founders Dan Bickmore, 37, and Karen Gill, 46, their Wish Ambulance Scotland charity has been formed. They plan to use a vehicle that is not as clinical as an actual ambulance, but can carry any necessary equipment for patients. Their aim is to offer relatively simple trips such as going to a favorite beach.

At and end-of-life care home, a young cancer survivor finds his calling  The Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY; by Jon Harris; 7/28/26  Seated in the chapel at Sloan Comfort Care Home, 22-year-old Evan Folsom reflected on what working at the end-of-life facility has meant to him. "The Home did come at the right time for me," said Folsom, hours after finishing an overnight shift there, and a day before taking the daylong Medical College Admission Test. Folsom survived a brain tumor as a toddler and spent years recovering. That alone shaped an interest in medicine. ... His work at Sloan Comfort Care Home helped him come to terms with certain issues and fueled his interest in studying the complex moral and ethical questions that arise in medicine. So he took a "shot in the dark" and applied to Harvard Medical School's Master of Science in Bioethics program, along with a few other schools. He got into all of them but chose Harvard because Boston holds a special full-circle meaning for him. Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, is where he received treatment as a toddler. "Harvard was specifically deep for me, because that's kind of where my journey started," he said. Folsom leaves for Boston on Aug. 1 ...

There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. YouTube; by Navacare; 6/27/26There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. Recently, I had the privilege of attending a ceremony honoring a veteran for his service to our country. During the ceremony, Grace from AccentCare Hospice sang "I Will Always Love You." It was beautiful. It was moving. And if I'm being honest, it brought a few tears to my eyes. Not only because we were honoring someone who had given so much, but because it was also my dad's favorite song. Music has a remarkable way of connecting us to people, memories, and emotions that words alone often can't reach. For many older adults, especially those living with dementia or memory loss, music can spark recognition, comfort, and moments of connection that feel truly extraordinary. [Watch the video to the end, to hear the dad's response.]

This global healthcare lesson could change America | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Dr. Mark Stoltenberg; 7/22/26 Some of the most innovative solutions to America's healthcare challenges aren't being developed in the world's wealthiest hospitals—they're emerging from communities with the fewest resources. What can American healthcare learn from global healthcare?  In our latest episode, Dr. Mark Stoltenberg, Harvard Medical School professor and Massachusetts General Hospital physician, joins Chris Comeaux to explore global healthcare, palliative care, hospice leadership, healthcare innovation, and the future of serious illness care in America. ... Drawing from his work leading global palliative care programs throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and other underserved regions, he shares how resource-limited healthcare systems are pioneering solutions that can improve American healthcare, strengthen the healthcare workforce, and restore compassionate, person-centered care.

When did we begin believing that showing up isn’t enough?The Newnan Times-Herald, Newnan, GA; by Scott Lakey; 7/20/26 4:27 A.M.: the garage door opens; the humidity is thick with the smell of Georgia pines ... I am departing for St. Vincent's Hospital in Little Rock, AR. [This first-person story describes a series of family caregiving needs across 2 days and multi-location family visits.] ... On the way home, it was quiet in the car. It felt like a version of the movie It's a Wonderful Life. Thinking about lives I saw pass before me. New birth, newlyweds building a life, mid-life health crisis, and end-of-life care. 9:11 P.M I arrived back home in Newna, GA. My wife and son came out to greet me. There were hugs and hellos to the dogs. Shortly thereafter, I was in bed, and I prayed. That's all I could do. ... For two days, sixteen hours, forty-four minutes, and 1,331 miles, I kept thinking "that's all I could do." Then I realized. Maybe showing up was enough. 

Religious scripts for dying The Christian Century; by Aaron Klink; 7/20/26 Travis Pickell explores the moral burden placed on those who face end-of-life medical decisions but lack communal support. Amid much conversation about end-of-life care—its methods, costs, and ethics—there is little sustained attention to the question of why this subject generates so much political and moral controversy. The blame is sometimes placed on advances in medical technologies (such as ventilators and artificial nutrition and hydration) or in treatments (such as kidney dialysis and aggressive chemotherapy). But the reality is more complicated, argues Travis Pickell in Burdened Agency - Christian Theology and End-of-Life Ethics. ... Pickell devotes much of the book to exploring various theological understandings of death and outlining the “scripts for dying” created by each theology. 

The women running death salons for people of color to process grief: ‘It allows for freedom’ The Guardian; by Melissa Hellman; 7/19/26 In a small cream-colored room at a cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nefertiti Moor sat at the head of a semicircle. Dressed in black with her long hair in locs, she delivered instructions for the evening discussion. "It's not death counseling or a debate," said Moor. She invited the two women in attendance to talk freely about their cultural associations with dying and grief. Tasha Johnson, who worked in behavioral health, said that she felt desensitized after the recent deaths of several people she knew. She was grappling with "the reality that it can be anyone at any point". The free-flowing conversation about mortality, otherwise known as a death salon or death cafe, was unique in that it was designed for people of color. Death salons for marginalized communities are becoming more common around the country, with practitioners addressing the unique end-of-life concerns of queer, trans, or Black and brown people.

“I wish to be in the same room as my wife so I can hold her hand”: CalvertHealth grants husband’s final wishThe Baynet, Calvert County, MD; by CalvertHealth; 7/19/26 It was one final wish Phillip “Phil” Pfanschmidt shared after learning he had terminal cancer. Just days earlier, his wife of more than 66 years, Joyce “Joy” Pfanschmidt, had entered hospice care at CalvertHealth Medical Center. Now, Phil had entered hospice as well. When members of the palliative care team asked about his wishes, he didn’t hesitate.He wanted to be with Joy.Caregivers across CalvertHealth worked together to make that wish a reality. Phil was reunited with Joy, and the couple spent precious moments together, hand in hand. Less than two hours later, Joy peacefully passed away with her hand resting on Phil’s arm.

New easy-to-navigate web edition: A history of care - 250 years of American need, service and hope Composing Life Out of Loss, partnered with Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Joy S. Berger; 7/20/26 Growing out of your overwhelming response to our July 4th, 2026 commemoration, we’re now releasing a new web edition of A History of Care: 250 Years of American Need, Service and Hope to carry this work forward. We invite you to use this living history—in your own setting and across our field—as we write the next chapters of care together.

Meet the pair traveling Route 66 to encourage blood donation amid shortage The Oklahoman; by Carla Hinton; 7/14/26 As part of their 'Miles For Kindness' movement, two women are traveling Route 66 to encourage people to donate blood. Two women whose lives have been affected by blood donation are traveling miles from home in a colorful decommissioned ambulance to raise awareness about the nation's blood supply shortage. Marie Forrestal and Lori Talbot left their homes in Cranford, New Jersey, about a week ago to travel Route 66 to share their "Miles of Kindness" message. The pair stopped in Oklahoma City on Monday to host a blood drive at the Drybar salon at Classen Curve, in partnership with Our Blood Institute. The two sat in lawn chairs near their ambulance while visiting with customers and others who dropped by. 

Everyday ethics: Leave a legacy beyond material things Daily Times; by John C. Morgan; 7/15/26 Buildings and other structures don't last forever, but there are things we can do that will endure. Everyone wants to leave a legacy, something that outlasts themselves, whether a cause, offspring or project that embodies their future hopes. One of the more famous sentences left behind was graffiti from World War II, a doodle of a bald-headed man peering over a wall accompanied by the phrase “Kilroy Was Here.” It showed that American troops had been there. ... I’ve always found it hopeful, not morbid, to take walks through cemeteries to read the life stories of others. The few words inscribed on headstones represent the essentials, sometimes with an accompanying message the departed wants to leave others to remember. ...

Community gathers to strike out cancer and honor loved ones during awareness event WUFT | PBS/NPR, Gainesville, FL; by Curan Ahern; 7/12/26 Just over one year ago, Corey Williams received the news everyone dreads: a loved one being diagnosed with cancer. A local artist, poet, videographer and father of four, Williams found out in May 2025 his fiancée, Iya Burkett, had cancer. Within a month, Williams saw the disease rapidly progress. ... Williams faced one of the worst realities a man can experience: Burkett died, and he was not prepared. ... Williams also lost his mother to cancer three years prior, leaving him to face the world without the two most important women in his life. After wrestling with the losses, he planned community events to commemorate his loved ones, raise awareness and start uncomfortable conversations about preparedness — conversations that often need to be had but are avoided. ... Along with friends and family, members of Haven Hospice’s bereavement program, Healing Hearts, showed up to support Williams and his family. Burkett worked for Haven Hospice for 13 years, and the organization helped Williams transition into life without his fiancée. 

From Iowa City to the Rockies: How one social work graduate built a career on connection Iowa University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Social Work; 6/25/26 Since earning her bachelor's degree in social work from Iowa in 2010, Amanda Hebel has spent 15 years helping people navigate life's challenges—from hospice care to rehabilitation services across Colorado. ... Her senior year also brought her practicum placement in hospice care, and it’s where her education became a career. Having lost both of her parents before starting college, Hebel entered the placement with a depth of understanding that shaped how she showed up for patients from day one. The hands-on work—grief counseling, difficult conversations, navigating complex family dynamics—translated directly into the skills she'd carry into the workforce.