Literature Review

How family caregivers are shaping their own future AARP; by Paul Wynn; 2/18/26 Applying hard-learned lessons from caring for others, nearly half of caregivers are planning their own legal, financial and medical futures. Helen Bundy Medsger spent three decades caring for multiple family members, including her parents and sister, an experience that shaped both her advocacy and her determination to plan ahead so her two children don’t inherit the challenges she faced as a caregiver. ... 

Doing everything FOR the patient, not TO the patient HIStalk - Healthcare IT News & Opinion; by Nassib Charmoun; 2/23/26 “Do as much as possible for the patient and as little as possible to the patient.” That single sentence, written by Bernard Lown, MD in “The Lost Art of Healing,” should serve as a universal guide to thinking about medicine, caregiving, and what it truly means to heal. Dr. Lown was my mentor beginning in my early 20s and remained a close friend until his death in 2021 at age 99, He was decades ahead of his time. He believed that medicine should integrate scientific rigor with moral imagination, and that clinical excellence without compassion is incomplete care. ... Increasingly, the evidence suggests that quality of life, not simply quantity of life, must be the defining outcome.

A patient’s visit home Parkview Health; by Tim O'Sullivan, Parkview Hospice; 2/17/26 The Canal Stock Farm is more than a historical landmark along Old 24 in New Haven, Indiana. It is the home to now six generations of Ronald Hockemeyer’s family. Over the past year, members of the Parkview Hospice team had the privilege of getting to know Ron and the legacy of his familial home. ... Ron expressed his desire to have just one more day on the farm with his Parkview Hospice social worker, Emily Zimmerman. Emily was aware of a new program that makes the wishes of Parkview Hospice patients come true. She filled out the application and identified all the resources needed to secure a safe visit. Through the generosity of donors to the Parkview Foundation Hospice Fund, Ron’s day on the farm was made a reality.

Prison teaches Rock Island man how to care for others wn.com, The Daily Nonpariel; by Tom Loewy; 2/15/26 Finis Leonard has helped 13 men die. That's not why the 48-year-old Rock Island native has been in Illinois prisons since 2007. Handed concurrent sentences of 30 years for being an armed habitual criminal and 10 years for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Leonard made a decision in 2016 that he says changed his life. He decided to study palliative care and started a hospice care program at Danville Correctional Center. Leonard said working with dying men and helping others learn palliative care has made him a better person. He has petitioned Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal for early release from his prison sentence, which is expected to last another six years. [Full article is behind a paywall.]

'My wedding dress funded care for dying children' BBC News, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom; by Grace Wood; 2/14/26 As any bride-to-be knows, wedding dresses can come at a terrifying cost, with the average price sitting at around £1,500. But at one specialist charity shop in West Yorkshire brides can not only pick up a dress at a fraction of the cost, but also give something back. Situated on the top floor of the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice store in Huddersfield, Holmfirth Bridal Suite is not your normal charity shop. Instead of the usual array of second-hand clothes the rails are lined with hundreds of pre-loved or donated wedding dresses. ... "Your average wedding dress is thousands of [dollars] and you wear it for one day, and then it goes in a box, and thankfully people are donating them here to be able to sell on and make more money for the hospice" ...

‘Important medicine’: Colorado Springs students share Valentine’s love with hospice patients The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO; by Debbie Kelley; 2/12/26 The kindergarten classroom of Lisa Henson and Serena Odierno was like a bouncy house of red and pink Wednesday, as third graders paired up with their kindergarten “reading buddies” at The Colorado Springs School and poured their young healthy hearts into creating valentines for sick patients of Abode Hospice of Colorado. The first-time project became a meeting of young and old souls, both of whom benefited from a dose of kindness that turned strangers into friends.

[United Kingdom] Valentine's Day dip raises £40,000 for hospice BBC News, Felixstowe, England, United Kingdom; by Jenny Kirk and Sharique Ahmed; 2/14/26 About 200 people have braved the winter temperatures and run into the North Sea off the Suffolk Coast, in aid of a local hospice. Felixstowe's rescheduled Christmas Day sea dip, for St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich, took place on the morning of Valentine's Day after originally being cancelled by bad weather. Ellie Main, from the hospice, called the dip a "local tradition" for the region, adding that a "significant" £40,000 had been raised so far. Emma and Gary came along with 10-year-old Millie from Ipswich, for their first winter dip. The family said they were "excited" and hoped to support the hospice that had cared for some family members.Editor's Note: While I surely love hospice, this show of love is more than I would be able to muster. For perspective, Felixstowe's geographical latitude is about the same as Calgary, Canada: Cold. 

Fidget blankets for hospice The Alpena News, Alpena, MI; by Staff; 2/12/26 A commitment to easing the anxiety that often accompanies dementia encourages Diane Johnson to sew fidget blankets for Hospice of Michigan. Johnson started volunteering for Hospice, with offices in Alpena, about six years ago; four years ago, Kathy Leitaert, volunteer coordinator at the time, showed her an example of a small blanket/large placemat with various attachments that would encourage physical manipulation. In some cultures, worry beads are used to reduce stress, fidget blankets provide the same type of relief.

Jennings gala for Our Hospice raises $65k WCSI 1010/98.1, Columbus, IN; Press Release; 2/11/26 The 28th Annual Our Hospice Jennings County Gala last weekend raised $65,000 to support the organizations efforts in Jennings County. The gala is the Hospice’s largest annual Jennings County fundraiser. ... At Saturday’s event, [high-schoolers] Lillian Curry was named Gala Queen after raising $14,500, while Jake Birge was crowned Gala King, raising $3,700 in support of Our Hospice. Overall the king and queen’s court generated more than $33,000 in donations. More than 250 people attended the event, held at The Barn at Willow Lake in North Vernon.Editor's Note: Bravo to these high schoolers, and to Our Hospice for engaging them in an intergenerational, meaningful event for hospice goodwill and support. 

Longmont restaurant owner hits the road to make hospital patient's wish come true NBC 9 News, Longmont, CO; by Colton Chavez; 2/6/26 A Longmont restaurant owner is driving to Montana this weekend to personally deliver baked potatoes to a patient who listed visiting his establishment as one of their wishes. Eddy Ellson, owner of Big Bear Baked Potatoes, received a message through his restaurant's website from a hospice nurse in Montana asking if he could share his recipe or send food to a patient named Kristle, who wanted to visit his restaurant but was too ill to make the trip. "One of her last wishes she asked the nurse to take her to Denver because she wanted to go to Big Bear Baked Potatoes," Ellson said. Instead of sending a recipe, Ellson decided to make the journey himself. He plans to cook for Kristle, her family, and her nurses on Super Bowl Sunday, when his restaurant is normally closed.

Galactic Symphony thrills young hospice patient Lovin' Life; by Lin Sue Flood; 2/1/26 A quiet backyard suddenly burst into song with the stirring brass of John Williams Star Wars theme recently, transforming a regular afternoon into a Galactic Symphony. For 26-year-old Anthony Castle, a lifelong Star Wars superfan, it was like watching the magic of the big screen come to life. Through a unique partnership between Hospice of the Valley and the Phoenix Symphony, six professional musicians arrived at Anthonys home to perform a private medley. To the delight of Anthony who proudly wore his Baby Yoda T-shirt several of the performers arrived in character, dressed as Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.

Fly fishing support group provides new angle on grief processing: The grieving can find peace in the rhythm of fishingTimes Courier, Ellijay, GA; by Jackson Elliott; 1/28/26 Few people understand grief like a hospice chaplain. “I’ve experienced about 5,000 deaths,” former hospice chaplain Rick Gillert said. “And I’ve helped those families and patients through the grieving process." “‘I had this idea in the back of my head of combining professional grief care with fly fishing,” he said. During his time as a hospice chaplain, he would often seek peace from the difficulty of the work by going fishing the next day. “I can almost imagine my anxieties, my worries as leaves falling on the water and washing away,” Gillert said. In his program, clients join a group and go through a 10-week course on fly fishing, processing grief and coping skills.

Sanofi Collective - Foundation S stands behind transformative children's palliative care project in Kenya Global Treehouse Foundation; Press Release; 1/27/26 A significant grant from the Foundation S - the Sanofi Collective will enable a transformative three-year project delivering comprehensive grief and bereavement care to families affected by childhood cancer in Kenya. This is about more than funding: it’s about ensuring families are seen, supported and not left to navigate their most challenging moments alone. Foundation S’s investment is a significant milestone in integrating grief and social-emotional support into healthcare systems - an area too often overlooked, yet essential to the dignity and well-being of children and those who love them.