Literature Review

Hospice of Savannah awarded grant for safety improvements NBC WSAV Savannah News, Savannah, GA; by Eric Dorsch; 1/27/25 Hospice of Savannah Inc. (HSI) has announced it has been awarded a grant for repairs and home modifications. HSI will receive $1,999,111 in Older Adults Home Modification Program grant funding to complete safety and functional home modifications and limited repairs in the primary residences of two hundred eligible homeowners and renters over age 62 with low income. The work aims to improve general safety, increase accessibility, reduce falls, and improve residents’ functional abilities in the home for their safe and successful aging in place. 

D.C. is America’s loneliest city. Can 1,000 robotic pets help? The Washington Post; by Olivia George; 1/27/25 Rose Watkins, 67, says she doesn’t really have anyone to talk to, not since her mother passed away. Brenda Jacobs, 70, doesn’t drive anymore ... Yvonne Gathers, 74, wishes she had something ... to keep her mind from drifting back to the day she learned her son — who lived with her — was shot and killed. All three seniors live in D.C. and are now part of a new program distributing robotic pets to residents 60 and older who live in Wards 1, 7 and 8. The initiative, spearheaded by three local nonprofits, is part of a broader push nationwide to use battery-powered pets to ease the loneliness and isolation that often accompanies older age and help lessen associated health risks. The pets nuzzle, stretch and roll on their tummies for scratches. You can feel their heartbeat through their soft fur. The dogs bark and wag. The cats purr and meow. “I’ve been lonely, I’ve been depressed,” Watkins said recently, stroking a beige dog with a red bandanna that turns its head when she talks. “I think this will help.” The robotic pets — Joy for All Companion Pets from parent company Ageless Innovation — “really do provide companionship and need nothing in return,” said Steve Cone, chief communications officer at nonprofit provider Capital Caring Health, one of the organizations involved in the D.C. program. “There is no upkeep, no cleanup.” [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Remembering the Holocaust with little-known story about a Jewish refugee and Cicely Saunders: Honoring the International Holocaust Remembrance Day - 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

Spread some love to seniors this Valentines Day WKBN Youngstown, OH; by Dave Sess; 1/21/25 As you’re making Valentine’s Day plans, consider spreading some love to local seniors. You can make special cards or buy a thoughtful card and share the love. Home Instead is organizing the collection again this year. It has three schools already committed to making cards as it hopes to double last year’s total of 1,000. Each of the Valentine’s Day cards will carry a heartfelt message to seniors in nursing homes and assisted living communities that they’re loved, appreciated and remembered. ... The seniors will also receive flowers from Harmony Hospice. “These seniors appreciate anything from a simple smile to a card or a flower and just a simple hello,” said Sara Stevens with Harmony Hospice.Editor's note: Calling community outreach professionals--what a simple, meaningful way to engage your community for meaningful, intergenerational engagement and support. Now's the time! What can you do?

DeKalb library to host memorial pillow workshops Jan. 25 Shaw Local News Network, Dekalb, IL; by Kate Santillan; 1/19/25 The DeKalb Public Library will partner with Northern Illinois Hospice to host two workshop sessions for patrons to create pillows out of a loved one’s shirt. ... Participants can create up to two pillows out of a T-shirt or button-down shirt. Seamsters will be available to assist. Attendees should not bring jackets, thick fabrics or denim. Bereavement support and information will be provided.Editor's note: Do you know that healing grief actually begins with "accepting realities" and its later, ongoing "Task of Mourning" is to develop "enduring connections" or "continuing bonds" with the person or thing that has been lost? [J. William Worden, Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy; 5 editions since 1982] Similar memorials have been created by other hospices using the deceased person's clothing (ie., teddy bears, etc.). This simple, practical method can be adapted easily, with years of meaningful connection and generations of storytelling ahead.

‘No One Dies Alone': How KMOX's Dave Glover turned personal loss into a mission of hope NBC 5, St. Louis, MO; by Mike Bush; 1/19/25 For 25 years, Dave Glover's voice has been a familiar presence on KMOX radio, but it was a personal tragedy that led him to his most meaningful role yet – as a volunteer bringing comfort to those in their final hours. ... While spending countless hours at his mother's bedside, Glover discovered something remarkable – an organization called NODA (No One Dies Alone). When his family was exhausted from their bedside vigil, the nursing staff told them, "You need to go home. And we have this organization of volunteers, called NODA." Julie Strassman, manager of Support Services with Bethesda Hospice Care, explains NODA's mission: ...

Woman reveals terminally ill mom asked for just 'one thing' before passing Newsweek; by Jack Beresford; 1/17/25 A terminally ill woman asked for "one thing" from her adult daughter before she died: to let her be her mom one last time. ... "I had a torn meniscus in my knee that I had been putting off, hoping it would improve, but it was only getting worse," Johnson said.  ... [The mom] told her daughter: "I'm going downhill, and I know the end is coming, and if you don't hurry up and take care of this knee, then I'm gonna miss taking care of you in your recovery." ... "She didn't want me going through it without her," Johnson said. "She had already gone on hospice, and all treatments for her cancer had stopped. So, I called my orthopedic surgeon and told him I was ready to get it fixed. I was scheduled just a few days later." [Johnson's mom] cooked and cleaned despite being in a considerable amount of pain herself. She even slept in a chair by her daughter's bedside. That was her way of showing she cared.

Knoxville nurses bring wedding to UT Medical Center for bride’s dying mother WATE Knoxville, TN; by Molly O'Brien; 1/15/25 Nurses on the Progressive Care Unit at UT Medical Center planned a wedding for one of their patient’s daughter. Samantha Barry and her now husband, Phillip Bastelica, were supposed to get married in a few months. Barry, like most daughters, always planned on her mother being at her wedding day. Her mother, Lynn, is battling a terminal illness and was recently released from the Progressive Care Unit to hospice. ... It seemed unlikely that Lynn would be able to attend the wedding planned for August, so Barry and Bastelica decided to move the day up. ... The nurses who cared for Lynn jumped into action to plan a wedding for Barry.

I’m moving forward and facing the uncertainty of aging California Healthline; by Judith Graham; 1/15/25 It takes a lot of courage to grow old. I’ve come to appreciate this after conversations with hundreds of older adults over the past eight years for nearly 200 “Navigating Aging” columns. Time and again, people have described what it’s like to let go of certainties they once lived with and adjust to new circumstances. These older adults’ lives are filled with change. They don’t know what the future holds except that the end is nearer than it’s ever been. And yet, they find ways to adapt. To move forward. To find meaning in their lives. And I find myself resolving to follow this path as I ready myself for retirement. Patricia Estess, 85, of the Brooklyn borough of New York City spoke eloquently about the unpredictability of later life when I reached out to her as I reported a series of columns on older adults who live alone, sometimes known as “solo agers.” ...

Bestselling author: I asked 26,000 people around the world their biggest regrets—these were the top 4 NBC News NECN Channel 4, Boston, MA; by Aston Jackson, CNBC; 1/11/25 Living life without regrets is impossible, says bestselling author Daniel Pink. "Everybody has regrets. It's one of the most common emotions that human beings have," said Pink, in a podcast episode that published last month. "And yet, we've been sold such a bill of goods about positivity and being positive all the time that when we feel regret, we think we're the only one." Pink combed through decades of research and surveyed more than 26,000 people from 130 countries about their biggest regrets for his 2022 book, "The Power of Regret," according to his website. Most of those people struggled with four core regrets:

Quilting for a cause: Sterling sewing group donates quilts to Rock River Hospice & HomeShaw Local News Network, Sterline, IL; by Brandon Clark; 1/12/25The ladies of New Life Lutheran Church’s sewing group know what it means to sew love into every stitch. The group meets at the church from 9 a.m. to noon every Wednesday to sew, quilt, knit and crochet for fun, fellowship and a good cause. Group member Karen Lofgren said they donate the quilts they make to Rock River Hospice & Home of Sterling, which gives one to each new client. ... Lofgren said the sewing group has been donating quilts since Rock River Hospice opened in 2017. The sewing group donates an estimated 120 to 150 large quilts to the hospice home each year and recently presented its 1,000th quilt.

Bride holds emotional dress reveal at hospital for her nana — fearing she wouldn’t be there on the big day Scoop; by Baisakhi Mishra; 1/4/25 Realizing her grandmother would miss her wedding, a bride-to-be makes her way to the hospital with a surprise that will warm your soul. Grandparents eagerly wait to see their grandchildren walk down the aisle. Perhaps, for them, it's like reliving a moment they've dreamed of since they first held their grandchildren in their arms. Through every milestone and memory, the grandparents patiently watch their grandchildren grow and dream about witnessing the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Similarly, months before her wedding, Gianna Huber (@gianna on TikTok) wanted to make her ailing grandmother, Jo Ann, feel truly special. Fearing her grandma might not make it to her big day, Huber planned a heartfelt surprise—a special wedding dress reveal just for Jo Ann.

[Hospice] Volunteer coordinator whose husband unexpectedly died gets touching surprise from a Secret SantaEast Idaho News; by Nate Eaton; 12/31/24A local Secret Santa is giving [money] to deserving people in eastern Idaho this holiday season and the East Idaho News elves are helping out. Every day since Nov. 1, we’ve posted a Secret Santa surprise, and today have our last video with a wonderful woman named Gwen. Gwen currently works as the volunteer coordinator for a home health and hospice agency in Rexburg. Having her own mother on hospice, Gwen understands the grief and hardship people experience with anticipating death. Gwen is passionate about service, and cares very deeply about every resident that she sees.