Literature Review

Rehab patients practice skills by building hospice care packages as Oak Park police and Lincoln Rx donate supplies. Feiga Bowick connects it all.  The Detroit Jewish News; by Rochel Burstyn; 10/9/25 ... Small steps can quickly snowball and make a big difference. Feiga Bowick, LMSW, CDP, the manager of Social Services and Community Engagement at PARC Home Care and Hospice of Southeast Michigan, ... [described] her recent hospice collaboration with Life Skills Village ... a rehabilitation center mainly for patients who have developmental delays and traumatic brain injuries. “I met with their occupational therapist ...: "How could these patients help others in a way that would be helpful to their own recovery?” Bowick said. “Many patients at Life Skills Village are working on fine motor skills and organizational skills, and we decided to try and get items together so they could create care packages for PARC hospice patients — while practicing their skills.” [Continue reading this inspirational story.]

Living with injustice: Gary Tyler had his life taken away, yet managed to claw it back. The Progressive Magazine; by Bill Lueders; 10/6/25 Just as I sat down to write this review of former death row inmate Gary Tyler’s memoir, I noticed that its publication date is the fifty-first anniversary of the day that upended his life: October 7, 1974. This undoubtedly deliberate timing, like the book itself, serves to help close the circle around Tyler’s remarkable—at times, almost unbelievable—life journey. That was the day Tyler, then a sixteen-year-old Black youth, was arrested for the shooting death of a thirteen-year-old white boy at their high school in Destrehan, Louisiana, about twenty-five miles from New Orleans. He was taken into custody and beaten so severely that he was left with permanent physical scars, as well as psychological ones. Police and prosecutors ignored and withheld evidence of his innocence, and suborned perjury by threatening witnesses. One witness, Natalie Blanks, was told she would be charged as an accessory to murder and miss out on her baby’s life if she didn’t falsely testify that she saw Tyler fire a gun from inside a bus. Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison is, for much of its first half especially, an intensely bleak book.Editor's Note: See previous significant posts in our newsletter about Gary Tyler and this transformative hospice program at Angola Prison.

Elizabeth Earley explores the fear of death in new essay collection SGN - Seattle & The Pacific Northwest's LGBTQIA+ News & Network; by Lindsey Anderson; 9/26/25 ... Humans often push the idea of death to the fringes of our minds, especially in Western cultures. However, for writer and clinical research scientist Elizabeth Earley, this topic contains multitudes as vast as the human experience. The more she studied the history and science of mortality, the more she found an underlying beauty, which inspired her latest work, Little Deaths All in a Row, a collection of prose diving deep into death. ... Realizing death is the inevitable end for us all, Earley decided to face her fear. "I believe the best way to get over fearing something is just to get closer to it and more intimate with it, so that's what I did," she said. She began volunteering in a hospice program as a form of exposure therapy. 

One year after Hurricane Helene: Lessons in resilience, recovery, and renewal Hospice & Palliative Care Today; Joy Berger and Cordt Kassner with Vern Grindstaff, Millicent Burke-Sinclair, and Chris Comeaux; 9/26/25 At this time last year, Hospice & Palliative Care Today brought you a series of articles reporting on the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast, focusing on hospices in the North Carolina mountains. We remain deeply grateful for the many ways you—our readers and colleagues—rallied in support of those hospice organizations and their communities during their time of urgent need. This Saturday, September 27, 2025, marks the one-year anniversary of that epic disaster. To reflect on what has been learned and how recovery has unfolded, Vern Grindstaff (CEO of Compassionate Care WNC, Burnsville, NC), Millicent Burke-Sinclair (President and CEO of Four Seasons, Flat Rock, NC), and Chris Comeaux (President and CEO of Teleios Collaborative Network, Flat Rock, NC) gathered in conversation with Cordt Kassner (publisher) and Joy Berger (editor-in-chief). The insights that follow honor the hospice employees who persevered to provide urgent patient care. We celebrate their spirit of compassionate community and courageous problem-solving from the onset one year ago through ongoing recovery.

Students lift patients' spirits with Words of Warmth The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX; by Christian Jeter; 9/19/25 As pens hit paper with words of love and encouragement, students gathered to write letters to patients currently in hospice care at the Student Activities Board’s Words of Warmth event on Sept. 19. Hosted on the first floor of the Student Union Building, the event invited students to write a letter or decorate gift bags with uplifting words as a part of the SAB’s Service Week, a period of time in which the organization holds community service-focused volunteer events. ... Phrases such as “Peace and love” and “Wishing you comfort” were some of the many suggestions SAB members recommended students write on their letters. Students could also write more in-depth text or personal anecdotes.

Neil Heinen: We give precious little thought to the meaning of life Madison Magazine, Madison, WI; by Neil Heinen; 9/17/25 An Op-Ed on the importance and profundity of being with a person at the end of their life, and how hospice plays a special role. We don’t think about death enough. How’s that for an opening sentence? ... We’d be considerably better off if we did think about life’s end a little more. The main topic of this column is hospice, which adds a bit of a buffer to the existential angst of contemplating death. ... Being with a person at the end of their life is one of the most profound and loving of life’s many possible experiences. And what brings meaning to a dying person is as varied as life itself. A song, a poem, a pet, a knitting needle and yarn, a recognition of service, stories, pictures, memories, another person who will listen, who cares; the list is long and filled with small acts of kindness so many of us could easily provide.

A natural segue: Retired hospice physician Ralph Caldroney ’72 turns a planned gift into immediate impact with new lecture sponsorship W&L - The Columns, Washington & Lee University, Lexington, VA; by Barbara Elliott; 9/15/25 [Dr. Ralph Caldrony, retired medical director for Hospice of Rockbridge County,] attended several Mudd Center lectures during this past year’s series: “How We Live and Die: Stories, Values and Communities.” ... Impressed by the range and quality of the Mudd Center presentations [at Washington & Lee University], Caldroney previously committed a $250,000 planned gift to the center for his 50th reunion gift in 2022. However, after such a positive experience attending this year’s lecture series, he decided to fast-track his support. For each of the next five years, his $5,000 per-year gift will sponsor an annual lecture. “It was a natural segue,” Caldroney says. “This way, I can enjoy some of the fruits of my labor while I am still alive.”

An artisan gifts her time and talents to hospice Parkview Health, Fort Wayne, IN; by Alison Eckert; 9/14/25 ... At [her hospice volunteer] orientation, Barbara Wyatt decided to share one of her favorite pastimes. "I do stained glass as a hobby," she said. ... She brought four of her stained-glass angels to give to members of the hospice team. They eagerly accepted the gifts and her offer to make similar keepsakes for hospice patients and their loved ones. From that point on, Barbara would have no trouble finding new homes for her handcrafted guardians. ... Barbara believes that although not everyone is religious, many people are spiritual. In her experience, angels serve as a universal symbol of guidance and peace. ... Since starting her volunteer role in 2024, Barbara has created more than 250 stained glass angels to share with patients and their loved ones. 

O’Neill Healthcare Hospice creating Moments of Joy The Villager Newspaper, Bay Village, OH; 9/15/25 At O’Neill Healthcare Hospice, our mission goes beyond providing exceptional clinical care ... One way we do this is through our Moments of Joy program, an initiative devoted to creating meaningful experiences and lasting memories for those we care for. Recently, we had the privilege of honoring our patient, Frank, with a very special moment of joy outing, ... "back to the ballpark in person." ... Programs like Moments of Joy enable us to honor our patients’ stories and interests, celebrate their passions, and provide families with cherished moments to remember.Editor's Note: See our recent related posts, "Fulfilling end-of-life dreams: A scoping review of bucket lists in palliative and hospice care" and "Baptist Health Floyd's 'Three Wishes' project provides comfort during end-of-life process."

Wound care at Sheridan VA gives 95-year-old Veteran a second chance: Veteran removed from hospice care at Sheridan VA after wounds heal VA News; by Jesus Flores; 9/12/25 When 95-year-old Air Force Veteran Roy Clifton arrived at Sheridan VA Medical Center (SVAMC) in March 2025, he thought he didn’t have much time left. “I had a bone infection in both feet and could barely walk,” he said. “Then I had a fall that caused a bleed in my brain. That’s when I decided to call it quits and go to hospice.” ... [Scroll ahead to this hospice's expert wound care.] Although both feet had exposed bones, and the injuries looked and smelled bad, Clifton’s body was healing. ... Clifton’s condition improved so much, he was taken off hospice care. “It made me feel great to survive hospice,” he said, smiling. “They’re all great. The staff took good care of me.”

Ancient wisdom: How do we want to be remembered? The FP - Weekend Culture; by George Raveling; 9/7/25This week, we’re bringing you reflections from a man who aged more gracefully than just about anyone we know: legendary basketball coach George Raveling, who died Monday at the age of 88. ... This excerpt is from the last chapter of his book [What You're Made For], ... titled: “To Live.”

Lights, camera, act up! Residents get royal treatment during photo sessions McKnights Long-Term Care News, The Brighter Side; by Foster Stubbs; 9/2/25The Village at Incarnate Word in San Antonio is home to approximately 275 older adults, including over 50 retired religious sisters. Some of them have recently found a new calling: modeling. Terri Landez, the community’s director of communications, had seen a news story about the work of Pop of Colors Images and struck up an Instagram friendship with the organization. ... Once they got the go-ahead, Pop of Colors photographers Megan Bowling and Jessica Rodriguez-Green turned the facility’s memory care floor into a photography studio, complete with a variety of royalty-themed props and outfits. Editor's Note: Do you need a smile? This will bring it! Enjoy and share. 

From panic to purpose: Tulane student’s bell project brings hope to cancer patients nationwide CBS WWL-4, New Orleans, LA; by Meg Farris; 9/8/25 A little girl whose mother was diagnosed with a very serious illness could have never dreamed that several years later, she'd be helping patients across the country and beyond. ... Belle Spar vividly remembers, ... “I had a panic attack, hysterically crying. I thought I was going to lose my mom. I was 12. I was terrified ...” Belle Spar, 21. [The ritual of ringing the bell at the end of cancer treatment became a symbol of hope.] That 12-year-old ... is now a senior at Tulane University. During those nine years as an adolescent, she and her sister, Alexa, accomplished something remarkable. They have raised money to donate 130 bells, so far, to radiation and transplant centers around the U.S., and even in South America.