Literature Review

An Anderson Township nursing home patient died of natural causes — until the coroner called it homicide ABC WCPO-9, Cincinnati / Anderson Township, OH; by Dan Monk; 1/21/26 An Anderson Township nursing home is under scrutiny after a patient’s death was changed from natural causes to homicide by the Hamilton County Coroner. Robert Meyer was a patient at Forest Hills Healthcare Center, ... He died on Sept. 6, 2025, soon after being transferred to a hospice facility in Blue Ash. No autopsy was conducted because the original death certificate said Meyer died of natural causes. However, as his funeral approached, his daughter raised concerns about his care at Forest Hills. Tammy Maham sent the coroner pictures of neck bruises that Meyer incurred in the days before his death. That led to Meyer’s disinterment, a Sept. 22 autopsy and a revised death certificate that lists “physical elder abuse” as the immediate cause of death by homicide.

What I see at the end of life as homelessness rises in Ohio: Holly Klein Cleveland.com, Cleveland, OH; by Holly Klein; 1/18/26 As a former in-home hospice nurse and now executive director of Grace House Akron, I have witnessed firsthand what happens when Ohioans fall through every crack in our healthcare and housing systems. ... Every day, I see the human reality behind the numbers ... Dignity at the end of life should not depend on having an address. Before Grace House opened, people experiencing homelessness often died alone, in undignified conditions -- or worse, on the streets. Providing a warm bed, a safe room, a hand to hold and someone to bear witness to a person’s final days should be a moral commitment shared across Ohio. Dignity is not a luxury; it is a right.

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.

Accompanying Dad on his final journey: View from the treehouse Catholic Review; by Barb Arland-Fye; 12/1/25 Dad seemed preoccupied when we arrived at my parents’ home on a Saturday night in late September. Newly diagnosed with a fast-moving cancer, he had chosen to forgo chemotherapy for in-home hospice care, but “what-if” questions filled his mind. ... [Scroll ahead to hospice care at home.] We were determined to help Mom (and my siblings) accompany Dad on his final journey to heaven’s gate and we did, in his favorite space, a four-season room the grandkids affectionately named “The Treehouse” for its view of the woods. This is the room where Dad engaged in his favorite pastimes — reading and bonding with his kids and grandkids while urging on his beloved Minnesota Vikings, Gophers and other teams. ... The death rattle ceased and the quiet seemed deafening. Dad died at 6:40 a.m. Oct. 3, with my mom, Tim, and Steve and I at his side. We are grateful his suffering had ended but heartbroken to lose him. Sixty-seven years ago, Dad welcomed me into the world after an hours-long wait for Mom to give birth to their first child. I had the privilege of accompanying him on his journey out.

Preventing falls and hospitalizations: Bayada launches the first AI-enhanced home care model Cision / PR Newswire, Philadelphia, PA; Press Release; 11/13/25 Bayada Home Health Care ... unveiled its Enhanced Quality of Care Model (EQoC), the only approach of its kind to improve safety and health outcomes for aging adults wherever they call home. ... BAYADA's EQoC innovation combines daily nurse oversight with predictive technology to catch risk factors before they escalate and provide timely, appropriate preventative care that helps seniors stay safe and well at home with fewer adverse events.Editor's Notes: Pair this with the article we recently posted, "Why are more older people dying after falls?"

An age-old fear grows more common: ‘I’m going to die alone’ Miami Herald; by Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News; 10/17/25 This summer, at dinner with her best friend, Jacki Barden raised an uncomfortable topic: the possibility that she might die alone. “I have no children, no husband, no siblings,” Barden remembered saying. “Who’s going to hold my hand while I die?” ... It’s something that many older adults who live alone — a growing population, more than 16 million strong in 2023 — wonder about. ... More than 15 million people 55 or older don’t have a spouse or biological children; nearly 2 million have no family members at all.

Traumatic brain injury in late life tied to elevated dementia risk Medscape; by Liz Scherer; 10/13/25 Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in late life is associated with a significant increase in the risk for new-onset dementia. The risk is especially elevated (by as much as 69%) within the first 5 years following the injury, according to newly published study findings. Though TBI, which results from direct impact or indirect force to the head, has long been recognized as a midlife risk factor for dementia, the risk that TBI poses in adults aged 65 years or older has been unclear.

Why are more older people dying after falls? KFF Health News; by Paula Span; 9/30/25 ... Public health experts have warned of the perils of falls for older people for decades. In 2023, the most recent year of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 Americans over 65 died from falls, an opinion article in JAMA Health Forum pointed out last month. More startling than that figure, though, was another statistic: Fall-related mortality among older adults has been climbing sharply. ... [Death] rates from fall injuries among Americans over 65 had more than tripled over the past 30 years. Among those over 85, the cohort at highest risk, death rates from falls jumped to 339 per 100,000 in 2023, from 92 per 100,000 in 1990.  ...

Adult Protective Services work with clients at the end of life: Challenges and support needsJournal of Elder Abuse and Neglect; by Wei-Lin Xue, Joy Swanson Ernst, Pi Ju Liu; 9/25Adult Protective Services (APS) professionals frequently interact with clients who are seriously ill or dying as they investigate cases of elder abuse and self-neglect. This study explored the unique challenges and support needs of APS workers in these end-of-life contexts. Thematic analysis identified two overarching domains: (1) challenges – including family conflict, limited caregiver preparedness, client self-determination, challenges to service access, and emotional strain on professionals; and (2) support needed – such as improved interagency collaboration, peer and organizational support. Participants emphasized the emotional toll of witnessing client decline and death, and highlighted gaps in training, coordination, and workplace support. Findings highlight the need for targeted policy and practice reforms to better equip APS professionals addressing elder abuse and self-neglect at the end of life.

Nursing homes failed to report 43 percent of falls with major injury and hospitalization among their Medicare-enrolled residents HHS-OIG; Report number: OEI-05-24-00180; 9/18/25  

An organ donor saved my life. But fear of unlikely botched donations hurts others.  USA Today; by Kaitlyn Wells; 9/18/25 As someone who is alive today because of an organ donation, I was alarmed by the news that Donate Life America, a nonprofit that oversees a national registry of organ donors, saw a 700% increase in donor registration withdrawals since July. That startling drop in donors followed reporting by The New York Times offering horrifying details of how in extremely rare instances, teams rushed to secure organs from patients who still showed a flicker of life. 

New van opens doors for Hospice of West Alabama clients Tuscaloosa News, Tuscaloosa, AL; by Gary Cosby, Jr.; 9/8/25 A new Hospice of West Alabama transport van is rolling through the streets, courtesy of the generosity of community donors. Hospice Executive Director Latrelle Hallum said the new vehicle will greatly expand the services they can offer to their clients. Before purchasing the new Toyota Sienna minivan, the organization did not have the ability to take clients places they needed to get to. "It's going to allow us to do a lot of extras. We will do Christmas lights tour for our patients and families in December, take them to graduations, or to see a newborn baby, or a Thanksgiving gathering, or to doctor's appointments. The only requirement is that it is not an ambulance. We can only transport people who are in a wheelchair," Hallum said.

Irish man uses ChatGPT for sore throat advice, later diagnosed with stage 4 cancer TimesNow; by Ashima Sharda Mahindra; 9/1/25 A 37-year-old Irish man from Kerry sought advice on ChatGPT on chronic sore throat and swallowing difficulties – and was ultimately diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal adenocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive throat cancer. Warren Tierney said ChatGPT had reassured him that cancer was “highly unlikely,” which led him to a delay in seeking professional medical care. Months later, Warren was diagnosed with cancer, which has a five-year survival rate between five and ten per cent globally.