Literature Review

Carter, Bera introduce bill to strengthen palliative and hospice care workforce United States Representative Buddy Carter, Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/17/25Reps. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) and Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) today introduced the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), bipartisan legislation to invest in training, education, and research for the palliative care and hospice workforce, allowing more practitioners to enter these in-demand fields. ... "As a pharmacist, I understand the toll burnout takes on the health care industry, and I am committed to bolstering the workforce so nurses, doctors, and all health care workers can continue to pursue their passion for helping others,” said Rep. Carter. "As a doctor, I know how important it is to provide patients with comfort, clarity, and support when they’re facing serious illness,” said Rep. Bera. “The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act is a smart, bipartisan step to ensure more health care professionals are trained to deliver this kind of care."Editor's Note: Bravo to this pharmacist and physician bipartisan team for introducing this bill. Go to the article and scroll down to this press release's long list of "Supporting Organizations."

Cyclist to ride coast-to-coast for hospice care MyMotherLode.com, Calaveras, CA; by Nic Peterson; 7/27/25 John Silva, a 66-year-old retired Amador County Sheriff’s deputy and longtime Calaveras-area resident, is preparing to bike 4,700 miles across the United States to raise money for Hospice of Amador & Calaveras. The journey begins Aug. 1 at Cape Flattery, Washington — the northwesternmost point in the contiguous U.S. — and will end at West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine, the nation’s easternmost point. ... The trip is entirely self-funded and performed alone. Silva’s route will take him through Washington, Idaho, Montana, a stretch of Canada, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, New York, and Maine. More than a test of physical endurance, Silva says the ride is a personal mission. Each week of the ride will honor a community member who received hospice care, transforming every mile into a tribute to those who faced death with dignity.

Two programs recognized as 2025 AHA Circle of Life Award Honorees | AHA American Hospital Association, Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/17/25 Two programs will be honored with the American Hospital Association 2025 Circle of Life Award for their efforts in palliative and end-of-life care. The winning programs are Gilchrist, Baltimore, Maryland, and Bristol Hospice – Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii. Both winners will receive this prestigious recognition during the AHA’s Leadership Summit in Nashville on July 20-22. The Circle of Life Award honors hospital and palliative care programs that are ensuring equitable access to care, implementing nontraditional models of care delivery and payment, fully integrating palliative care into a system of care or a community, making palliative care financially sustainable, developing meaningful measures and metrics to track progress, or partnering with payers, other providers, community groups and faith communities.Editor's Note: For more information, Gilchrist Named Circle of Life Award Winner--for the Second Time!

AI in action: Exploring how AI is helping hospices do things in new ways Husch Blackwell; podcast by Meg S.L. Pekarske with Dina Yankelewitz; 7/16/25 Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske is joined by Dina Yankelewitz, CEO of Vitalis Care, a technology company that is harnessing AI technology to reduce staff burden and allow more time for patient care. Dina shares her vision and passion for the hospice space, discussing how she applied her background in education and learning methods to inform not only what tools to develop but importantly how they work for the end user. Dina and Meg explore what AI is good at as well as its limits and why scheduling optimization, compliance, and reimbursement were the first areas Vitalis tackled.

Leading after your predecessor fails Harvard Business Review; by Jordan Stark and Darcy Eikenberg; 7/16/25 ... Being promoted to lead after your predecessor fails is often anything but a victory lap. In fact, a 10-year longitudinal research project on executive transitions by consulting firm Navalent found that more than 50% of executives who “inherit a mess” fail within their first 18 months on the job. ...  Succeeding after your predecessor fails demands an entirely different leadership approach. 

The Alliance’s CaringInfo Program launches new “Planning for In-Home Care” section National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/16/25 CaringInfo.org, a program of the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), is expanding its resources with a new website section – “Planning for In-Home Care” – as well as a brand refresh to align with its growing audience. CaringInfo provides free resources to educate and empower patients and caregivers to make informed decisions about home, serious illness, and end-of-life care and services. While CaringInfo began with a focus on serious illness and end-of-life care and support, the program’s content is expanding to provide information and resources on the full spectrum of home-based care services. As a first step in this expansion, CaringInfo has launched “Planning for In-Home Care,” a new section on the website focused on the various types of care available at home.

Beyond the sandbags: Operational hurricane planning for in-home care HomeCare; by Matthew P. Chaloux; 7/9/25 When hurricanes approach, in-home care organizations face challenges that are vastly different from those of facility-based providers. In addition to safeguarding infrastructure, we must ensure the safety of mobile care teams, maintain critical supply routes and coordinate services for patients whose needs don’t pause for the weather. At Empath Health, we care for more than 75,000 patients annually across 20 Florida counties through hospice, home health, palliative and supportive care programs. Our teams aren’t centralized—they’re on the road, in homes and dispersed across regions that may be affected in very different ways by the same storm. Over the years, we’ve learned that effective hurricane response in home-based care depends on three things: preparation, coordination and flexibility. ...

How AI is redefining the nurse’s day Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 7/3/25 As generative AI continues to make its way into healthcare, chief nursing informatics officers say the technology’s influence is expanding beyond documentation and reshaping the way nurses work. [Examples described include the following:]

Natural disasters, climate change, and the impact on hospice and palliative care teams and their patients American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Quarterly; by Larry Beresford; Summer 2025 Edition, 7/3/25 Several recent natural disasters, including highly destructive wildfires in Los Angeles and Maui and flooding in the North Carolina hills caused by rains from Hurricane Helene, have provided vivid reminders that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime. Hospice and palliative care providers, responsible for the care of patients with serious illnesses who live in their homes and in long-term care facilities, could be dealing with disruptions in power or phone service, other communication barriers, staffing shortages, impassible roads, even large-scale evacuations of their patients. ... Are agencies doing what they can to plan, prepare, and practice for managing disasters, which could also include human-caused crises or events like earthquakes that are not subject to weather or climate?

TCN & HPCT Podcast: Plans of Care, Ethics, Robotics, and more! Top News Stories, June 2025 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 7/2/25 What makes Hospice special isn't magic—it's the masterful implementation of coordinated care plans that align interdisciplinary teams with patient priorities.  This month's deep dive into June's most critical Hospice and Palliative Care developments explores how this "secret sauce" remains simultaneously the heart of our philosophy and our most common survey deficiency. In this episode of TCNtalks, host Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner, Publisher of Hospice & Palliative Care Today & CEO and Founder of Hospice Analytics, discuss relevant top news stories in Hospice and Palliative Care for June. They also explore technology's dual-edged potential, suggesting that AI and robotics should enhance, rather than replace, the human elements of Hospice Care.  As Daniel Pink notes, "if a robot can replace you, you should be"—allowing us to focus our irreplaceable human capacity on meaningful connection rather than routine tasks.

Snowline rethinks donation policy Mountain Democrat, Placerville, CA; News Release; 6/18/25 ... Operated in support of Snowline’s nonprofit mission, its thrift stores raise crucial funds to provide palliative care, hospice services, bereavement and veteran support to individuals and families throughout our region. Recently, in response to feedback from the community about donation limitations, Snowline opened its doors to accept a broader range of donated items. The goal was simple: to be more accommodating and say “yes” more often to those wanting to give. ... While the outpouring of donations was generous and deeply appreciated, this well-intentioned shift led to a significant rise in items that simply could be resold, things that were broken, torn, incomplete or nonfunctional. As a result, waste removal costs have skyrocketed in the thousands due to an increased number of trash runs and landfill fees. These unexpected expenses threaten Snowline’s ability to direct maximum funds toward the care programs that are at the heart of its mission. “We want to be a resource for our community and also remain good stewards of the donations we receive,” said Director of Thrift Operations Daron Hairabedian. “But we also have a responsibility to ensure the dollars raised through our thrift operations go where they matter most, supporting patients and families in the most vulnerable times of their lives.” To preserve the long-term sustainability of Snowline’s vital programs, including palliative care and grief support services, Snowline Thrift Stores will return to a more selective donation process. 

Yocha Dehe provides $1 million grant to YoloCares for new hospice shelter The Davis Enterprise, Davis, CA; 6/18/25The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is proud to announce a $1 million grant for YoloCares to expand its adult day care program in Davis and operate a new hospice shelter in Sacramento that will address the complex needs of unhoused terminally ill patients. The first of its kind on the West Coast, Joshua’s House was dedicated on Wednesday and will feature six separate homes that will welcome up to 15 people at a time. YoloCares’ commitment to support and serve the rural and Indigenous communities in its six-county service area means that Joshua’s House will prioritize service to unhoused rural and Indigenous community members in need of care. The professionally staffed home will provide shelter, food, and clothing to people from Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, Solano, Sutter, and Colusa Counties to hospice-eligible patients referred by the major health systems. Licensed professionals will provide hospice care to patients staying at Joshua’s House.