Literature Review

Savage Boards expanding after partnering with Hospice of Wichita Falls KFDX Wichita Falls, TX; by Curtis Jackson; 2/27/26 Katie Fowler has recently formed a partnership between her restaurant, “Savage Boards,” and Hospice of Wichita Falls’ in-house bistro. Fowler partnered with Hospice about three years ago and offers several sandwiches, salads, and more, alongside her to-go “adult style” lunchables and some sweet treats. Fowler said two years ago she never would have thought she’d be in the position to expand her business, and what better way to do that than with hospice, and said she’s doing more than just providing food for patients, she’s helping to ease the burden for those families going through tough times.

Choices Healthcare CEO Michael Link eyes growth, innovation while staying true to hospice mission LNP | Lancaster Online; by Rachel Curry; 3/1/26 Michael Link always admired the loyalty it took for a long, stable career — in terms of being loyal to the company and vice versa. In October 2025, Link became CEO of Choices Healthcare, the parent company of Hospice & Community Care, where he began working as an IT trainer in 2001. ... For Link, it was quickly apparent that the work he found himself in was meaningful, and staying within the organization afforded him the opportunity to work across all kinds of departments. In 2024, Hospice & Community Care merged with Hospice of Central PA to form Choices Healthcare. Together, they provide care across 11 Pennsylvania counties. The organization also operates the Pathways Center for Grief & Loss in Mount Joy. Much of Link’s new role involves maintaining a strong legacy of care.

A multidimensional narrative review of disparities in hospice care use American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Komal Patel Murali, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, Gwenneth Wang, BS, Daniella Torres, BA, Laura Tycon Moreines, MSN, RN, Abraham A. Brody, PhD, RN, FAAN, Karen Bullock, PhD, LCSW, and Leah V. Estrada, PhD, RN; 2/19/26  ... Findings: Guided by the Social Ecological Model, the objectives of this narrative review are to (a) discuss disparities in hospice care use, (b) explore multidimensional levels and factors contributing to such disparities, and (c) outline implications and imperatives for improving access to and use of hospice care. ... System-level solutions include integrating hospice referrals into routine care workflows, improving hospice-related policies, strengthening partnerships with community organizations, and transitional care research. Clinicians are uniquely positioned to identify care preferences, advocate for timely referrals and support the hospice transition, and build trust with patients and families at the end of life.

Is your ladder leaning against the wrong wall? Richard Mobley on leadership and calling | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); hosted by Chris Comeaux with Richard Mobley; 2/18/26 What if you spend decades building a successful career—only to realize you were climbing the wrong ladder?  In this episode of TCNtalks / Anatomy of Leadership, executive leadership coach Richard Mobley, Founder and Principal of the Seven Four Group, Inc. and the Be Far More! System, joins Chris Comeaux to explore one of the most important questions leaders face: What comes after success? For CEOs, healthcare executives, and Hospice leaders approaching retirement or transition, this conversation centers on the critical shift from achievement to lasting significance—and what it truly means to finish well. 

The Alliance and the Research Institute for Home Care release 2025 Hospice Chartbook National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 2/19/26 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) and The Research Institute for Home Care (the Institute) are excited to announce the release of the 2025 Hospice Chartbook. Highlighting the vital role that hospice plays in caring for an aging demographic, the Chartbook provides a look at the patients being served in hospice, who they are demographically and clinically, and more.  Now in its second year, the 2025 Hospice Chartbook, co-sponsored by the Alliance, provides an overview of national patient and workforce data with an emphasis on state-specific information and trends, including key data on hospice patients and providers, Medicare spending on hospice, and more. 

New ‘care home’ for seniors aims to bring alternative to home health care WCAX-3 CBS, East Middlebury, VT; by Laura Ullman; 2/18/26 Vermont has a housing crisis for seniors trying to age in place. A nonprofit in Addison County is hoping to pioneer a new model to meet the needs of Vermont’s aging demographic. “Addison County Home Health looked for about a year and a half to find a space, ...” said Deb Wesley, the CEO of Addison County Home Health & Hospice. ... “Our goal is to provide a home for eight individuals who really are medically frail, are really unable to live at home alone, or require some increased assistance for their care,” Wesley said. ... Addison County Home Health & Hospice is hoping to open this care home in late spring.

Embedding care in the ED: Liz Goldberg and Lauren Southerland GeriPal; podcast by Alex Smith with Dr. Liz Goldberg and Dr. Lauren Southerland; 2/12/26 The idea of embedding various forms of non-emergency care in the emergency department makes a WORLD of sense.  If an older adult comes into the ED with a fall, the minimum the ED has to do is address the fall injury and send them out. But many emergency providers realize this is often a band aid.  They see that patient again the next time they fall.  And again.  And again.  The same could be said for the patient who is malnourished and dehydrated and admitted for “failure to thrive,” again. And again. Our two guests today, Liz Goldberg and Lauren Southerland, both emergency medicine physician-researchers, have had enough.  ...

‘This place is love’: A prison unit for the dying — in pictures Prison Journalism Project; by Carla Canning and Eddie Herena; 2/11/26 California Medical Facility’s hospice program aims to ensure no one dies alone. In 1996, a 17-bed, state-licensed hospice began caring for dying incarcerated men at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, ... At that time, the hospice unit mainly took care of patients dying of AIDS. Today, many of the patients housed there are dying of cancer, the leading cause of death in U.S. prisons. In June 2024, I visited the hospice unit on a reporting trip, along with Eddie Herena, a former  staff photographer for ... a prison in the Bay Area. We were there to understand what it was like to receive a terminal diagnosis while in prison. 

El Paso's Veterans Cafe helps give community to those who served News*Talk 96.3 fm 1290 am; by Grizz; 2/12/26 On a quiet Saturday, something special is happening over coffee in El Paso. Hospice El Paso’s Veteran Café is proving that sometimes the most powerful form of support doesn’t come from a clinic or an office, but from a shared table, a familiar story, and the simple act of being welcomed. The pop-up café, sponsored by Hospice El Paso, is designed specifically for veterans from all branches of service. While it may look like a casual coffee gathering on the surface, its purpose runs much deeper. The café offers veterans a place to connect, talk, laugh, and support one another in a low-pressure environment where no one is expected to have the right words or any answers at all.

Community Hospice & Palliative Care unveils Advanced Cardiac Care Program Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 2/9/26 Florida-based Community Hospice & Palliative Care has launched an Advanced Cardiac Care Program to serve patients and families wrestling with heart disease. The hospice, an affiliate of Alivia Care, designed the program in collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation. It will provide a suite of services specifically designed for patients with cardiac conditions.

Measures that matter: How better metrics can transform end-of-life care | part twoTeleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner, with guests Bob Tavares, Robin Heffernan, and Mindy Stewart-Coffee; 2/6/26 Top News Stories of the Month, January 2026What gets measured shapes how patients experience the final chapter of life.  In Part Two of Measures That Matter, Hospice and healthcare leaders explore how focused, meaningful metrics—not check-the-box measures—can improve quality, reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, and strengthen value-based end-of-life care. The conversation highlights a small, high-impact set of indicators that better reflect real-world Hospice performance—such as visits in the last days of life, live discharges and burdensome transitions, gaps in nursing visits, access to higher levels of care (GIP and Continuous Home Care), and patient experience, including the simple but powerful question: “Would you recommend this Hospice?”

Exploring Artificial Intelligence in hospice and palliative care: An integrative review of technological and clinical Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Tuzhen Xu, PhD, APRN, FNP-C, Caiyi Liu, PhD, BSN, RN, Lin Li, PhD, Dan Song, PhD, RN, Gloria M. Rose, PhD, NP-C, FNP-BC, and Sen Zhu, PhD; 2/4/26 Conclusions: AI holds potential in enhancing timely, patient-centered palliative and hospice care, supporting prognostication, symptom management, and decision-making. Successful integration requires attention to clinician trust, workflow alignment, equity, and ethical considerations. To maximize its impact on underutilization, future research should focus on multicenter validation, representative datasets, ethical deployment, and seamless integration into clinical practice.