Literature Review

A patient’s visit home Parkview Health; by Tim O'Sullivan, Parkview Hospice; 2/17/26 The Canal Stock Farm is more than a historical landmark along Old 24 in New Haven, Indiana. It is the home to now six generations of Ronald Hockemeyer’s family. Over the past year, members of the Parkview Hospice team had the privilege of getting to know Ron and the legacy of his familial home. ... Ron expressed his desire to have just one more day on the farm with his Parkview Hospice social worker, Emily Zimmerman. Emily was aware of a new program that makes the wishes of Parkview Hospice patients come true. She filled out the application and identified all the resources needed to secure a safe visit. Through the generosity of donors to the Parkview Foundation Hospice Fund, Ron’s day on the farm was made a reality.

Psychosocial oncology: The Omega Project Taylor & Francis | Death Studies; by Matthew Loscalzo and Linda A. Klein; 2/14/26This article reports on an interview with J. William Worden that focuses initially on the Omega Project (1968–1986) that studied end-of-life care. Worden explains the four phases of the project with specific populations, goals, and key concepts that emerged. The discussion then shifts to the development of psychosocial oncology and palliative care. Finally, Worden offers some thoughts on the development of the hospice movement in the United States, the role of religion in coping with mortality, coping with personal loss, and his advice to new medical or graduate students just starting out.

The impact of religious and spiritual care on parents or caregivers in pediatrics: A scoping reviewJournal of Health Care Chaplaincy; by Salvador Leavitt-Alcántara, Samantha Summers; 1/26This scoping review examines the literature on the impact of spiritual and religious care on parents or guardians of children admitted to high acuity pediatric hospital units. Results reveal themes of positive impact of spiritual or religious care on several components of parents/caregivers' in the areas of emotional coping, grief and bereavement, positive parental perception of the impact of chaplains in high acuity settings, and outside spiritual/religious guidance and support during the medical decision-making process.

Expanding access to compassionate hospice care in Northern Virginia The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington; Press Release; 1/27/26 We are excited and proud to share that JSSA, a longtime Federation partner, is expanding its hospice services to Northern Virginia—an important step in ensuring individuals and families in our region have access to high-quality, community-based end-of-life care when it matters most. ... For more than 40 years, JSSA has been a trusted provider of hospice care in Montgomery County, supporting patients and families with expert clinical care alongside emotional and spiritual support. This expansion builds on JSSA’s more than 45 years of serving Northern Virginia through mental health services, aging-in-place programs, and its Holocaust Survivor Program.

How ‘rest’ became the biggest four-letter word in healthcareMedscape; by Eric Spitznagel; 1/30/26As a resident at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, he did his best to get enough of it, which wasn’t often. Even when he managed a full night’s sleep, it didn’t bring the relief he expected. His body might slow down, but his mind didn’t. “My mind kept racing through patient records,” Jacobs said. “So even sitting on the couch wasn’t helping.” He was on the cusp of understanding what few healthcare workers figure out: True rest requires more than lying down. It requires something that pulls your attention out of the mental loops that medicine trains clinicians to spin 24/7. ...

A qualitative study of chaplains spiritual care for persons with dementia in long-term careJournal of Applied Gerontology; by Meganne K. Masko, Sarah McEvoy, Jung Kwak, Kathryn Lyndes, Alexia M. Torke, Shelley Varner Perez, George Fitchett; 12/25This study explored how chaplains provide spiritual care for residents with dementia in long-term care, which is not well understood. We conducted six separate semi-structured focus groups with a total of 16 chaplains who provide care for people with dementia in long-term care facilities across the U.S. Two main themes emerged: the broad and multifaceted role of chaplains in long-term care, including responsibilities to residents, staff, and family, and dementia-specific spiritual care adaptations and delivery practices, including learning through experience, using multisensory tools, relying on presence, music, and emotional resonance. Chaplains’ adaptive, person-centered spiritual care for residents with dementia highlights the need for dementia-informed chaplaincy training and greater integration of chaplaincy into interdisciplinary care planning in long-term care settings.

Fly fishing support group provides new angle on grief processing: The grieving can find peace in the rhythm of fishingTimes Courier, Ellijay, GA; by Jackson Elliott; 1/28/26 Few people understand grief like a hospice chaplain. “I’ve experienced about 5,000 deaths,” former hospice chaplain Rick Gillert said. “And I’ve helped those families and patients through the grieving process." “‘I had this idea in the back of my head of combining professional grief care with fly fishing,” he said. During his time as a hospice chaplain, he would often seek peace from the difficulty of the work by going fishing the next day. “I can almost imagine my anxieties, my worries as leaves falling on the water and washing away,” Gillert said. In his program, clients join a group and go through a 10-week course on fly fishing, processing grief and coping skills.

Briana Kohlbrenner: End-of-life care is under threat - as demand for hospice grows, workers say staffing and pay must keep paceVTDigger, Vermont; commentary by Briana Kohlbrenner; 1/27/26 As demand for hospice grows, workers say staffing and pay must keep pace. University of Vermont Home Health and Hospice (UVMHHH) is at a crossroads. As Vermont’s population ages, the demand for hospice care is growing. ... We are asking for fair and transparent pay scales, safe staffing and equity within the UVM Health system. Though we wear the same logo on our badges, we are paid less than our counterparts in other parts of the UVM Health system. A new nurse starting at UVM Home Health and Hospice earns $6.72 less per hour than a new nurse at the UVM Medical Center.

Husband with Parkinson's was admitted into at-home hospice program and has dramatically improved. Have others experienced this? Aging Care; by Klwolf; 1/21/26 My DH has Parkinson’s that has been getting progressively worse for months. In early December we had him assessed for hospice and he was admitted. Since then, he’s improved dramatically. Has anyone else experienced dramatic improvement AFTER hospice enrollment? The hospice staff simply shrugs and says this sometimes happens and that we need to be prepared for him to revert back to his previous state. Editor's Note: Many clinicians have seen individuals improve after hospice enrollment, often due to better symptom control, reduced stress, or consistent interdisciplinary care. The concern here is not the improvement itself, but the hospice team’s reported response. A shrug can feel dismissive to families already living with uncertainty. How do we teach teams to communicate about improvement—honoring hope while preparing families with clarity, compassion, and trust?

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.

If you think you don't need a chaplain, reconsider Parkview Health | Family Medicine, Diseases & Disorders, Fort Wayne, IN; by Karen Kosberg, chaplain, Parkview Hospice; 1/18/26"I'm not religious." "I don't need anyone preaching at me.""I don't want a chaplain yet!"These are some of the responses I have heard over the years as a hospice chaplain. These statements are reactions to the offer of a visit. So once and for all, let's answer the question: Why a chaplain? ...Editor's Note: Continue reading this excellent description of our too-often-neglected hospice chaplains. Reach out to learn more about your hospice chaplains. Find meaningful ways to thank and honor them.

New clinical ministry degree for those called to become chaplains AdventHealth, Orlando, FL; by Jennifer Audette; 1/12/26 Chaplains are an integral part of the healing process. They are with patients and families at their most vulnerable moments, and health care organizations are in profound need of board-certified chaplains. To meet this need, AdventHealth University will begin offering a Master of Arts in Clinical Ministry degree in Fall 2026. ... The graduate degree program, which is 100 percent online, is grounded in theology, ethics, and psychology. Courses include Grief & Loss, Narrative Counseling, and World Religions. The Clinical Ministry degree ... can serve as an academic bridge for those who plan to go on to pursue certification through organizations such as the Board of Certified Chaplains Inc.

How honoring patient autonomy prevents medical trauma Medpage Today's KevinMD.com; by Sheryl J. Nicholson; 1/11/26 Holding my mother in my arms as she took her last breath changed the way I understand care. That moment ... was heartbreaking and transformative. Her unwavering faith and peaceful passing contrasted sharply with the confusion that followed when CPR began despite her do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. I felt helpless. The experience became the catalyst for my commitment to advocacy and ethical clarity. It taught me that even well-intentioned interventions can violate patient autonomy and erode trust when systems fail to honor advance directives. ... Ethical implications: autonomy and systemic gaps ... Actionable steps for clinicians: ...