Literature Review

National Volunteer Week: April 20-26, 2025

Ahead of National Volunteer Week and in celebration of National Volunteer Month, NPHI CEO urges Americans: “Step forward. Be present. Volunteer with your local hospice.” National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; by Matthew Wilkinson; 4/16/25 Ahead of National Volunteer Week next week, and in celebration of National Volunteer Month this April, the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is shining a light on the often-unsung heroes of hospice: volunteers. These compassionate individuals are central to the mission of NPHI’s member providers nationwide, offering their time, energy, and hearts to patients and families during life’s most tender and vulnerable moments. NPHI member organizations rely on nearly 30,000 volunteers to keep their programs running—almost matching the number of full- and part-time staff employed across its national member network. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of hospice volunteers contribute millions of hours of service annually. This deep tradition of volunteerism isn’t just symbolic—it’s built into the very structure of hospice care. All Medicare-certified hospices are required to have volunteers actively involved in patient and family support, reflecting the core values of compassion and community care that define the field.Editor's note: Throughout the year, find this and more national observances on our newsletters "Healthcare Observances" tab at the top of our website, https://www.hospicepalliativecaretoday.com/resources/healthcare-observances.

VNA Hospice NWI celebrates some of its most dedicated volunteers at Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast NWI.LIFE, Valparaiso, IN; by Philip Bolton; 4/7/25 On the morning of Saturday, April 5, VNA Hospice of Northwest Indiana hosted its annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast at Christ Lutheran Church in Valparaiso. Volunteers who assist with VNA’s many services, including hospice and palliative care, the Medical Guardian help button program, the We Honor Veterans program, the Phoenix Center for Grief, and VNA Meals on Wheels of Porter County, were recognized. ... Matthew Naillieux, a VNA Hospice NWI volunteer, has proudly worked with the organization for 20 years. “Everything VNA Hospice NWI does is good for the community,” Naillieux said. ... "Usually, we’re volunteering at different locations at different times, and we aren’t able to get together like this very often." ... During the award presentation segment of the event, volunteers were recognized for milestone achievements. These included awards for achievements like 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service ... [Continue reading ...]Editor's note: Reminder that April is National Volunteer Month; April 20-26, 2025 is National Volunteer Week.

Nurse honor guard hoping to grow in South Dakota Sisseton Courier, Sisston, SD; by Brenner Cariveau; 4/4/25Nurse Honor Guard is a national organization which aims to honor the life of a nurse in funeral services. Traveling home, health and hospice nurse Laura Frankenhoff said the ceremonies help highlight the career of the nurses and is a way to ensure they are recognized for the work they have done as a nurse. Nurse Honor Guard has been performing ceremonies to honor the lives of nurses nationwide since their inception in the 1980s, Frankenhoff said. Regarding the honor guard, the base is made up of volunteers, according to Frankenhoff. "It's a volunteer chapter. You can make a chapter anywhere." Editor's note: Especially for pioneer hospice organizations--typically non-profits but definitely not all--do you honor those who laid the foundations for the work you're able to do now? If not, how can you? While nurses are absolutely core, how might you also honor your aides, social workers, chaplains, grief counselors, executives, office staff, and others who invested their talents and years in hospice care? May we remember. May we humbly thank and honor them.

‘The most someone wants is to be heard’: Students foster connection, create memoirs for hospice patients The Daily Texan - University of Texas, Austin, TX; 4/3/25 ... Brought to UT in 2023, Last Writers is a service organization where student volunteers interview hospice patients over the course of several months to write a memoir that is then printed and given to the patients and their families. The process is intended to bring comfort to hospice patients and create a physical memento for the families, representing their lives once they pass. ... “It’s not often that you’re a college student and you get to meet someone who is going to pass away in the next few months,” Nguyen said. “To be with them in that very vulnerable point, it gives you a lot of perspectives. A lot of our members come out of it realizing how much they have to live for. … It makes us more grateful in life and puts our mortality into perspective.” [Continue reading ...]

Hospital workers share 26 deathbed regrets they’ve heard that changed their lives Boredpanda; by Ruta Zumbrickaite; 3/28/25 While painful, regret can also be a motivator for learning and growth, encouraging us to avoid repeating past mistakes and make better decisions in the future. We guess that’s why self-help author Debbie Ford once said, “Pain can be our greatest teacher.” Someone on the web asked hospital workers, “What regrets do you hear from dying patients?”, and folks who’ve been there in people’s last moments shared the words that hit them the hardest. Here’s a list of some of their most profound responses.  

Carolyn Hax: Does sibling love justify traveling to abusive mom’s deathbed?The Washington Post, Washington, DC; 3/24/25 Sister asks the letter writer to join her at their dying mom’s bedside — despite their PTSD-inducing childhoods. [The rest of this article may require a subscription to The Washington Post.]Editor's note: Even if you're not able to access the full article, what does this question stir in you? Be aware that many family caregivers (or simply family members) face complex, conflicted relationships with the persons they are tending--or in this case, even considering visiting or not. Be attuned to these common, everyday occurrences that your direct care interdisciplinary team members regularly navigate. What family systems' education and support do you provide for them?

Revamped tool can reliably assess pain symptoms in dementia patients: researchers McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 3/17/25 ... A team of researchers reconstructed the End-of-Life Dementia-Comfort Assessment in Dying, or EOLD-CAD, after a multifacility study showed that caregivers could adequately and reliably address a host of pain symptoms seen in end-of-life dementia patients. ... When clinicians working in the SNFs that were part of the trials used the EOLD-CAD, they were able to detect patterns in more than 600 residents that fell into four categories: physical distress, symptoms of dying, emotional distress, and well-being. Common symptoms observed across these categories were restlessness, shortness of breath, choking, gurgling, difficulty in swallowing, fear and anxiety. ...

My Stories program preserves cherished memories of patients in hospice The Alpena News, Alpena, MI; by Reagan Voetberg; 3/8/25 The Hospice of Michigan in Alpena preserves the stories of patients, not in a book or photo album, but on a flashdrive. It’s called the My Stories program. Patients in hospice are given the opportunity to video record their stories and memories for their loved ones to hear once they’ve passed. Patients do not have to pay a dime to record their life stories. Alpena’s Hospice of Michigan Volunteer Program Coordinator Kristie Lukes talked about how meaningful the My Stories project is to patients and their families. Lukes coordinates volunteers to help patients with their recordings. Lukes explained further what My Stories is. “It’s a recording of the patient’s life and the stories that they want to share with family and patients,” she said. “So it becomes kind of a legacy project.” 

Local teen helps patients at the end of life preserve memories 10 Tampa Bay YouTube channel; 3/6/25 A bittersweet and beautiful story this morning. A local teen is helping  patients at the end of life preserve memories to pass on to family. The Lifetime Legacies program through Empath Health can be in the form of a journal or a video, too. ... It's hard to think about, losing a loved one, but this is a great way to celebrate their lived experience. ... While chipping away at Bright Futures Community service hours, Zoe Lazanowski found purpose and passion. ... A volunteer with Suncoast Hospice (a member of Empath Health), Zoe helps interview patients who want to be part of the Lifetime Legacies program. Memories are documented from their childhood, family history, and sharing special stories. "One of my favorite things to ask was what advice they would have for the family ..."

These Portland-area hospice patients need goods. Do you know how to knit or sew? Portland Tribune, West Linn, OR; by Hannah Seibold; 2/26/25 Dust off those sewing machines or grab a knitting needle because Positive Charge! PDX is inviting Portland-area folks to help those in hospice. The Stitches for Hospice project calls on Portland metro-area crafters — from beginner to expert — to sew or knit adult clothing protectors (bibs) and catheter bag covers for terminally ill neighbors and folks being served by hospice programs. “As a retired hospice social worker, I’ve seen firsthand over many years how fragile dignity can be in the final months and weeks of a person’s life. I wanted to do something that would enhance that dignity and brought the idea to Positive Charge! PDX. With a history of amplifying kindness with ‘crafting for causes’ projects—they ran with it,” said Maggie Alberton, a donor to the program.

National Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2025U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; by Crystal Peruski; 2/18/25 The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 designates March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration honors all Veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time from November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location. To learn more about the Vietnam War Commemoration, visit 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration | Vietnam War Commemoration. Editor's note: Mark your calendars. Engage your volunteers who serve veterans. How might this intersect with your intergenerational employees and volunteers? Note that 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. For support specific to hospice and grief care:

Interdisciplinary strategies for establishing a trusting relation as a pre-requisite for existential conversations in palliative care: a grounded theory study BMC Palliative Care - Part of Springer Nature, Open Acces; by Annica Lagerin, Christina Melin-Johansson, Bodil Holmberg, Tove Godskesen, Elin Hjorth, Lena Junehag, Carina Lundh Hagelin, Anneli Ozanne, Johan Sundelöf & Camilla Udo; 2/19/25... This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) experiences of existential conversations with patients with PC needs and their next-of-kin by generating a theoretical model. ... To emphasize the importance of ethical competence for quality patient care, particularly in PC, a combination of care ethics, clinical proficiency, relational skills and effective communication is essential. ... The potential obstacles we identified that require attention include the need for managers ... to support HCPs by allowing time for reflection, developing new routines, and providing education focused on existential conversations in PC. However, the main contribution of this study is the description of the interdisciplinary strategies HCPs used to establish meaningful, existential conversations by maintaining presence, as this paved the way for trusting conversations with patients and next-of-kin. Editor's note: Pair this with today's article "Why being trustworthy is a leadership hack that drives success."