Literature Review

Top regrets people have in their final days Family Minded; by Owen Chase; updated on 9/17/25 ... When doctors and nurses spend time at the bedside, they listen to regrets that cut through small talk and trends. These regrets tell us that the things we don’t do often weigh more than the mistakes we make. 

The Alliance expresses concerns regarding MACPAC approach to HCBS rate setting National Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/18/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) released the following statement in response to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission’s (MACPAC) discussion regarding home- and community-based services (HCBS) rate-setting held during today’s September MACPAC meeting. The Alliance appreciates MACPAC’s interest in addressing issues related to worker pay in HCBS. These workers should receive higher wages and benefits as they are the backbone of the long-term care system in our country. ... Unfortunately, we are concerned about the draft recommendation MACPAC discussed during today’s meeting. Rather than seeking to address the root-cause of low worker wages, MACPAC’s recommendation instead focuses on collecting additional information that would further describe the issue. This approach increases administrative burden on states and providers without actually proposing solutions to this problem.

Harvey Max Chochinov, MD PhD - selected publicationsHospice & Palliative Care Today compilation; Cordt Kassner; 9/17/25Publisher's note: This week I attended a brilliant webinar by Dr. Chochinov, "Dignity, personhood and intensive caring: New insights into patient suffering", part of the McGill University "Lessons in living from the dying" lecture series. To highlight a few of his books and 200+ articles:

Social Media Watch 9/19/25

Delaware Hospice names McDonough next chief executive officer Coastal Point; Press Release; 9/23/25 The Board of Trustees of Delaware hospice has appointed Charles McDonough, MHA, as the organization’s next chief executive officer, succeeding Susan D. Lloyd, RN, MSN, who has served in the position for more than 38 years. “On behalf of the Board, I am honored to welcome Charles McDonough as the next CEO of Delaware Hospice,” said Board Chair Dan McCarthy. “Charles is a proven healthcare leader with deep expertise in hospice, palliative care and home health services. His career reflects a remarkable record of operational excellence, growth leadership and the development of compassionate care platforms. We are confident he will build upon Susan’s extraordinary legacy and guide Delaware Hospice into its next chapter of service and innovation.” ... McDonough will join Delaware Hospice on Sept. 29.

Texas did not calculate or collect hospice cap overpayments totaling $10.5 million HHS-OIG; Report number: A-06-24-09001; Issued on 9/17/25, Posted on 9/22/5 

Heart disease tops US mortality in 2024, CDC reports McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Foster Stubbs; 9/12/25 The leading causes of death in the United States in 2024 were heart disease, cancer and unintentional injury, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a September report. ... In total, there were 3,072,039 total deaths that occurred in the US in 2024 with a death rate of 722.0 per 100,000 people. This was 3.8% lower than the totals in 2023. Death rates also decreased for all race and ethnicity groups but rates for Black people remain higher than those for all other groups. Overall, death rates were highest for males, older adults and Black people, demonstrating a need for further examination of the health of these demographic groups. Heart disease caused 683,037 deaths, cancer caused 619,812 deaths and unintentional injury resulted in 196,488 deaths. Mortality statistics were collected by The National Center for Health Statistics’ (NCHS) National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) using US death certificate data. [The CDC Report is at Vital Statistics Rapid Release, Number 039, September 2025.]

What I learned about dying while caring for my husbandBK Books; by Barbara Karnes; 9/3/25It is hard to comprehend that our special person will die no matter what we do. No matter how many treatments, how much medicine, or how much food we give, death will come. We often don’t see what we don’t want to see. When it comes to acknowledging the end of life’s approach, this sentence is very true. My husband recently died of cancer. I am an end of life educator. I know what dying looks like, how it progresses, and what to do to support the person on their journey. Here are some insights that have been added to my knowledge as the result of walking in caregiver shoes...Publisher's note: Having a family member die earlier this year and building on Barbara's theme, I ask hospice providers, "Does the hospice care your loved one received match the quality of hospice care you deliver?"

Social Media Watch 9/12/25

New Salem-based hospice opens with focus on nursing staff wellness Salem Reporter, Salem, OR; by Hailey Cook; 9/11/25 After 12 years working as a hospice nurse, Christie Rivelli reached her breaking point. The pressure had built since the pandemic, when her workload went from 15 patients at a time to 28. ... By opening a new, locally-owned hospice company, they’re bucking a trend. ... Solterra currently has a staff of 19, with a range of one to three decades of experience in hospice care. As a nurse herself, Rivelli said she’s prioritized her staff’s workload and benefits. Everyone starts by getting training about post-traumatic stress disorder, and she said new hires have had trouble adjusting to a slower pace of work. ... Rivelli said. “Downtime in your workday should be built in … but boy, that’s not how it’s been in hospice.” She said some companies will assign 40 patients to one nurse, which forces the nurses to do pop-in check-ups rather than getting to know their patients. It can also mean the patient will see a rotation of unfamiliar faces rather than one nurse.

Fulfilling end-of-life dreams: A scoping review of bucket lists in palliative and hospice care Palliative Supportive Care - Cambridge University Press; by Swasati Handique, Michael Bennett and Scott D Ryan; 9/12/25 Results: Four major themes were established using thematic content analysis: (1) impact on holistic well-being, (2) role of family in wish fulfillment, (3) cultivation of gratitude, and (4) collaborative leadership in wish fulfillment. In wish fulfillment, the results significantly pointed to the need for more intricate evaluation among patients and interventions that cover beyond the physical aspect. Significance of results: Palliative and hospice care settings should work toward securing sustainable funding for structured wish-fulfillment programs to address existing accessibility gaps and further enhance the holistic nature of care in these settings. Editor's Note: For hospice organizations that can receive donations, setting up a Wish/Bucket List Fund makes for a meaningful, easy-to-demonstrate ROI on donated gifts. With this, you need to have some type of discretionary review/approval process in place, with assurances of confidentiality when important to the person and/or family.

Hospice AI - Summarize national and state hospice utilization trends over the past 10 yearsHospice & Palliative Care Today staff; 9/15/25Today we asked ChatGPT to summarize hospice utilization trends over the past decade using a spreadsheet uploaded from Hospice Analytics. One "key takeaway" was that growth is slowing nationally, suggesting hospice has matured in penetration, though opportunities remain in underutilizing states. Click here for the 4-page detailed summary, including AI-generated charts. Of note, while the AI-generated charts were correct, the accompanying text was incorrect - reinforcing the need for humans to double-check output!

Over 240 advocates rally in DC for the future of care at home: National Alliance for Care at Home hosts Inaugural Advocacy Week on Capitol Hill National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 9/12/25 More than 240 care at home care advocates from across the country met with over 275 congressional offices this week to discuss key legislative and regulatory priorities for expanding access to home-based care services. The meetings were part of the 2025 National Alliance for Care at Home’s inaugural Advocacy Week. Alliance Advocacy Week brings together leaders, advocates, and supporters to unite as one voice for care at home, driving positive legislative change and shaping the future of care to ensure broader access to the life-changing home care services for all Americans.