Literature Review

What is water cremation and why did Pa. lawmakers just back a bill to legalize it? LeighValleyLive.com, Leigh Valley, PA; by Lehigh Valley Community News; 10/5/25 The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation on Wednesday authorizing alkaline hydrolysis, commonly known as water cremation, as an approved cremation method in the state. The bill would give Pennsylvania families a more environmentally sustainable option for end-of-life services. Alkaline hydrolysis uses a mixture of water and alkali in a sealed pressurized steel chamber to reduce the body to bone, which is then processed into ash. The process consumes significantly less energy than traditional flame cremation, which requires temperatures exceeding 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Mayo Clinic, alkaline hydrolysis uses only about one-quarter of the energy required for flame cremation. 

Today is the 2025 World Hospice & Palliative Care Day: Achieving the Promise: Universal Access to Palliative Care Organized by the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance; primary article by Stephen Connor; in preparation for 10/11/25This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day (World Day). What started as ‘Voices for Hospice’ concerts around the world turned into a day to recognise hospice and palliative care starting in 2005. Having a day each year to recognise the importance of hospice and palliative care is a valuable part of every health care movement and is essential for advocacy and awareness raising. World Day is organized by the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance each second Saturday in October, this year on 11 October 2025, on behalf of the global palliative care community, including international, national, and regional palliative care organisations such as the IAHPC, ICPCN, PallCHASE, APCA, EAPC, ALCP, APHN, and including national organisations such as the IAPC.Editor's Note: Additional links of interest include ...

Emergency Departments report more consults for hospice, palliative care Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; by Michigan State University; 9/25/25 One-third of Americans will visit an emergency department, or ED, within a month of their death. While EDs are primarily purposed to provide emergent care, they’re increasingly becoming an initial touchpoint for hospice and palliative care, or HPC, referrals and consultations, according to a new study from several researchers at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences.  Why this matters:

Initiation of pregabalin vs gabapentin and development of heart failureJAMA Network Open; by Elizabeth E. Park, Laura L. Daniel, Alyson L. Dickson, Meghan Corriere, Puran Nepal, Kathi Hall, W. Dale Plummer, William D. Dupont, Katherine T. Murray, C. Michael Stein, Wayne A. Ray, Cecilia P. Chung; 8/25Both pregabalin and gabapentin are common nonopioid medications used to treat chronic pain, which affects up to 30% of patients. Because pregabalin has greater potency than gabapentin in binding to the α2δ subunit of the L-type calcium channel, pregabalin may be associated with an increased risk for heart failure (HF). The findings suggest that pregabalin should be prescribed with caution in older patients with noncancer chronic pain.

B2B website navigation: Structure that guides complex buyersTrajectory; updated 9/29/25 ...  42% of users will abandon your website as soon as they experience issues with functionality or usability. ... When someone can't find basic information quickly, they don't just leave your website. They question your company's competence. ... If [the site visitor] can't find the information category they need within 10-20 seconds, they often assume it doesn't exist and leave. That's not much time to prove you have answers to their complex questions. Your navigation must immediately signal that you understand their needs and have the depth of information they require.Editor's Note: Though written for B2B, these lessons matter for hospice websites (B2C). Patients, caregivers, healthcare decision makers, and family members of diverse generations need clarity in moments of stress. Review your website’s navigation through their intergenerational eyes—can they quickly find what hospice is and how to begin care? Clear pathways reflect the heart of hospice care: guidance and compassion.

Expert: In preparation for debut of HOPE tool Wednesday, hospices should provide training, adhere to timelines McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 9/28/25 With the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool scheduled to roll out Wednesday, hospice providers need to get up to speed, ... Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations and policy at LeadingAge, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse ... "To be successful with the new tool, providers need to adhere to a few best practices. ... Providers should have a designated staff member making sure that their assessments are uploaded within 30 days of completion and that they are accepted by the iQIES system,” she said. “In the first quarter of implementation, meeting the 90% threshold for timely reporting of data is key.” Barnett added, “Providers need to make sure they’re meeting the two-day timeline for symptom follow-up visits and that they’re tracking completion either within their EMR or externally. This is really important since the visits will count towards publicly reported quality measures starting in January.”Guest Editor's Note, from Judi Lund-Person: For patients who are already on service on October 1, hospices will only use the HOPE discharge process and will not use the HUV or SFV visits.  Have you registered for iQIES yet? There is still time….. although every hospice will want to pay close attention to the 90% compliance threshold – if it is not met, there could be a 4% payment reduction for the following year. Good luck with your final preparations!

40 HR executives gathered to discuss today’s biggest challenges: Here is what they said Seramount; by Grace Licsko; 9/26/25 This month, Seramount convened more than 40 CHROs and senior HR leaders for our latest HR Executive Board Roundtable. The event included findings from Seramount’s interviews with 100 CHROs and featured a fireside chat with Jacqui Canney, Chief People and AI Enablement Officer at ServiceNow. Across the day, participants exchanged perspectives on a wide range of priorities, from culture and hybrid work to sustaining employee well-being. But the conversation largely centered around GenAI. Below are some key takeaways and themes from the conversation. 

One year after Hurricane Helene: Lessons in resilience, recovery, and renewal Hospice & Palliative Care Today; Joy Berger and Cordt Kassner with Vern Grindstaff, Millicent Burke-Sinclair, and Chris Comeaux; 9/26/25 At this time last year, Hospice & Palliative Care Today brought you a series of articles reporting on the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast, focusing on hospices in the North Carolina mountains. We remain deeply grateful for the many ways you—our readers and colleagues—rallied in support of those hospice organizations and their communities during their time of urgent need. This Saturday, September 27, 2025, marks the one-year anniversary of that epic disaster. To reflect on what has been learned and how recovery has unfolded, Vern Grindstaff (CEO of Compassionate Care WNC, Burnsville, NC), Millicent Burke-Sinclair (President and CEO of Four Seasons, Flat Rock, NC), and Chris Comeaux (President and CEO of Teleios Collaborative Network, Flat Rock, NC) gathered in conversation with Cordt Kassner (publisher) and Joy Berger (editor-in-chief). The insights that follow honor the hospice employees who persevered to provide urgent patient care. We celebrate their spirit of compassionate community and courageous problem-solving from the onset one year ago through ongoing recovery.

Shutdown places brakes on hospital-at-home, sending hundreds back to strained hospitals McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy and Liza Berger; 10/1/25The shutdown of the federal government Wednesday has brought the hospital-at-home program to a screeching halt, resulting in hundreds of patients being discharged from the program or sent to hospitals for continuation of care, stressing an already-taxed healthcare system, providers disclosed to McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. ... Several weeks ago, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instructed hospital-at-home programs to discharge or return patients to the hospital as of Tuesday. CMS also said it no longer would accept waiver requests for participation in the AHCaH initiative after Sept. 1, 2025. Late Wednesday, CMS announced that it will allow up to 60 days of noncompliance with the AHCaH waiver. 

Awards and Recognitions: September 2025

Expert: In preparation for debut of HOPE tool Wednesday, hospices should provide training, adhere to timelines McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 9/28/25 With the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool scheduled to roll out Wednesday, hospice providers need to get up to speed, ... Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations and policy at LeadingAge, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse ... "To be successful with the new tool, providers need to adhere to a few best practices. ... Providers should have a designated staff member making sure that their assessments are uploaded within 30 days of completion and that they are accepted by the iQIES system,” she said. “In the first quarter of implementation, meeting the 90% threshold for timely reporting of data is key.” Barnett added, “Providers need to make sure they’re meeting the two-day timeline for symptom follow-up visits and that they’re tracking completion either within their EMR or externally. This is really important since the visits will count towards publicly reported quality measures starting in January.”Guest Editor's Note, from Judi Lund-Person: For patients who are already on service on October 1, hospices will only use the HOPE discharge process and will not use the HUV or SFV visits.  Have you registered for iQIES yet? There is still time….. although every hospice will want to pay close attention to the 90% compliance threshold – if it is not met, there could be a 4% payment reduction for the following year. Good luck with your final preparations!

55% of healthcare workers plan to change roles within 1 year: Survey Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 9/15/25 More than half of U.S. healthcare workers plan to change roles in the next year, according to a recent survey from Strategic Education. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they plan to search for job openings, interview for new positions or switch roles within a year — either within their current organization (38%) or externally (40%). ... Here are 11 things to know from the survey:

RECAP: NPHI convenes national leaders in Washington for annual fall Leadership Conference National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation; Press Release; 9/23/25 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) brought together CEOs and senior leaders from across the country last week for its Washington Leadership Conference, the organization’s annual fall gathering in the nation’s capital. ...