Literature Review

Nathan Adelson Hospice celebrates ‘Make A Will’ Month: The trusted hospice facility to offer free will-planning resources throughout the month of August Nevada Business; by Nathan Adelson Hospice; 8/1/25 ... For the month of August, Nathan Adelson Hospice aims to help inspire individuals to recognize the people closest to them in their lives, articulate their final desires, and ensure that all wishes are granted when the time comes, by offering a free resource, FreeWill. This resource aims to guide the community through the necessary steps of outlining a will and handling all wishes with dignity and care. “At Nathan Adelson Hospice, we understand that topics surrounding end-of-life care are always challenging. However, we believe in the power of communication and planning ahead,” says Lori Towsend, Executive Director. 

Treasure Coast Hospice announces endowment for pediatric patients WQCS News, NPR for the Treasure Coast, Stuart, FL; by Justin Breckenridge; 7/19/25 The Treasure Coast Hospice Foundation has established a new endowment honoring local philanthropist Marlene K. Filer and her long-standing commitment to children’s health programs in Martin County. ... The Marlene K. Filer Celebrities Fore Kids Endowment will support children and families receiving care through the organization’s Little Treasures Pediatric Program. The program provides comprehensive support for children facing life-limiting illnesses. Filer, founder of Celebrities Fore Kids, has raised more than $3 million since 1997 to support children’s services throughout the region. 

AMOREM cuts ribbon on long-awaited hospice patient care unit WataugaDemocrat.com, Boone, NC; by Abigail Eggers; 7/30/25 Boone’s long-awaited and first hospice patient care unit, AMOREM’s SECU Patient Care Unit, has officially opened. “AMOREM has long believed in the power of a hospice patient care unit. In fact, we opened North Carolina’s very first patient care unit in 1989. We’ve seen firsthand the comfort these places bring to our patients,” said April Moore, CEO of AMOREM, at the July 25 ribbon cutting. AMOREM purchased the land for the facility in January 2020. A month later, the property was annexed into the town of Boone. In October 2020, the state approved AMOREM’s request for six inpatient beds in Watauga County, and first broke ground on the property in September 2023.Editor's Note: Congratulations to AMOREM. Their January 2020 purchase plans were surely interrupted by March 2020's COVID. After breaking ground in September 2023, Hurricane Helene hit this mountain in September 2024. Having had family who lived in this area, your resilience and tenacity through especially challenging time is inspiring. 

Agrace: Selected as preferred hospice provider to Crossing Rivers Health WisBusiness; Prairie du Chien, WI; Press Release; 7/30/25 Agrace, Wisconsin’s largest nonprofit hospice, is pleased to announce that after months of discussions with Crossing Rivers Health, it will take over the health system’s hospice program. The two organizations have also entered into a Preferred Partner Agreement to support the local community’s ongoing needs for high quality end of life care. This agreement comes three months after Agrace’s preferred partnership with Oakwood Village Communities and supports Agrace’s rapid growth across the state of Wisconsin. Crossing Rivers Health, based in Prairie du Chien, has decided to close its hospice service line to focus on their core healthcare services. Current Wisconsin Crossing Rivers Health Hospice patients will have the option to transition to Agrace’s care by the end of September. 

Montville Township man golfs 100 holes for charity The Gazette, Montville Township, NJ; by Sara Crawford; 7/29/25 While a thick fog may have covered Fox Meadow Country Club on Monday morning, Montville Township resident Pat Spoerndle didn’t let that stop him from starting to golf at 6:30 a.m. as he played 100 holes of golf in one day as part of his annual charity event, “100 for Hospice.” In 2009, Spoerndle decided to host a one-time charitable golf outing. He set a goal of $10,000 and made plans to play 100 holes of golf within a day, all for Hospice of Medina County. “I was going to do it just the one time,” he said. “(I then) decided it would be wrong to do because we were able to raise so much money for a great organization. We just built on it every year.” Since the fundraiser’s start 17 years ago, Spoerndle has raised almost $600,000 for Hospice of Medina County. He expects to raise more than $25,000 this year, but said it’s too early to tell how much they’ve raised.

Aveanna SVP: Hospice providers fed up with fraud Hospice News; by JIm Parker; 7/29/25 Issues surrounding Medicare fraud are “top of mind” for hospice providers, according to Jim Melancon, senior vice president of government affairs at Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (Nasdaq: AVAH). Reports of hospice fraud have proliferated in recent years, particularly in the four hotbed states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. Fraudulent operators have used a slew of illegal or unethical tactics, such as enrolling Medicare beneficiaries in hospice care without their knowledge or without providing services. ... One principal tactic among fraudulent hospices is maintaining multiple provider numbers, hospice leaders told Hospice News on background. This enables perpetrators of fraud to move patients between the various hospices they own. Another common practice is transferring patients who have reached the payment cap to avoid recoupment.

National Alliance for Care at Home hosts inaugural Financial Summit National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/30/25 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) successfully hosted its inaugural event, the 2025 Alliance Financial Summit, July 27-29 in Chicago, IL. The Summit brought together financial leaders from across the care at home community, with expert-led sessions, peer collaboration, and insights into market shifts and emerging technologies. More than 700 attendees and exhibitors participated in the comprehensive program, which featured keynote presentations, concurrent educational sessions, networking opportunities, awards, and celebration. ... “This first Alliance event exceeded our expectations, bringing together care at home leaders from across the nation to connect, learn, and recommit to our shared vision of an America where everyone has access to the highest quality, person-centered healthcare wherever they call home,” said Alliance CEO Dr. Steve Landers.

Hospice East Bay workers to strike Tuesday KRON-4, Bay Area, CA; by Bay City News; 7/29/25 Hospice East Bay workers say they will strike Tuesday to protest spiking caseloads. Nearly 80 nurses, social workers, chaplains and bereavement counselors at Hospice East Bay joined the National Union of Healthcare Workers in 2023. The group said they’re still seeking their first contract after about 18 months of negotiations. The group said Friday in a statement they “are fed up with a severe understaffing of nurses and frustrated that management is bargaining in bad faith and refusing to enshrine existing patient care protocols into a contract before the hospice turns over control to an out-of-state chain.” 

Decades-old SLO County hospice nonprofit suddenly collapsed. What happened? The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, CA; by Chloe Shrager; 7/27/25 A beloved San Luis Obispo-based home health and hospice care nonprofit suddenly closed its doors last month after nearly 80 years of service, leaving many in the community wondering what went wrong. For decades, Wilshire Health and Community Services offered clinical hospice care, home health and other vital community services to SLO County’s ill and aging. Just over a month before its permanent closure, Wilshire had a booth set up at the California Association For Health Services At Home Annual Conference and Expo in Rancho Mirage on May 19 to 22. The organization had started making plans for its annual fundraiser held at the Hearst Ranch Dairy Barn in August and was still accepting donations. Business appeared to be booming. Now, Wilshire’s offices are emptied out, its website has been taken down, its Hospice Hope Chest thrift store has shut down for good and the once-thriving organization is in the process of filing for bankruptcy. So, how did things turn south so quickly? ... 

Willey Family Foundation dedicates patient suite and garden at Aroostook House of Comfort The County, Presque Isle, ME; Press Release; 7/24/25 The Aroostook Hospice Foundation is honored to announce the dedication of its first named patient suite at the Aroostook House of Comfort, made possible through a generous commitment from the Willey Family Foundation. This marks a major  milestone in the Foundation’s recently revitalized Naming Opportunities Campaign, launched to sustain and strengthen its mission while offering a meaningful way for donors to create lasting legacies. With a pledge of $15,000 annually, the Willey Family Foundation will fulfill and exceed the $50,000 naming level for a patient suite. This dedication is in loving memory of Philip and Vivian Willey. In addition to the suite, the family is also naming a garden area outside the suite  window, providing a serene space for reflection and comfort. Through donor-advised funding managed by the Maine Community Foundation, the Willey Family Foundation has contributed more than $47,000 to the Aroostook Hospice Foundation to date.

Dignity at risk: hospice care faces critical worker shortage amidst policy challenges ABC WCIV-4 News, Charleston, SC; by Webb Wright; 7/23/25 Officials are giving dire predictions for the future of palliative care and hospice care. There's a rapidly growing need for nurses and healthcare workers in those areas, including home healthcare and nursing home workers. Educators and facilitators in those areas of care are working to prevent a crisis that's expected to peak in less than a decade. By 2033, the number of new projected jobs in this area of healthcare is expected to be more than 820,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With a median starting salary of under $35,000, recruiters and workers are scrambling to fill the void sooner rather than later.

Following Hugh Chatham deal, county takes control of hospice The Daily Reflector, Greenville, NC; by Ryan Kelly; 7/23/25 A special meeting of the Northern Hospital District was called as part of Monday night's regular meeting of the Surry County Board of Commissioners. As there has been ongoing effort to find a suitable partner, investor, or buyer of the hospital, some hoped the special meeting may address the matter; that was not the case. The board did, however, unanimously approve a resolution allowing the Northern Hospital District, which is comprised of the Surry County Board of Commissioners, to exercise its contractual right to become the sole owner of Hospice of Surry County, Inc., which operates as Mountain Valley Hospice. This action ended a 20-year partnership with Hugh Chatham Health and was triggered by a change in control at the Elkin-based hospital. ... "Northern wishes to timely exercise its contractual right to become the sole member of Hospice due to the change of control of Hugh Chatham," the resolution states.