Literature Review

VNA Care names Salvatore Perla, DrPH, as President and Chief Executive Officer VNA Care, Worcester, MA; Press Release; 3/30/26 VNA Care, one of the Commonwealth’s largest independent nonprofit home health, hospice, palliative care, and private care providers, today announced the appointment of Salvatore (Sal) Perla, DrPH, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Perla will begin this role on April 6. ... Perla is a longtime resident of Leominster, Mass., who brings more than 25 years of experience leading multi-site healthcare organizations through growth, service line expansion, and integration of post-acute and home health services across the care continuum. 

Private equity, AI, and the future of end-of-life care | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 4/1/26 In this thought-provoking episode, Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner unpack some of the most pressing forces shaping the future of end-of-life care—private equity, rising healthcare costs, and the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence. Grounded in real-world stories and industry data, the conversation explores a growing tension between the promise of Hospice as a gold-standard care model and the operational, financial, and expectation gaps that providers and families are increasingly experiencing.

Hyder Family Hospice House to close. Strafford County leader: 'We're broke' Seacoastonline, Dover, NH; by Karen Dandurant; 4/2/26 Hyder Family Hospice House will close within a few weeks, Strafford County officials announced April 2, stating the decision reflects dire county finances. "We are not happy about it, but we are out of options," said County Commission Chair George Maglaras. "... We will try to find a way, maybe by renovating a wing at Riverside (Rest Home) that was closed during COVID, to find room for the few patients we currently have. This is very personal to me. We fought hard to keep this on county land. Closing this goes against every fiber of my being."

Hospice groups: 2.4% proposed pay raise threatens care delivery Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 4/3/26 Two of the nation’s largest hospice trade organizations decried a proposed 2.4% hospice base rate increase as inadequate in today’s financial climate. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday issued its proposed payment rule for hospices in 2027 containing a 2.4% payment increase. If finalized, this would result in a $785 million payment boost from Fiscal Year 2026. The amount of the proposed pay raise puts the sustainability of hospice care in jeopardy, according to Linda Couch, senior vice president for policy at LeadingAge.

Private equity, AI, and the future of end-of-life care | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 4/1/26 In this thought-provoking episode, Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner unpack some of the most pressing forces shaping the future of end-of-life care—private equity, rising healthcare costs, and the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence. Grounded in real-world stories and industry data, the conversation explores a growing tension between the promise of Hospice as a gold-standard care model and the operational, financial, and expectation gaps that providers and families are increasingly experiencing.

Hospice House board announces plans to sell shuttered facility Owatonna Peoples Press, Owatonna, MN; by Josh Lafollette; 4/1/26 For nearly two decades, Homestead Hospice House brought peace and comfort to community members in their final days, and brought joy to their loved ones in even the most trying times. Today, the house sits empty, despite the concerted efforts of local volunteers. After efforts to reopen the house stalled last year, the HHH board has announced plans to sell the facility and surrounding acreage, and use the proceeds to establish a fund dedicated to supporting local end-of-life care services.

Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care achieves highest quality score in organization’s history Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care, Colorado Springs, CO; Press Release; 3/27/26 Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care has earned its highest quality ranking ever — a score of 94 out of 100 — on the National Hospice Locator, a nationwide directory that evaluates hospice providers using publicly available quality data. The National Hospice Locator compiles information from Medicare data files, public websites, and direct surveys of hospice providers. Using multiple weighted quality metrics, the platform evaluates thousands of hospice programs across the United States and allows users to compare providers based on quality rankings. With a national average score of approximately 67, a score of 94 places Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care well above the national benchmark and among the highest-rated hospice organizations in Colorado.Editor's Note: What are your organization's publicly reported quality scores? Explore more at the National Hospice Locator. [Disclosure, NHL sponsors this newsletter.]

The corporate brand, culture, and the CISO: Why understanding the business is non-negotiable Halcyon; by Gary Hayslip; 3/30/26 Over the course of my career as a Chief Information Security Officer, I have come to a conclusion that many of my peers eventually reach, though sometimes the hard way: if you do not understand your company's brand and culture, you will never build a security program that is truly aligned to the business. ... This is not a soft topic. It is foundational. The relationship between corporate brand, internal business culture, and cybersecurity strategy is one of the most underappreciated dynamics in our profession, and I believe it deserves far more attention than it typically receives.

Live Oak Bank grant supports Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Hospice nurses, addresses growing care shortage in North Carolina Business Insider, Wilmington, NC; Press Release; 3/31/26 Live Oak Bank is highlighting the impact of a $300,000 grant to the Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Scholars program. LifeCare Scholars is designed to recruit, train, and retain registered nurses in hospice and palliative care, strengthening the essential healthcare workforce across southeastern North Carolina. LifeCare Scholars offers a six-month residency to new graduate nurses, blending classroom learning, mentorship, and hands-on clinical experience to help registered nurses transition into hospice and palliative care at no cost to participants. [Launched in 2021, read more for "Proven Impact an Measurable Outcomes"]

Special Report - Untapped potential: The power of peer support programs in prisons John Howard Association of Illinois; project led by Kate Eves; March 2026 issue At the time this report was drafted, there were more than 70 Peer Support Programs (PSP) in U.S. carceral facilities identified in operation with a focus on improving health outcomes for incarcerated people with more new programs regularly coming to our attention, in addition to international programs. This project focused on 15 programs across 12 jurisdictions addressing a range of health and well-being areas including mental health, substance abuse and palliative care. [Use Ctrl+F and type "hospice" to find this report's 28 references to hospice.]

Hospice of Wichita Falls celebrates donors and volunteers KFDX/KJTL, Wichita Falls, TX; Press Release; 3/27/26 An evening of gratitude took stage as Hospice of Wichita Falls celebrated the people who make its mission possible. The organization hosted its annual Maverick Appreciation Dinner at the MPEC on Thursday, March 26, bringing together donors, volunteers, staff, media and community partners for a night focused on recognition and connection. 

Documented California hospice fraud prompts broad ranging inquiry from national oversight and accountability organization Empower Oversight - Whistleblowers & Research, Washington, DC; 3/26/26 Empower Oversight today pressed for comprehensive records from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) related to hospice fraud and oversight failures across California — with a particular focus on Los Angeles County. The records request targets widespread regulatory failures in the county. The letter request spans five broad categories asking for:

‘No one is safe’ in CMS’ fraud fight Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 3/25/26 The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is casting a wide net in its anti-fraud efforts, and some legitimate providers are finding themselves on the hook. ... CMS has pledged to crack down hard on fraudulent hospices, but to date some of their efforts lack transparency and could represent a threat to honest providers, according to Andrew Brenton, attorney with Husch Blackwell. “With the wide net that CMS is casting, certainly, good hospices are being caught up in that,” Brenton said at the Hospice News ELEVATE conference. “I think no one is really safe, because a lot of this is a black box; the methodology by which CMS chooses which hospices to audit or otherwise target for enforcement is kind of unknown.”