Literature Review

Community raises $520,000 for Sharp HospiceCare at annual regatta The Coronado Times; by Coronado Times Staff; 8/27/26 More than 1,500 guests gathered on San Diego Bay this past weekend for the 23rd Annual Sharp HospiceCare Benefit Dinner and Regatta, raising $520,000 to support compassionate end-of-life care for patients and families through Sharp HospiceCare’s residential hospice homes and programs throughout San Diego County. Hosted in partnership with Coronado Yacht Club and Cortez Racing Association, Sharp HospiceCare’s largest annual fundraiser began Friday evening with a benefit dinner aboard the USS Midway and continued Saturday with the annual regatta. Colorful sailboats filled the bay Saturday as 52 boats competed in the race and more than 40 yacht owners donated their vessels to host viewing parties for guests. 

‘More than just a building:’ As Duke sells historic bereavement center, a town grapples with grief Duke Chronicle; by Dylan Halper; 8/26/26 When Maria Peluso’s father died in April 2014, her family directed all donations to one place: a memorial brick, to be laid in his honor on a pathway near the Duke Hospice Unicorn Bereavement Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. ... Over the ensuing years, the brick became a place of solace and learning for Peluso’s family. Before she died, Peluso’s mother often visited the site, and Peluso [a former Duke University Health System nurse and recipient of this center's bereavement counseling] said she brings her children and grandchildren — who never met her father — to the brick to teach them about his legacy. Underneath her father’s name and lifespan, the brick reads, “I will love you longer than forever.” But while the love of Peluso’s family will endure, the brick itself will be torn up as part of a redevelopment of the property encompassing the former Unicorn Bereavement Center and Duke Hospice at the Meadowlands. 

[Israel] Hadassah Hospice: bringing meaning it life Hadassay.org | Medicine & Research, Jerusalem, Israel; Press Release; 8/26/26 "Outside, there may be conflicts and wars, but inside these walls is a small microcosm, disconnected from the outer world, that concentrates on humanity." This is how Dr. Daniel Azoulay described the Inna and Jack Kay Hospice at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus. ... This October, the hospice is marking 40 years since its founding by Dr. Reuven Fink and nurse Ruth Shahal-Gassner. In the quiet place Dr. Azoulay describes, the staff provides end-of-life palliative care to some 220 patients every year. "There's a closeness here among Jews and Muslims, religious and secular people. At the end of life, everyone is the same — everybody asks that their suffering be alleviated and battles the same anxieties and fears," said Dr. Azoulay, who is head of palliative service and responsible for the Hospice Department.Editor's Note: May we listen and learn. In the midst of our deluge of political wars each way we turn, may we find ways to "concentrate on humanity." Read again: "There's a closeness here among Jews and Muslims, religious and secular people. At the end of life, everyone is the same — everybody asks that their suffering be alleviated and battles the same anxieties and fears."

Miles for Mercy raises more than $4,000 before riders hit the road PR Newswire, Frederick, MD; by American Iron Speed-n-Cycle; 7/25/26 American Iron Speed-n-Cycle has raised more than $4,000 for Frederick Health Hospice through community sponsorships for the 2nd Annual Miles for Mercy Poker Run, nearly doubling the total raised during last year's event before a single rider takes to the road this year [on Oct. 17]. ... "The response from the business community has been incredible," said Tracy O'Clair, marketing manager for American Iron Speed-n-Cycle and organizer of Miles for Mercy. "These businesses aren't simply putting their names on an event. They're choosing to give back to an organization that supports people and families throughout our community during some of the most difficult times in their lives."

From zombies to zealots: cultivating passion and purpose in healthcare leadership | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with DJ Mitsch and Tasha Walsh; 8/26/26 Healthcare professionals often enter the field with a calling—but somewhere between compliance, productivity demands, regulatory pressure, and relentless change, that calling can begin to disappear. In Part One of From Zombies to Zealots, Chris Comeaux is joined by DJ Mitsch, pioneering executive coach, author, and founder of the Healthcare Coaching Institute, and Tasha Walsh, CEO and Executive Director of ConnectionsPlus Healthcare + Hospice.  Together, they explore how passionate, purpose-driven healthcare professionals can gradually become disconnected from the very work that once inspired them. DJ argues that when organizations celebrate productivity and profitability at the expense of people, work becomes transactional rather than transformational—and trust, imagination, and engagement begin to erode.

Hospice nurses at Minnesota-based Allina Health vote to authorize 7-day unfair labor practice strike CBS News Minnesota; by Nicholas Lentz; 8/24/26 Hospice nurses who work for Minnesota-based Allina Health have voted to authorize a seven-day unfair labor practice strike, the union representing them said on Monday. According to Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, all workers who cast a ballot on Friday voted in favor of the strike. The authorization comes amid negotiations to reach a first contract that have been happening for more than a year, SEIU said. Members allege Allina Health is opposed to "creating a fair compensation system that would give nurses extra pay for extra work"  and refuses to pay salaried registered nurses a holiday premium when they are required to work on holidays. The union added that the company also doesn't allow hospice nurses to flex their schedules.

CMS hospice payment suspensions slamming vendors Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/21/26 ... CMS earlier this year began suspending Medicare payments to hundreds of hospices allegedly due to suspected fraud. ... Evidence indicates that some legitimate hospices were caught up in the dragnet due to patients being discharged for valid reasons, such as a revocation of the benefit, moving out of a provider’s service area or transfer to another hospice. ... These regulatory actions have had a ripple effect on vendors, according to a DME company CEO that spoke to Hospice News on background. “These hospice agencies are being suspended. They’re not getting paid,” the DME CEO told Hospice News. “If they’re not getting paid, their employees are not getting paid. DME providers like us are not getting paid. Pharmacies are not getting paid. Any other contractor they have is not getting paid.” This has placed some vendor businesses in peril, and some of them have been considering layoffs of their own, another DME provider ... told Hospice News, “We’ve been trying to keep everybody on board, keep them employed, keep them paid for as long as we possibly can.”

The new health system CEO job description, per 23 leaders Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon, Kelly Gooch, and Kristin Kuchno; 8/20/26 The health system CEO job description is getting longer, and increasingly filled with responsibilities that barely registered five years ago. Today’s CEOs are expected to steer AI strategy, prepare for cyberattacks, shape culture, advocate in statehouses and on Capitol Hill, protect employees from workplace violence, address affordability and serve as trusted voices in their communities. That shift is playing out at some of the nation’s largest and most prominent health systems. 

NPHI enters new phase of high growth as national community continues to expand National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; Press Release; 8/18/26 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is experiencing a period of significant growth, welcoming a growing number of mission-driven, community-based organizations from across the country since its 2026 Summit. ... This continued expansion brings new expertise, perspectives and community connections into NPHI’s national network, strengthening a community united by a commitment to high-quality, compassionate, people-first care. ... In recent weeks, NPHI has welcomed:

Compassus CMO: deliver on the hospice promise Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/18/26 A patient’s journey towards hospice often begins with a goals-of-care conversation, but those discussions must be timely and effective to truly guide the services a person receives at the end of life. Hospice News spoke with Dr. Kurt Merkelz, M.D., FAAHPM, chief medical officer for Compassus, about the value of these conversations, when they should happen and how clinicians should conduct them. Compassus, one of the nation’s largest hospice providers, is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Towerbrook Capital Partners and the health system Ascension Health.

Marketer Abraham Shin named in federal hospice fraud indictment Before It's News, Washington, DC; 8/18/26 Federal prosecutors have identified marketer Abraham Shin as an alleged operational link inside a Southern California hospice network, accusing him of connecting Medicare beneficiaries, sensitive personal information, paid referrals, and four providers that collectively submitted approximately $27,731,000 in disputed claims. Shin, 66, of Corona, California, is charged alongside hospice operator Oren David Shachar and mortuary employee Jeannie Choi in a 16-count indictment alleging healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, kickbacks, and a coordinated effort involving both living beneficiaries and people who had already died. The government alleges that Shin entered the wider operation no later than March 2025, more than four years after prosecutors say Shachar began the charged scheme, making his alleged conduct narrower in duration but central to several of its most serious later transactions.

Anonymous donor helps Grace House buy Highland Square’s Leonora Hall Signal Akron; Akron, OH; by Shams Mustafa; 8/17/26 A new chapter is beginning for Highland Square’s Leonora Hall after a nonprofit organization, Grace House Akron, purchased the property with the unexpected help of an anonymous donor. ... The acquisition means the property has a new owner following the closure of the Francesca Residence and the displacement of its mostly elderly residents. In a statement, Grace House representative Jen Boroff said that the nonprofit, which provides end-of-life care and housing for people who are indigent, unsheltered or abandoned, sees potential for the site to strengthen its mission and serve the broader community but that the organization has not yet decided how it will use the property.

Victoria Hospice Services, Inc. files Chapter 11 bankruptcy BankruptcyObserver.com, Central District of California; Judge Barry Russell; 8/17/26 Victoria Hospice Services, Inc. is a Whittier, California-based hospice care provider. The company operates a licensed hospice facility, maintains Medicare-certified provider status, and delivers end-of-life and palliative care services to patients throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Regulatory records indicate the organization remained  compliant with the fiscal year 2026 Medicare annual payment update. Victoria Hospice Services, Inc. sought relief under Chapter 11 Small Business of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. C.D. Cal. Case No. 26-16812) on July 8, 2026.