Literature Review

Hospice & Palliative Care of Chenango finalizes partnership with NYS Veterans Home in Oxford The Evening Sun, Oxford, NY; by Rebecca Laibowitz; 3/9/26 Hospice & Palliative Care of Chenango and the New York State Veterans Home at Oxford recently finalized a long-awaited partnership which now allows residents of the home and their families to receive hospice care from the nurses and volunteers of the organization. Prior to this partnership the home would have to send away people in seeking hospice care as strict regulations require a contract between a nursing home and hospice care provider in order for that type of care to be administered.

Outpatient curricular content for hospice and palliative medicine trainees: A national survey Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Harry J Han, Angelika Golebiowska, Emily N Hansen, Michelle Park, Victoria I Sweetnam, Christian T Sinclair, Jonathan C Yeh, Mary K Buss; 3/2/26, online ahead of print Context: More health systems are establishing outpatient palliative care (PC) programs, increasing demand for ambulatory PC clinicians. ... Little is known about the outpatient-specific knowledge and skills PC trainees should acquire for competent outpatient practice. Conclusion: This national survey identified foundational outpatient-focused educational topics for hospice and pallitive medical (HPM) learners and suggests that outpatient curricula prioritize deliberate education on the unique application of core PC skills in outpatient settings. This prioritized list provides education leaders a roadmap to enhance existing curricula and informs the development of outpatient educational resources that can be shared across institutions.

Azura Palliative Care & Hospice NBC WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, WI; Press Release; 2/27/26 Azura has been the leader in Memory Care & Assisted Living for many years. They are now opening a new location in Mukwonago. They also have a new sister company Azura Palliative Care & Hospice. The two companies allow them to offer assisted living, memory care, respite, hospice, palliative care and an adult day program called TIME. 

Mercy Hospital’s outpatient palliative care switches to for-profit model The Durango Herald; by Elizabeth Pond; 3/1/26 Outpatient palliative care through Mercy Hospital is now operating on a for-profit basis under new CommonSpirit Health at Home ownership. Meanwhile, the palliative care program – which offers symptom management for those with serious and terminal illnesses – is facing staff turnover. 

Why Silverado’s new CEO thinks memory care must ‘be bold’ to serve new customers Senior Housing News; by Austin Montgomery; 2/24/26 Memory care providers today must take bold approaches to develop the next generation of new leadership and serve the incoming baby boomer generation. That’s according to Silverado CEO Designate Wayne Sanner. Last year, Sanner joined the California-based memory care provider with plans to take over for longtime CEO Loren Shook, who will transition to a role as the operator’s executive chairman of the board later this year.

Effect of antipsychotic medication use and type on mortality and cardiovascular risks in nursing home patients with dementiaAlzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring; by Hamid R. Okhravi, Fang Fang, Melissa P. Hunter, Brynn E. Sheehan; 1/26Antipsychotic medication (APM) use in nursing home (NH) patients with dementia is common but carries risks. APM use in NH dementia patients is linked to higher death risk. First‐generation APMs showed higher mortality risk than second‐generation APMs. Overall, APM use is associated with increased stroke risk. No association was found between APM use and MI risk overall.

South Bay family mistakenly told 92-year-old relative had died at healthcare facilityFox-2 KTVU, Los Gatos, CA; by KTVU Staff; 2/18/26 

This American Heart Month, Carolina Caring elevates cardiac care for serious illness Carolina Caring, Newton, NC; Press Release; 2/9/26 February is American Heart Month, a national effort to raise awareness about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. As of 2025, 6.7 million Americans over the age of 20 are living with heart failure (Heart Failure Society of America, 2025). ... In response, Carolina Caring’s Advanced Cardiac Care program provides effective, tailored support to patients with chronic heart conditions. As the first cardiac care program of its kind in North Carolina, Carolina Caring combines nationally recognized standards of care with a home-based hospice approach. 

EMS at 60: The past, present, and future of our profession Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS); by David Ferris; 2/10/26 This year, 2026, marks sixty years since the birth of organized national EMS in the United States, and I’ve been fortunate—or maybe stubborn—enough to ride in the back of an ambulance for more than half of that history. For 34 years I’ve carried a radio, a drug box, and the weight of responsibility that comes with being a paramedic. In that time, I’ve watched EMS evolve from the Wild West of guesswork and tradition into a profession grounded in evidence, outcomes, and community health. What follows isn’t just a timeline of milestones; it’s the story of EMS through my own eyes, ...Editor's Note: Whose life--in your life--has been saved (or significantly helped) by Emergency Medical Services?  Memories through the years break through my take-it-for-granted view. While in hospice we tend to downplay EMS calls and hospitalization, join me in gratitude for the timely, life-saving and mitigation of horrific outcomes provided 24/7 by EMS care. 

Brookdale Senior Living continues downsizing with focus on owning communities McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 2/2/26The future, including the future size, of the country’s largest senior living company was brought into sharper focus Friday during Brookdale Senior Living’s Investor Day. In the near term, that future appears to include a more aggressive portfolio pruning than previously announced. In the long term, CEO Nick Stengle didn’t rule out a potential return to the home health and hospice care space, although he said the company has no current plans to do so.

A qualitative study of chaplains spiritual care for persons with dementia in long-term careJournal of Applied Gerontology; by Meganne K. Masko, Sarah McEvoy, Jung Kwak, Kathryn Lyndes, Alexia M. Torke, Shelley Varner Perez, George Fitchett; 12/25This study explored how chaplains provide spiritual care for residents with dementia in long-term care, which is not well understood. We conducted six separate semi-structured focus groups with a total of 16 chaplains who provide care for people with dementia in long-term care facilities across the U.S. Two main themes emerged: the broad and multifaceted role of chaplains in long-term care, including responsibilities to residents, staff, and family, and dementia-specific spiritual care adaptations and delivery practices, including learning through experience, using multisensory tools, relying on presence, music, and emotional resonance. Chaplains’ adaptive, person-centered spiritual care for residents with dementia highlights the need for dementia-informed chaplaincy training and greater integration of chaplaincy into interdisciplinary care planning in long-term care settings.

Family Care Palliative & Hospice expands palliative care access for Maricopa County residents ABNewswire, Tempe, AZ; Press release by Family Care Palliative & Hospice; 1/26/25Family Care Palliative & Hospice has expanded its service offerings to meet better the growing demand for specialized end-of-life and serious illness care throughout Maricopa County and surrounding areas. ... The expansion comes at a time when demand for quality best hospice care continues to rise across Arizona. 

Healthcare trends & transactions: Year in review - January 2026 JD Supra; by Meredith Edwards Collins, David Cox, Katie D. Asquith, Lara Flatau, Ali Gallagher, Angela Humphreys, Zoebedeh Malakpa, Tatjana Paterno, Cynthia Reisz, Mariah R. Rhodes, Marc Rigsby, Morgan Tandy, David Wilson; 1/22/26 At the end of 2024, we predicted that the healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market would pick up steam in 2025, given the combination of decreasing interest rates, a potential shift in the regulatory landscape with the new presidential administration and growing comfort and familiarity with new state reporting requirements related to physician practice management (PPM) and other healthcare transactions.