Literature Review

Virtual reality for serious illness: connecting, healing, and inducing awe | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Kathleen Benton and Teri Yarbrow; 4/29/26 What if, even in the most limiting and uncertain moments of serious illness, a person could still experience freedom, movement, beauty, and a renewed sense of meaning? In this episode, Kathleen Benton and Virtual Reality (VR innovator Teri Yarbrow reveal how virtual reality is reshaping Hospice and Palliative Care by restoring something often lost in modern medicine—human experience.  As care becomes increasingly clinical and documentation-driven, VR creates space for patients to reconnect with meaning, beauty, and identity beyond their diagnosis.

The Alliance and the Research Institute for Home Care Release Inaugural Medicaid Home Care Chartbook National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 4/27/26 The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) and the Research Institute for Home Care (the Institute) today released the 2026 Medicaid Home Care Chartbook, the first report of its kind providing a broad overview of the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) user population, workforce, organizational trends, and economic contributions of Medicaid home care providers across the U.S. 

Palliative care loss hits Durango patients The Durango Herald, Durango, CO | Letters to the Editor; by Stacey Ebel; 4/24/26 My emotions are running high after learning about CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital discontinuing their palliative care program. ... My mother moved here in 2020 with numerous health issues, and I enrolled her in palliative care as I knew that at some point she would need to transition to hospice. Her palliative care nurse practitioner, Jen, visited my mother monthly in her apartment ...  Potential and past patients will now have to go to the ER or their personal PCPs for treatment. Recently, the last palliative care nurse had to discharge 200 patients. 

Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures - Annual Report Alzheimer's Association; Press Release; 4/22/26 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures (PDF), an annual report released by the Alzheimer's Association, reveals the burden of Alzheimer's and dementia on individuals, caregivers, government and the nation's health care system. Download the following:

Accreditation: moving forward during the moratorium HME News - Business News for Home Medical Equipment Providers; by Sandra Canally; 4/13/26 ... Hospice contracts: Hospice providers are required to contract only with accredited DMEPOS suppliers to equip terminally ill patients whether at the hospice facility, in a nursing home or at home. The supply opportunities closely mirror those in skilled nursing, with enteral nutrition, mobility aids and respiratory equipment all in demand. Hospice covers 100% of DME costs related to the terminal illness. [To DME companies:] Invoice the hospice organization directly, and they pay you. Medicare stays out of the transaction entirely.

How can more efficient data sharing improve patient care plans? HealthTech; by Christopher Mills; 4/8/26 The effective participation in health information exchanges requires a focus on data governance, interoperability and organizationwide buy-in. Health information exchanges are steadily gaining traction as healthcare organizations look for ways to improve care coordination, reduce costs and meet regulatory expectations. Organizations are seeking ways to use data to make better decisions, which reduces costs and increases revenue. This is especially important for health systems as the federal government cuts funding across the board.

Seniors who say they’re “not afraid of death” often still carry these quiet worries they don’t talk about Bolde; by Julie Brown; 4/1/26 My grandmother said it so matter-of-factly that it almost stopped the conversation. ... "I'm not afraid of it," she said. "I've had a very good life. When it's time, it's time." And she meant it. I believed her completely. But then, a few minutes later, she mentioned almost in passing that she hoped she wouldn't "get confused" at the end.

Language preference is associated with goals-of-care communication and end-of-life care in dementia Journal of General Internal Medicine; by Lauren R. Pollack MD, MS, Lois Downey MA, Ruth A. Engelberg PhD, James Sibley BS, Linda K. Ko PhD, Kimiko Domoto-Reilly MD, MS, Lyndia C. Brumback PhD, Annie T. Chen PhD & Rashmi K. Sharma MD, MHS; 3/30/26 Background: People with dementia and preferred language other than English (PLOE) in the United States may face communication-related barriers to high-quality end-of-life care.Objective: Compare end-of-life care characteristics among people with dementia and PLOE versus those preferring English. ... [Efforts] to improve end-of-life care for those with PLOE might prioritize ED and hospital-based interventions, recognizing their critical safety-net functions, as well as ensure that people with dementia and PLOE and their families have sufficient cultural and linguistic support to engage in high-quality end-of-life communication with their healthcare providers.Editor's Note: Pair this with today's post, "Neenah pastor finds deeper calling after brother’s hospice journey."

Northern Counties Health delivers care, access over 50 years Caledoninan Record, Vermont; 3/27/26 Northern Counties Health Care, Inc. is marking a golden milestone this year, celebrating five decades of providing primary care, dental care, and home health and hospice services across Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The nonprofit traces its roots to a citizen-led effort to improve access to care and now operates a regional network designed around local needs. The organization’s origins date to 1976, when community leaders formed a board to continue the work of the Northern Counties Comprehensive Health Planning Council and established what became Vermont’s first federally qualified health center. ... The network today includes seven community health centers, two walk‑in primary care locations under the Northern Express Care banner, three dental centers, and a certified home health and hospice division.

‘No silver bullet’: The iterative staffing strategies home-based care providers need Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 3/26/26 The home-based care staffing landscape is undergoing a shift, as worker demographics, desires and motivations evolve. ... [There] there is no single technique that serves as a panacea, and providers must continually iterate their strategies, according to Kerin Zuger, the chief operating officer at Caretech. “There is no silver bullet,” Zuger said on a recent Home Health Care News webinar. “What do we need to do with our recruiting and onboarding strategy so that we can hire more caregivers and get them to stay? The answer is, everything. The answer is, try it all and then try it again. 

Medicare plan switching and hospice care among decedents with advanced cancer JAMA Network Open; by Xin Hu, Changchuan Jiang, Youngmin Kwon, Fangli Geng, Qinjin Fan, Kewei Sylvia Shi, Zhiyuan Zheng, Jingxuan Zhao, Joan L Warren, K Robin Yabroff, Xuesong Han; 3/2/16Importance: Hospice ... is an excluded benefit under Medicare Advantage (MA), with coverage instead provided by traditional Medicare (TM). With growing MA penetration, more beneficiaries also switch between MA and TM for financial protection and physician access considerations, although less is known about how different Medicare programs and plan switching behaviors affect EOL care for patients with advanced cancers.Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of Medicare decedents with advanced cancers, continuous MA enrollees were most likely to receive hospice at home, while those who switched from MA to TM more frequently received hospice care in nursing homes. Plan switching near the EOL may reflect access barriers, highlighting the importance of addressing care coordination to improve EOL care.

VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region Vermont celebrates 80 years Bennington Banner, Bennington, VT; by Mark Rondeau; 3/22/26 [Historic photo shows workers with the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, a predecessor to VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, in the 1970s.] VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, founded in 1946, is celebrating 80 years of service to the community and compassionate care. “Our agency is celebrating 80 years of providing home health services in the community this year,” VNAHSR said in a statement. “We started as just a small group of community members that gathered to create an organization that would provide skilled nursing in the home with a mission to promote health and independence.Editor's Note: Timeline shows this VNA's beginnings as a "Certified Home Health Agency" to merging with Rutland Area Hospice in 1996, and more.

Sovereign Hospice guides Dallas-Fort Worth families through hospital discharge The Malone Telegram, Aubrey, TX; by Baaba Sampson; 3/12/26 Families facing hospital discharge for a loved one with a terminal illness often feel overwhelmed by the sudden shift in care responsibilities. Sovereign Hospice addresses this challenge by providing seamless coordination between hospital teams and home-based hospice services. The organization serves all counties within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, offering same-day admission and round-the-clock support.