Literature Review

Opinion: Family caregivers in NH need stronger support Concord Monitor, Concord, NH; by Julia Stone; 8/25/26 Every day across New Hampshire, family caregivers quietly hold our system of care together. Most never call themselves “caregivers,” they simply see themselves as doing what families and friends do. They are your 50-something coworker with a busy career and home life who cares for an aging parent, not only visiting regularly, but also managing their healthcare, daily needs, finances and more. And they are your elderly neighbor who still cares for an adult child with disabilities while navigating their own health challenges, and the older couple trying to go about life as usual while one of them slips deeper into dementia. As New Hampshire’s largest non-profit home health and hospice agency, our team members at Granite VNA witness these real scenarios and many others across the state every day. And they see the toll it takes on caregivers. ... While resources for caregivers exist, many do not seek help until they are overwhelmed. New Hampshire’s ServiceLink Aging and Disability Resource Centers offer information, counseling, respite services and connections to community resources, yet many families are unaware these programs are available.

I love being an only child. Then I think about my parents getting older. Scary Mommy - Solo Act; by Brianne Hogan; 8/25/26 ... When you’re an only child and you watch your parents age, you do realize that, when it comes to them, you’re on your own. And with aging parents, as so many of us in the sandwich generation understand, it’s a tough road to navigate at times. ... “Only children often need to carry the emotional weight of transitioning to the caregiver and decision-maker role for their parents alone, ...” says Marisa T. Cohen, PhD, LMFT, CST, a licensed marriage and family therapist and also an only child. “Without siblings who most likely have a shared narrative of the family history, taking on this caregiver role can feel incredibly isolating and may even lead to anticipatory grief.”

Pittsburgh Caregivers get federal lifeline as dementia cases swell across Allegheny County hoodline; by Ryan Miller; 8/21/26 Caregivers looking after loved ones with dementia in Pittsburgh now have a new federal tool to lean on, and it is already showing up at a day center in Squirrel Hill. The Anathan Club, run by the Jewish Association on Aging, has begun connecting families to the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, a Medicare program that can cover up to $2,500 a year in respite care for qualifying beneficiaries. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model, known as GUIDE, was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and launched nationwide on July 1, 2024, as an eight-year voluntary pilot running through June 30, 2032, according to CMS. Nearly 390 provider organizations across the country are participating. 

JRMC Hospice Memorial Service NewsDakota.com, Jamestown, ND; by Steve Urness; 8/14/2026 Caregivers, families and friends gathered Aug. 11 at Jamestown Regional Medical Center (JRMC) to remember loved ones during a hospice memorial service. Attendees came together to honor and reflect on those who have passed and concluded with the planting of a maple tree in JRMC’s Kornovich Healing Gardens. Members of JRMC Home Health and Hospice, including chaplains, social workers and nurses, spoke during the ceremony. ... Registered nurse Chelsey Duffy. “Hospice is about living every remaining moment with comfort, dignity, peace and love. It is about making sure no one walks this journey alone.” The newly planted maple tree will serve as a living tribute to those remembered during the service, representing both remembrance and renewal.

What to say to someone who is dying, according to hospice workers Time; by Angela Haupt; 8/5/26   In the weeks before Her father died, Sydney Mishkin kept trying to figure out what she still hadn’t told him. She felt desperate to identify the words she might one day regret leaving unsaid. ... “How do you sum up a lifetime of loving somebody into a sentence or two?” she says. ... The answer, according to people who spend their careers alongside the dying, is that you don’t have to. There are words that can bring comfort, invite honesty, and help both of you find peace. But there’s no perfect script—and your presence likely matters more than anything you manage to say.

The living dead among us - a call to recognize social death ehospice; by Aizaq P. Davis; 8/5/26... In healthcare, we often focus on physical symptoms.

Suicide Survivors Support Group offered by Home Hospice of Grayson CountyNorth Texas e-News, Sherman, TX; by Nancy Jackson; 7/27/26 Home Hospice of Grayson County is pleased to announce the start of a new “Suicide Survivors Grief and Loss” Support Group ... “Experiencing grief over the loss of a loved one to suicide can be especially difficult” said Nancy Jackson, Group Leader. “However, it can become overwhelming in the weeks and months after the loss. People are often surprised how much it impacts them emotionally, mentally and physically. There is no magic pill or quick fix for your grief, but sharing your journey with others who have experienced a loss, can make it easier."

The business case for supporting the growing population of caregiver-employees — and how to do it McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 7/22/26 Caregiving no longer is just a personal or family issue — it’s increasingly a workforce, financial and health issue — but employers occupy a unique position in their ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of their employees, according to two new reports. New research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research finds that unpaid family caregivers face greater financial strain, lower retirement confidence and more concern about future retirement risks than Americans who are not unpaid caregivers. Care.com also has released new research focusing on the challenges of caregivers in the sandwich generation, who face simultaneous challenges of caring for aging parents while also raising children. 

Man donates van to hospice which cared for wife BBC News, Shropshire, England; by Andy Martindale and Chloe Hughes; 7/22/26 |A man whose wife was given end-of-life care by a hospice has donated a van to them as he said they "were there for us when we needed them most". Severn Hospice cares for patients from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid-Wales, and the van will be used by its retail operation and maintenance teams which support its 31 charity shops. ... The van, grey with flashes of yellow and blue from the hospice's logo, also bears Barbara's name. "I know she'd [Barbara] love the idea - we used to love going to the charity shop in Oswestry, and I'm sure she'd be pleased to see her name travelling around Shropshire, hopefully doing a bit of good for the hospice."

When did we begin believing that showing up isn’t enough?The Newnan Times-Herald, Newnan, GA; by Scott Lakey; 7/20/26 4:27 A.M.: the garage door opens; the humidity is thick with the smell of Georgia pines ... I am departing for St. Vincent's Hospital in Little Rock, AR. [This first-person story describes a series of family caregiving needs across 2 days and multi-location family visits.] ... On the way home, it was quiet in the car. It felt like a version of the movie It's a Wonderful Life. Thinking about lives I saw pass before me. New birth, newlyweds building a life, mid-life health crisis, and end-of-life care. 9:11 P.M I arrived back home in Newna, GA. My wife and son came out to greet me. There were hugs and hellos to the dogs. Shortly thereafter, I was in bed, and I prayed. That's all I could do. ... For two days, sixteen hours, forty-four minutes, and 1,331 miles, I kept thinking "that's all I could do." Then I realized. Maybe showing up was enough. 

“I wish to be in the same room as my wife so I can hold her hand”: CalvertHealth grants husband’s final wishThe Baynet, Calvert County, MD; by CalvertHealth; 7/19/26 It was one final wish Phillip “Phil” Pfanschmidt shared after learning he had terminal cancer. Just days earlier, his wife of more than 66 years, Joyce “Joy” Pfanschmidt, had entered hospice care at CalvertHealth Medical Center. Now, Phil had entered hospice as well. When members of the palliative care team asked about his wishes, he didn’t hesitate.He wanted to be with Joy.Caregivers across CalvertHealth worked together to make that wish a reality. Phil was reunited with Joy, and the couple spent precious moments together, hand in hand. Less than two hours later, Joy peacefully passed away with her hand resting on Phil’s arm.

Most Americans prefer to die at home, but the US healthcare system often prevents it ArcaMax; by Karen Lutfey Spencer; 7/14/26 Ask people what they want at the end of their lives, and overwhelmingly the answers will revolve around comfort, dignity and time at home with loved ones. Yet the U.S. healthcare system often thwarts these wishes. Most Americans say they want to die at home, but only one-third do. What could be an intentional last chapter may instead become a roller coaster of hospitalizations and decisions made with incomplete information. News headlines reflect the challenges of facing the end of life in crisis mode. ... Unfortunately, these crisis scenarios are happening to millions of families each year.