Literature Review

AMOREM cuts ribbon on long-awaited hospice patient care unit WataugaDemocrat.com, Boone, NC; by Abigail Eggers; 7/30/25 Boone’s long-awaited and first hospice patient care unit, AMOREM’s SECU Patient Care Unit, has officially opened. “AMOREM has long believed in the power of a hospice patient care unit. In fact, we opened North Carolina’s very first patient care unit in 1989. We’ve seen firsthand the comfort these places bring to our patients,” said April Moore, CEO of AMOREM, at the July 25 ribbon cutting. AMOREM purchased the land for the facility in January 2020. A month later, the property was annexed into the town of Boone. In October 2020, the state approved AMOREM’s request for six inpatient beds in Watauga County, and first broke ground on the property in September 2023.Editor's Note: Congratulations to AMOREM. Their January 2020 purchase plans were surely interrupted by March 2020's COVID. After breaking ground in September 2023, Hurricane Helene hit this mountain in September 2024. Having had family who lived in this area, your resilience and tenacity through especially challenging time is inspiring. 

Agrace: Selected as preferred hospice provider to Crossing Rivers Health WisBusiness; Prairie du Chien, WI; Press Release; 7/30/25 Agrace, Wisconsin’s largest nonprofit hospice, is pleased to announce that after months of discussions with Crossing Rivers Health, it will take over the health system’s hospice program. The two organizations have also entered into a Preferred Partner Agreement to support the local community’s ongoing needs for high quality end of life care. This agreement comes three months after Agrace’s preferred partnership with Oakwood Village Communities and supports Agrace’s rapid growth across the state of Wisconsin. Crossing Rivers Health, based in Prairie du Chien, has decided to close its hospice service line to focus on their core healthcare services. Current Wisconsin Crossing Rivers Health Hospice patients will have the option to transition to Agrace’s care by the end of September. 

Montville Township man golfs 100 holes for charity The Gazette, Montville Township, NJ; by Sara Crawford; 7/29/25 While a thick fog may have covered Fox Meadow Country Club on Monday morning, Montville Township resident Pat Spoerndle didn’t let that stop him from starting to golf at 6:30 a.m. as he played 100 holes of golf in one day as part of his annual charity event, “100 for Hospice.” In 2009, Spoerndle decided to host a one-time charitable golf outing. He set a goal of $10,000 and made plans to play 100 holes of golf within a day, all for Hospice of Medina County. “I was going to do it just the one time,” he said. “(I then) decided it would be wrong to do because we were able to raise so much money for a great organization. We just built on it every year.” Since the fundraiser’s start 17 years ago, Spoerndle has raised almost $600,000 for Hospice of Medina County. He expects to raise more than $25,000 this year, but said it’s too early to tell how much they’ve raised.

NCFCU grant helps CVHHH reach more patients seeking end-of-life care Vermont Business Magazine, VB Vermont; by Tim; 7/29/25 Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) has received a $5,000 grant from NorthCountry Federal Credit Union (NCFCU). The funds will be used to expand hospice and outpatient palliative care services to Central Vermonters who are seeking compassionate end-of-life care and support at home.  ... [CVHHH's] Palliative Care Consultative Service (PCCS) program was launched in 2023 to support Central Vermonters facing serious illness with one-on-one care and emotional support. 

Hospice of Wichita Falls hosts ceremony for Wall of Service KFDX /KJTL Wichita Falls, TX; by Aaron Gonders; 7/24/25 The Hospice of Wichita Falls’ Wall of Service is empty following a first-of-its-kind ceremony in the hospice’s garden. The Wall of Service was created as part of a Texoma Gives project. It has room for 54 individual plaques, each recognizing a veteran or first responder who entrusted their end-of-life care to Hospice of Wichita Falls. Sheppard Air Force Base was also involved in the ceremony, with service members acting as volunteers and providing a guest speaker. Wichita Falls Hospice hopes to do more of these ceremonies, but only once the wall is filled again.

Burnett Center restores labyrinth as community healing space Southern Maryland News, LaPlata, MD; by Aamaly Hossain; 7/21/25 On a wide stretch of land, nestled between Barbara Burnett’s two homes and a weathered barn, stands the Burnett Center for Hope and Healing — and beyond it, is its labyrinth. Once known as Calvert Hospice, the center is now part of the Hospice of the Chesapeake and transformed from a patient-filled facility into a community space centered solely on healing. “We’ve reimagined it into a center for everyone in the community experiencing any kind of loss, grief, illness — whatever they need to heal,” Heather Conner, volunteer service manager with Hospice of the Chesapeake, said.

VNA Golf-A-Thon fundraising drivers give it their best shots Vero News, Vero Beach, FL; by Stephanie LaBaff; 7/24/25 Generosity was in full swing during the 35th annual VNA & Hospice Foundation Golf-A-Thon, held this year at the Vero Beach Country Club, where pros representing 13 local clubs spent a full day on the course playing more than 100 holes of golf. “It’s a beautiful day here at the Vero Beach Country Club, and I really want to thank everybody who participated today,” said Carol Kanarek, VNA & Hospice Foundation board chair, thanking the professional golfers, volunteers and staff of the VNA and the VBCC. “This has been a year of events for the VNA,” said Kanarek, referencing the VNA’s 50th anniversary, the 35th anniversary of the Golf-A-Thon and the 25th anniversary of the Hospice House. ... Co-chairs Nancy Edmiston and Karen Formont scored a perfect game with the assistance of their team, raising more than $484,000 in critical funding for VNA & Hospice Foundation programs and services. Editor's Note: Congratulations VNA & Hospice Foundation on this "more than $484,000" raised, and your 50th, 35th, and 25th anniversaries!

Rochester hospice provider pulls out of Owatonna project, sunsets community grief services PostBulletin,com, Rochester, NY; by Dené K. Dryden; 7/17/25 Citing multiple challenges, Rochester's Seasons Hospice will no longer be expanding into Owatonna and will pare back its community services through the Center for Grief Education and Support. In a Friday, July 18, press release to the Post Bulletin, Dawn Beck, president of the nonprofit hospice provider's board of directors, said "we have had to make the extremely difficult decision to restructure our grief services and to cease efforts to reopen the Homestead Hospice House in Owatonna." The Homestead Hospice House, previously operated by Allina Health, has been closed since summer 2023, the Owatonna Peoples Press reported. Since last year, Seasons Hospice had been fundraising to reopen the facility, but Beck said this week that staffing challenges, financial difficulties, issues with licensing and certification, for-profit competition and uncertainty around federal changes contributed to Seasons Hospice withdrawing from the project. ... In Rochester, starting Aug. 1, the Center for Grief Education and Support will no longer provide services to the community at large ...

Silver tsunami brings new challenges for end-of-life care NPR Network, KANW New Mexico Public Radio; by Jenny Kinsey; 7/16/25 ... Inhora isn’t a hospice but it describes itself as a social model hospice house that provides a place to be. The nonprofit opened in April and contracts with several local hospice providers to provide end of life support. ... Inhora gets its support through donations and volunteer help which enables their guests to stay for free. That’s the idea behind Inhora, said Miles Gloetzner, RN, Inhora’s founder and Executive Director. ... Investigating the idea led him to the Omega Home Network, a national network of comfort care homes, and other communities with the same mission bringing comfort and caring to those at the end of life . That’s when he realized his dream was not his alone. A comfort care home or social model hospice house provides free room and board for patient/guests and a family member or friend while they receive hospice care. ... Comfort homes like Inhora are found across Mountain West states, including Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. The idea isn’t new. For instance, the Omega Home Network was founded in 2003 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a national organization of 50 comfort care homes – and growing rapidly with 79 in development.

Hospice & Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard announces leadership change MVTimes.com, Martha's Vineyard, MA; by The Martha's Vineyard Times; 7/16/25 After a productive five years at the helm of Hospice & Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard (HPCMV), Executive Director Cathy Wozniak, MPH, MBA, announced that she will retire on Dec. 31, 2025, ending her 40-plus years serving hospices and healthcare across the country. “My proudest moments were making sure HPCMV obtained Medicare certification, allowing it to better serve more people on this Island,” Cathy said, “and helping our talented staff create long-term strategy and a succession plan.” The board has unanimously selected Chantale Patterson, RN, BSN, as HPCMV’s next executive director. Chantale, who has served as the organization’s clinical director for the past eight years, said she is “grateful for this opportunity to lead HPCMV’s next chapter of service to Martha’s Vineyard patients and their families, increasing Islanders’ understanding of Hospice’s services and achieving sustainable growth.”

Care Dimensions celebrates 20 years of compassionate care at Kaplan House Care Dimensions; 6/16/25 Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care provider in Massachusetts, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Kaplan Family Hospice House at a special gala event, held on Thursday, June 12 at Kernwood Country Club in Salem. The event brought together community supporters, staff, and volunteers to honor two decades of compassionate end-of-life care at the first-of-its-kind facility in Massachusetts. The gala raised $214,000 to support the Kaplan Family Hospice House, which has served thousands of families since opening its doors in 2005.  ... "Events like tonight remind us of the incredible generosity and compassion of our community," said Heather Johnston, Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Care Dimensions. 

207 community hospital presidents and CEOs to know | 2025 Becker's Hospital Review; by Anna Falvey; 7/11/25 Community hospitals play a vital role in closing healthcare access gaps, and the CEOs who lead them are committed to providing high-quality, cost-effective care tailored to the needs of their local communities. While many community hospitals focus on acute care, these forward-thinking CEOs are also expanding services to include primary care, specialty treatments, rehabilitation, public health programs and beyond. They are responsible for shaping a positive workplace culture, steering long-term strategy, growing service lines and ensuring financial sustainability, all with their communities at the heart.Editor's Note: While most of these hospitals provide palliative care and partner with hospice care, these presidents/CEOs are identified providing "hospice" care.