Literature Review

Healthy Together Cleveland receives foundation grant [from Hospice of Cleveland County] The Home Page for Cleveland County, North Carolina; Press Release; 8/14/25 The Board of Directors for Hospice Cleveland County Foundation recently awarded a $50,000 grant to support the Everyone Eats Emergency Food Fund Drive, spearheaded by Healthy Together Cleveland (HTC) to combat food insecurity in Cleveland County. "As we continue to face unprecedented challenges, community support is vital. Everyone Eats is a testament to what we can achieve when we come together with a shared purpose. We are delighted to provide this grant to launch the campaign and hope it will inspire others to participate," said Katie Borders, President, Hospice Cleveland County Foundation. Last month, HTC announced that 1 in 6 people in the county are experiencing food insecurity. ... The mission of the Foundation is to strive to maintain the success of the hospice tradition in Cleveland County by supporting efforts to help people lead healthy, productive lives and experience peaceful, dignified deaths. We seek to ensure that all people - especially those with the fewest resources - have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and in life.Editor's Note: May we all learn and live from Hospice Cleveland County Foundation's mission and action. Thank you.

Midland Butterflies in the Park event raises $10,000 for hospice care Northern Michigan 9 & 10 News, Midland, MI; by Olivia Fellows; 8/7/25 More than 400 painted lady butterflies were released across three locations in Central Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 3, as part of the annual Butterflies in the Park event hosted by MyMichigan Home Care. Per an Aug. 7 news release, the symbolic release, held in Clare and Midland parks and at Woodland Hospice House in Mount Pleasant, honored and remembered loved ones lost. The ceremonies included brief commemorative presentations and musical performances. This year’s event raised more than $10,000 to support hospice patients in need of home care services, medications and medical supplies.

Flight of the Dove celebrates 20 years of riding with purpose Laurens County Buzz, Laurens County, SC; 8/6/25 Not even the rain could dampen the spirit of this year’s Flight of the Dove, as 255 cyclists from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia took to the roads on Saturday, August 2, raising an impressive $52,415 for VIA Health Partners – Laurens County [South Carolina]. ...  Tom Atwood, Vice President of Philanthropy said, “The cause is worth every mile, and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who braved the rain to make the 20th anniversary ride a success.” ... Riders were offered multiple route options—14, 30, 50, and 62 miles—as well as a 50-mile “challenge” course with added elevation. 

Gilchrist and Inova partner to bring expert hospice care to Northern Virginia Inova Newsroom, Fairfax, VA; 8/6/25 Northern Virginia’s premier nonprofit healthcare system, and Gilchrist, Maryland’s leading nonprofit provider of geriatric, palliative, and hospice care, today announced a strategic joint venture to expand compassionate, integrated hospice care into Northern Virginia. Patient care through the Inova-Gilchrist collaboration is expected to begin in early 2026.

Closing the gap: Addressing social determinants of health and racial disparities in hospice care Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Alyson Cutshall; 8/4/25... While Americans’ health trajectories are inevitable at the time they become eligible for hospice services, SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) still play a major role for the patients and families our field is privileged to serve. ... [To] fully impact health equity, we must be cognizant of other examples of SDOH, such as racism and implicit bias.  Unfortunately, our collective field has not been as successful in addressing access to hospice care across differing racial and ethnic groups. ... Certainly, there are some pockets of improved access.  One Teleios member organization, Ancora Compassionate Care, recognized the alarming disparities within its community and set about to create change. Ancora leaders recognized that the Black community in their service area typically placed high trust in their religious leaders. To better understand their needs and preferences regarding end-of-life care and services, Ancora embarked on a "listening tour" to gather feedback and insights from these religious leaders. Using the wisdom imparted, Ancora adapted their care delivery to be more inclusive to the Black community.  As such, the organization is making incremental improvements in lessening the racial divide in access to hospice care.

Treasure Coast Hospice announces endowment for pediatric patients WQCS News, NPR for the Treasure Coast, Stuart, FL; by Justin Breckenridge; 7/19/25 The Treasure Coast Hospice Foundation has established a new endowment honoring local philanthropist Marlene K. Filer and her long-standing commitment to children’s health programs in Martin County. ... The Marlene K. Filer Celebrities Fore Kids Endowment will support children and families receiving care through the organization’s Little Treasures Pediatric Program. The program provides comprehensive support for children facing life-limiting illnesses. Filer, founder of Celebrities Fore Kids, has raised more than $3 million since 1997 to support children’s services throughout the region. 

Chapters Health System expands care in Richmond, VA and surrounding counties PR Newswire; by Chapters Health System; 7/31/25 Chapters Health System, the nation's leading chronic illness innovator and largest nonprofit hospice provider, announces the opening of its newest program offering comprehensive hospice services and grief support to Richmond, VA – and the surrounding counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico and Powhatan. Operating under Chapters Health Hospice, this new program will leverage the resources, infrastructure, and best practices of the nation's largest nonprofit network, while remaining grounded in the leadership of a team that is deeply rooted in the Richmond community. ... The opening of Chapters Health Hospice in Richmond, VA expands the Chapters Health System presence in the state following the 2023 affiliation of Capital Caring Health, which serves the Northern Virginia Region.

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.

Annual Hospice Home & Garden Tour raises more than $29,000 for hospice services Granite VNA, Laconia, NH; Press Release; 7/29/25 Granite VNA’s annual Hospice Home & Garden Tour raised more than $29,000 to support the agency’s hospice services. This year’s tour featured five remarkable properties in Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro including a country Colonial, an antique farmhouse, a lovingly restored Cape Cod-style home, a classic Craftsman-style home, and the Clark House Museum. More than 450 attendees spent a warm July afternoon touring through Lakes Region homes and gardens, enjoying historical builds, elegant interiors, breathtaking gardens and Lakes Region vistas. 

Decades-old SLO County hospice nonprofit suddenly collapsed. What happened? The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, CA; by Chloe Shrager; 7/27/25 A beloved San Luis Obispo-based home health and hospice care nonprofit suddenly closed its doors last month after nearly 80 years of service, leaving many in the community wondering what went wrong. For decades, Wilshire Health and Community Services offered clinical hospice care, home health and other vital community services to SLO County’s ill and aging. Just over a month before its permanent closure, Wilshire had a booth set up at the California Association For Health Services At Home Annual Conference and Expo in Rancho Mirage on May 19 to 22. The organization had started making plans for its annual fundraiser held at the Hearst Ranch Dairy Barn in August and was still accepting donations. Business appeared to be booming. Now, Wilshire’s offices are emptied out, its website has been taken down, its Hospice Hope Chest thrift store has shut down for good and the once-thriving organization is in the process of filing for bankruptcy. So, how did things turn south so quickly? ... 

Willey Family Foundation dedicates patient suite and garden at Aroostook House of Comfort The County, Presque Isle, ME; Press Release; 7/24/25 The Aroostook Hospice Foundation is honored to announce the dedication of its first named patient suite at the Aroostook House of Comfort, made possible through a generous commitment from the Willey Family Foundation. This marks a major  milestone in the Foundation’s recently revitalized Naming Opportunities Campaign, launched to sustain and strengthen its mission while offering a meaningful way for donors to create lasting legacies. With a pledge of $15,000 annually, the Willey Family Foundation will fulfill and exceed the $50,000 naming level for a patient suite. This dedication is in loving memory of Philip and Vivian Willey. In addition to the suite, the family is also naming a garden area outside the suite  window, providing a serene space for reflection and comfort. Through donor-advised funding managed by the Maine Community Foundation, the Willey Family Foundation has contributed more than $47,000 to the Aroostook Hospice Foundation to date.