How do we encourage and advance the quality of hospice care in America?
AAHPM Quarterly; by Larry Beresford; Spring 2025
While the majority of hospice agencies work hard to provide good care, stories about those that fail to live up to their ethical or legal obligations have appeared in prominent journalistic settings in recent years. But if we dig deeper into quality, we see lots of questions about what quality hospice care really means. What kinds of messages should hospices be delivering to their various publics about quality and about choosing the provider that will meet their particular needs?
Notable mentions: Judi Lund Person, Holly Yang, Rebecca Yamarik, Alan Kaplan, Martina Meier, Martha Twaddle, Joseph Shega, John Mulder, Edward Martin, Jennifer Kennedy.

40% of nurses eye exit by 2029: 5 findings from NCSBN’s new workforce report 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Erica Carbajal; 4/27/25
While the post-pandemic nursing workforce is showing signs of stabilizing, high levels of burnout, stress and dissatisfaction continue to threaten long-term workforce stability, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s biennial 2024 National Workforce Study. The report surveyed more than 800,000 nurses in the U.S. and is considered the largest, most comprehensive report on the state of the nursing workforce. ...

• More than 138,000 nurses have left the workforce since 2022. Apart from retirement, nurses pointed to stress, burnout, workload, understaffing, inadequate pay and workplace violence as the top reasons for exiting the field. ...
• Nearly 40% of RNs said they intend to exit the field within the next five years. Of this group, about 22% planned to retire and 18% said they plan to leave for other reasons, namely stress and burnout. This equates to about 1.6 million nurses who could potentially leave the workforce, according to the council’s estimates. ...
• “While we have seen some improvements, staffing challenges, stress and burnout, and workforce safety are issues that have permeated the nursing industry before, during and after the pandemic and are still challenges,” Phil Dickison, CEO of NCSBN, said in a news release on the findings. 

Hospices celebrated National Volunteer Week 2025: "Celebrate Service"
Hospice & Palliative Care Today; compiled by Joy Berger, editor in chief; 4/26/25 
Hospices throughout the nation celebrated this year's National Volunteer Week, April 20-26. The 2025 theme has been "Celebrate Service ... to shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve." The links below reflect a few ways that hospice organizations used this national observance to celebrate services provided by our valued palliative, hospice, and bereavement volunteers.

• National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) -  Ahead of National Volunteer Week and in celebration of National Volunteer Month, NPHI CEO urges Americans: “Step forward. Be present. Volunteer with your local hospice.” 
• Information, resources and national Calls to Action for hospice organizations to recognize their volunteers
• Big Bend Hospice, Tallahassee, FL: The Heart of Hospice: Honoring Our Volunteers’ Impact in 2024
• Great use of 2024 data categorizes types of volunteer services, number of times provided, number of volunteers, hours, and miles travelled, local news coverage
• Heartland Hospice, Eau Claire, WI: Hospice care volunteers honored during National Volunteer Week
• Quotes from volunteers of their experiences "encouraging the community to get involved," with overall goals for National Volunteer Week, local news coverage
• HomeCare & Hospice celebrates volunteers during National Volunteer Week, Batvia, NY
• Honoring several individuals' "Volunteer Milestones"  in service hours, local news coverage
• Hospice of Northeast Missouri celebrates the work of its volunteers, Kirksville, MO
• Volunteer party, prizes, local news coverage
• Hospice of the Panhandle honors local volunteers, Kearneysville, WV
• Luncheon, volunteer service awards including "Volunteer of the Year," local news coverage
• Montage Health (with hospice care), Monterey County dog therapy program brings joy to patients and staff
• Local news recognizes National Volunteer Week by highlighting their healthcare/hospice's dog therapy program
• Red Willow Hospice, Santa Fe, NM: Celebrate hospice volunteers as we mark service
• Beautiful descriptions of patient care roles and tasks, with phrase "a heart with ears," via local news coverage 
• VNA Hospice NWI celebrates some of its most dedicated volunteers at Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast, Valparaiso, IN
  
• Brunch and milestone volunteer awards
• Inclusion of community volunteer organizations with whom they partner, i.e., the Medical Guardian Help Button Program, the We Honor Veterans program, the Phoenix Center for Grief, and VNA Meals on Wheels of Porter County

Editor's note: Ongoing, mark dates on your calendars from our national "Healthcare Observances" page, under our website's "Resources" tab. Coming, May is National Nurses Month with May 6-12 as National Nurses Week. Explore more.

Evaluation of Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model test (2020-2023) - Key takeaways: VBID Hospice Component, 2021–2023
CMS press release email; 4/18/25
From 2021 through 2024, the voluntary Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model allowed MA insurers to offer the Medicare Hospice Benefit within their plans. Outside VBID, hospice care is not included in MA plan benefit packages and is paid through traditional Medicare. The Hospice Benefit component consolidated responsibility and accountability for the cost, quality, and outcomes of MA beneficiaries in hospice with the intent of promoting care coordination and improving quality of care while maintaining budget neutrality or reducing costs.

• Plan participation in the Hospice Benefit component grew between 2021 and 2023, but uptake of palliative care, transitional concurrent care, and hospice supplemental benefits was low in all years.
• Most insurers and in-network hospices continuing their participation in the model in 2023 indicated that implementation was manageable because beneficiary volume was low.
• The proportion of beneficiaries receiving care from in-network hospices grew, rising to more than half of beneficiaries starting hospice in 2023. In-network hospices were larger and more often chains than out-of-network hospices.
• The Hospice Benefit component was: 1) not associated with changes in levels of hospice enrollment in 2021 or 2022, and 2) associated with reductions in combined MA and Part D bids in 2021 and 2022 but not in 2023.

Publisher's note: The 2-page Findings at a Glance is available here, and as posted in our 3/31/25 newsletter, the full report is available here.

An untapped resource: How family caregivers provide value for home care
McKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 4/21/25
If there is one lesson Andrea Cohen learned after more than two decades of running a home care company, it is that supporting family caregivers is foundational to quality care. “I would say I have three customers,” Andrea told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “One is the client themselves, one is the professional caregiver and the other is the family caregiver. About 95% of the time, we were actually dealing with the family caregiver.”
Publisher's note: Equally true in hospice.

Women of the World Club makes $8,500 donation to Hospice of Marion County Foundation 
ABC WCJB-20, Gainesville, FL; by Daja Clayton; 4/25/25 
Hospice of Marion County Foundation has received a generous donation from a club in Marion County to help with their Hope Renovation Project. This project helps educate the public on dementia and its impacts on seniors. The donations comes after the Women of the World Club held their annual fashion show charity event last month -- they made their final donation this month. The interim Executive Director of the Hospice of Marion County Foundation says these funds will also help bring new activities for seniors with dementia.

What doctors wish patients knew about decision fatigue
AMA; by Sara Berg; 3/21/25
The daily flood of decisions can be exhausting. Lisa MacLean, MD, a psychiatrist at Henry Ford Health, shares how to overcome decision fatigue. From the moment we wake up, we are seemingly bombarded with choices—what to wear, what to eat, which emails to answer first. By the time we’ve navigated our morning routine, our mental energy has already taken a hit. And as the day wears on, the sheer weight of decision-making can start to take its toll, often without us even realizing it. Making decisions day in and day out can be exhausting and cause people to feel overwhelmed, anxious or stressed. [Key points include:]

• Decision fatigue leaves you drained
• Try to delegate decisions
• Make big decisions in the morning
• Seek help if symptoms worsen

Publisher's note: This may be a helpful resource to support patients and caregivers.

The state of cancer mortality, incidence: 9 new findings
Becker's Hospital Review; bElizabeth Gregerson;4/21/25
Overall cancer mortality rates decreased for men, women and children in the U.S. between 2018 and 2022, according to the National Cancer Institute’s “Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer,” published April 21 in Cancer. The report presents cancer incidence and mortality data collected from NCI and CDC population-based cancer registries, as well as from the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Vital Statistics System, according to an April 21 news release from the NCI. Here are nine notes from the report:

• Between 2018 and 2022, cancer mortality decreased an average of 1.7% per year for men and 1.3% per year for women. Between 2001 and 2022, cancer mortality decreased 1.5% per year for children. For adolescents and young adults, cancer death rates decreased by 2.9% per year between 2001 and 2005, by 1% per year between 2005 and 2020, and remained stable from 2020 to 2022.
• For men, cancer mortality rates decreased for the following cancers between 2018 and 2022: prostate, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, esophagus, melanoma of the skin, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, colon and rectum, leukemia, myeloma, stomach, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and lung and bronchus. Mortality rates increased for the following cancers: pancreas, bones and joints, oral cavity and pharynx, and non-melanoma skin cancer.
• For women, cancer mortality rates decreased for the following cancers between 2018 and 2022: brain and other nervous system, cervix, soft tissue including heart, urinary bladder, kidney and renal pelvis, breast, stomach, leukemia, colon and rectum, myeloma, gallbladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovary, and lung and bronchus. Mortality rates increased for the following cancers: oral cavity and pharynx, corpus and uterus, and liver and intrahepatic bile duct.
• [Click the link above to continue reading the rest of the list...]

Healthcare employee turnover, by role
Becker's Hospital Review; by Paige Twenter; 4/25/25
Generation Z workers are leaving healthcare at a 38% turnover rate, followed by a 22% rate among millennials, 14% among Generation X and 19% among baby boomers, according to a Press Ganey report. To analyze national workforce trends, Press Ganey analyzed feedback from 2.3 million U.S. healthcare employees from more than 400 health systems and 15,200 locations... Turnover rates across 11 healthcare positions between 2023 and 2024:

• Nursing (other): 24%
• Registered nurse: 17%
• Clinical professional: 17%
• Management: 14%
• Nonclinical professional: 13%

Iowa nurse sentenced to prison after patient death
Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 4/25/25
A former Iowa licensed nurse practitioner has been sentenced to prison after failing to help a nursing home patient who died of asphyxiation, the Des Moines Register reported April 24. Becky Manning, 70, was in charge of the overnight shift at Care Initiatives, a nursing facility in West Des Moines, during one night in February 2023. That night, an 87-year-old patient indicated that his tracheostomy tube in his neck needed to have fluids suctioned out. Ms. Manning, who was the sole nurse on duty, refused to do so after repeated requests. Earlier that night, she reportedly told the director of nursing that she was unwilling or unable to suction the tracheostomy tube and the nursing director told her to “watch a video and figure it out,” according to a lawsuit filed by the man’s family. The man died of asphyxiation.

20 tech experts on how to boost operational resilience 
Forbes; by Forbes Expert Panel; 3/23/25 
Managing risk and boosting resilience is an important initiative for organizations—particularly so for the finance, healthcare and logistics sectors. ... Members of Forbes Technology Council share their top tips for building operational resilience.

1. Take A Disciplined Approach Using A Simple Framework ... Patrick Esposito, ACME General Corp.
2. Look Beyond Resilience In Architecture ... Kingsuk Chakrabarty, Estee Lauder Companies
3. Build Resilience In Cloud Systems With Automation And Regular Testing ... Balvinder Singh Banjardar, Walmart Global Tech
4. Seek Out Weak Spots Before Scaling ... Haider Ali, WebFoundr
5. Invest In Proactive Preparation ... Luis Peralta, Parallel Plus, Inc.
6. Identify Dependencies In Interconnected Systems ... Ashish Bhardwaj, Google
7. Gain Full Visibility Into Your Environment ... Shailesh Manjrekar, Fabrix.ai
8. Leverage AI For Scenario-Based Modeling ... Stephen DeAngelis, Enterra Solutions
9. Help Team Members Avoid Chronic Stress And Burnout ... Shweta Agrawal, Boston New Technology
10. Avoid Reliance On Outdated Risk Models ... Parya Lotfi, DuckDuckGoose
11. to #20 Continue reading

Special Report: Examining group health coverage alternatives for small employers - update 
JDSupra; by Alden Bianchi, Sarah Raaii, Teal Trujillo, Erin Turley, Allison Wilkerson; 4/23/25 
... Small employers’ efforts to provide robust major medical coverage to workers and their families have long proven futile, primarily due to underwriting challenges. Groups of under 50 employees are often relegated to state small group market coverage, which tends to be expensive. ... This Special Report examines the options available to small employers – and the obstacles they routinely encounter – as they seek to make affordable health insurance coverage available to their employees and their families.

Professor teaches student physicians how to use art to connect with end-of-life patients 
Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Moultrie, GA; by Staff Reports; 4/23/25
Richard Curtis of Thomasville teaches art classes at Thomas University, but he’s also an end-of-life doula who volunteers with patients through Archbold Hospice, integrating his artistic skills into his volunteer work. Earlier this month, Curtis showcased his blend of art, medical care, and human interaction during a session of the Medical Humanities course at PCOM South Georgia. Led by faculty member Thomas Last, PhD, the course aims to help student physicians transcend the science of medicine. “The Medical Humanities course supports students’ growth into humanistic, socially conscious physicians by providing reflective opportunities and meaningful experiences that deepen their understanding of diverse patient perspectives,” Dr. Last said.
Editor's note: Do you dismiss this? Does it seem too "out there"? For stronger context, Sandra Bertman, PhD, FT pioneered Arts Medicine with medical students and other healthcare clinicians. For most of her career, Bertman was Professor of Humanities in Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Graduate School of Nursing, where she founded and directed the Program of Medical Humanities and Arts in Healthcare. (More personally, I've been blessed to know Sandra as my colleague and friend.) Dr. Bertman was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Social Justice (2018). Her primary publications include ...

• Facing Death: Images, Insights, and Interventions
• One Breath Apart: Facing Dissection (medical students use art to debrief their first dissection experiences)
• Grief and the Healing Arts: Creativity as Therapy

Two palliative care pioneers share their essential qualities for nurse leadership
ehospice; 4/22/25
“Four thousand miles apart, and prior to the establishment of the launch of the Global Palliative Nursing Network (GPNN), living very separate, parallel lives, Yangden Paki and Halima Ibrahim share many of the key qualities required to enable them as nurses to introduce, establish and grow palliative care provision in their respective countries – Bhutan and Sudan.

• “The single most important quality you need to lead as a nurse is courage. Because of my personal experience people thought I would be resilient and a good agent for change. You certainly do need to be able to bounce back from the challenges you encounter and be open to embracing change.” Dr. Yangden Paki
• “You must also be an initiator and never be afraid because if you don’t start anything you wont ever do anything.” Halima Ibrahim Ali

The deep roots never doubt spring will come. ~ Marty Rubin