Executive Personnel Changes - 4/4/25

• Hospice of the Chesapeake announces that Christine Wilson, current Director of Advancement, will step into the new role of Executive Director of the Hospice of the Chesapeake Foundation. This position was created following the announcement of Shauna Chabot’s retirement as Chief Advancement Officer. Chabot will retire on April 15 after 14 years leading the organization’s advancement efforts.
  
  
• Humana has named Anthony D'Alonzo as its Senior Vice President of Home Solutions Strategy and Business Development. D’Alonzo previously served in various roles at Bayada Home Health Care for almost 15 years, most recently as senior vice president of home health strategy, innovation and care delivery.

Executive Personnel Changes - 3/28/25

• Banner Health based in Phoenix, AZ appointed Alan Weiss, MD, Senior Vice President of Clinical Advancement, effective March 31. 
  
  
• Children's Health based in Wilmington, DE appointed Caswell Samms III as Executive Vice President and CFO. 
  
  
• HopeWest based in Grand Junction, CO hired Carter Bair to be its Chief Financial Officer.

Today is the National Vietnam War Veterans Day, honoring 50 years since the war's end 
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration 
Join us on 29 March, National Vietnam War Veterans Day, as Americans unite to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. ... The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration honors all veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time from November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, and their families. 
Editor's note: Several hospice "We Honor Veterans" programs have been using this commemoration to thank their community's Vietnam veterans, especially in light of differences between their returns home from those of WWII veterans. Within your networks of colleagues, friends and families, whom can you informally honor, today?

• National Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2025
• Local veterans to be honored at pinning ceremonies
• Hospice of Redmond presents a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day Ceremony
• Residential Hospice to Honor Vietnam Veterans
  
• SouthernCare Hospice of Milan decorates Vermilion and Milan with yellow ribbons in honor of Vietnam Awareness Day
• Long-overdue recognition: Ogeechee Hospice

Long-overdue recognition: Vietnam veterans welcomed home at emotional ceremony 
Grice Connect; by DeWayne Grice; 3/29/25 
A poignant and heartfelt welcome home ceremony was held at Ogeechee Area Hospice, honoring Vietnam veterans from the surrounding communities. The event, filled with emotional tributes and personal stories, aimed to provide long-overdue recognition for the sacrifices made by these veterans. The ceremony, organized by Ogeechee Hospice, the American Legion Post 90, and Georgia Department of Veteran Affairs, brought together veterans, their families, and community members. The atmosphere was one of gratitude and respect, as attendees acknowledged the often-overlooked service of those who served during a tumultuous period in American history. [Continue reading ...]
Editor's note: We add this to previous posts, Today is the National Vietnam War Veterans Day, honoring 50 years since the war's end.

What to know about palliative and hospice care 
Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ); by Liz Seegert; 3/28/25 
... [Palliative care] is fundamental to health and human dignity and is a basic human right, according to the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard.  When reporting on serious illnesses, journalists can help demystify palliative care and encourage more people in need to take advantage of it by clearly explaining the differences, and benefits, and incorporating anecdotes to further illustrate how these types of care make a difference in the lives of patients and their families. [Continue reading ...] 
Editor's note: Share this article--written for health care journalists--with your communications and marketing leadership, with your community newspapers' journalists, and your employee/volunteer educators. Too often, new hospice/palliative care employees at all levels of roles and responsibilities begin their roles without clear knowledge, comprehension, and application of distinctions between standard healthcare, palliative care, and hospice care. And for new employees (especially non-clinical leaders), information must be applied to that person's specific role and responsibilities. 

Social Media Watch 3/28/25 

• Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association: Loves Community Hospice & Palliative Care's Mail Call, a new enhancement to the Veteran patient pinning ceremony.
• Joel Wherley: President and COO at Vitas Healthcare, happy to be partnering wtih the American Heart Association.
• Cindy Frazier: Allegiance Healthcare mythbusters: Demystifying home health & hospice myths.
• Melissa Calkins: For some of our nurses, this is an everyday reality—and it's heartbreaking. Just last week, I helped one of my clients hardwire Complex Case Review (CCR) into their processes. (Referencing article: Suspect armed with rifle shoots at hospice nurse, points weapon at deputies.)
• Jason Bring: AGG Healthcare partner, shares insights in a Law360 article discussing the impact of HHS' decision to rescind the Richardson Waiver.
• Kevin Kirkland: Agrace is proud to rehire exceptional individuals...
• Jacque Burklow: Celebrating four Hospice of Midland team workers - Adriana Aguilar, Pam Chesnut, Mayra Villa, and Lora Ramon.

‘Unsung backbone of care delivery’: The growing need for hospice aides 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 3/28/25 
As workforce shortages persist in health care, some operators are struggling to recruit and retain essential members of their care teams — hospice aides. The demand for hospice aides is expected to grow in the coming years. However, factors such as turnover, retirement, slow wage growth and immigration policy could complicate hospice’s ability to fill those positions. Many companies are focused on bolstering their nursing workforce, who are also in high demand, but providers also need to prioritize hiring a sufficient number of aides, according to Cooper Linton, associate vice president of Duke HomeCare & Hospice. [Continue reading ...] 

Palliative care in home health: Misconceptions and market opportunities 
Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 3/28/25 
While palliative care remains an uncommon offering among home-based health care providers, forward-thinking providers have recognized a growing market demand and are strategically expanding their service offerings to include palliative care solutions. Expanding service lines to include palliative care can help home-based care providers stand out from their peers, industry insiders told Home Health Care News. However, a significant knowledge gap is slowing the adoption of palliative care within the home health community. Home health care clinicians, patients and caregivers all report insufficient knowledge of palliative care, according to a recent study conducted by Columbia Nursing research and published in the Journal Home Healthcare Now.  [Continue reading ...]

Transforming healthcare: Hospice in the news, March 2025  
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); pod/videocast by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 4/2/25 
In this episode of TCNtalks, Chris Comeaux and Dr. Cordt Kassner, Publisher of Hospice & Palliative Care Today and CEO and Founder of Hospice Analytics, leverage their data and extensive experience to identify key Hospice headlines, articles, research, and social media posts that are driving change and transforming end-of-life care and healthcare in America. They share personal experiences with hospice care, emphasizing the importance of social work and discussing the challenges of healthcare reimbursement.  The conversation also touches on MedPAC recommendations, new social media trends, and highlights from recent research articles. 

Four security updates to get ahead of proposed 2025 HIPAA Amendment 
Cisco Duo; by Katherine Yang; 3/31/25 
Published in early January, the 2025 HIPAA Security Amendments are set to significantly enhance the protection of ePHI. The proposed changes are based off the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) goals of both addressing changes in the health care environment and clarifying what compliance obligations look like for regulated entities. Organizations have 180 days to reach compliance according to stricter standards of identity cybersecurity if the proposed updates pass. In order to be prepared, here are four things your organization or managed security service provider should focus on:  

1. Deployment of mandatory security controls ...
2. Securing against known vulnerabilities ...
3. Documentation for annual audits ...
4. Clear goals for visibility, prevention, and remediation ...

[Continue reading ...] For a fact sheet on the new HIPAA Updates, visit the HHS website. 

Niagara Hospice to offer free community presentation for National Healthcare Decisions Day 
Niagara Frontier Publications; Press Release; 3/28/25 
April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day, which is a day set aside to educate and empower individuals to discuss and document their end-of-life health care wishes. Niagara Hospice invites the community to attend the free presentation, “Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care,” ... Advance care planning includes advance directives like health care proxies, do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, and living wills. Advance directives help to ensure end-of-life care wishes are followed if one is unable to make necessary decisions for themselves. [Continue reading ...]
Editor's note: For more information about National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), explor The Conversation Project, at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Is your hospice providing a 2025 National Healthcare Decisions Day event? Email me a URL link to your local news coverage, press release, or your website's specific page. We will compile a list of participating organizations (with URL links) to highlight Advance Care Planning outreach, education, and implementation across the nation.

Hidden battles: Keeping cancer secret 
Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School; by Maureen Salamon; post is dated 4/1/25, retrieved from the internet 3/25/25 
Some people choose to conceal their diagnosis and treatment. Here's why — and reasons that approach can sometimes backfire. ... [In addition to privacy motives, Cristina Pozo-Kaderman, a senior psychologist at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] says cancer patients may also wish to:

• avoid sympathy or being treated differently
• bypass burdening or alarming others
• protect their job
• feel in control of an uncertain situation
• avoid fielding intrusive questions
• sidestep judgment if their cancer is linked to lifestyle choices.

... Secrecy disadvantages: Despite someone's desire for privacy, cancer often shows itself in ways that are hard to hide — whether that's hair loss, excessive weight loss or gain, or extreme fatigue. If people don't know the truth, they may make incorrect assumptions about what's happening. ...  It's helpful to have what Pozo-Kaderman calls "pocket phrases" ready to shut down any unwanted inquiries. You can say:

• I'm having a cancer-free day.
• I'll share more information another time, but not today.
• Thanks for asking. I'm doing okay — but how are you?

[Continue reading this right-on-target, insightful article ...]

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. ~ Michael Jordan
Here's to 2025's NCAA Champions, today's Women and tomorrow night's Men!