Feds charge 15 in SoCal hospice fraud crackdown 
MyNewsLA.com, Los Angeles, CA; by Contributing Editor; 4/2/26 
A Covina married couple — a psychologist and a registered nurse — were among 15 defendants facing federal charges Thursday in Los Angeles as part of a crackdown on health care fraud schemes such as sham hospice facilities that pay people without terminal illnesses to pose as dying Medicare beneficiaries. ... Three nurses, a chiropractor, and the Covina psychologist were among eight defendants recently arrested in the investigation local law enforcement dubbed “Operation Never Say Die.”
Editor's Note: For more details about the Covina married couple's case, continue reading for "Hospice where staggering 97% of terminal patients survive is accused of defrauding Medicare for $7.45 million."

Hospice where staggering 97% of terminal patients survive is accused of defrauding Medicare for $7.45 million 
CBS News Bay Area; by Adam Yamaguchi, Laura Geller, Rachel Gold; 4/2/26 
The FBI arrested a married couple Thursday accused of fraudulently billing Medicare for $7.45 million while running a hospice with a survival rate reported to be more than 97% after five years. They were the first in a series of arrests planned Thursday, federal officials told CBS News. A high survival rate at a hospice provider is one of a series of red flags identified by state auditors for fraud because most people enter hospice care in the final stages of a terminal illness. In past cases of fraud, operators were found to be using false or stolen identities to collect federal reimbursements for palliative care. The targets of the early-morning operation were Gladwin and Amelou Gill, a doctor and psychologist who co-own 626 Hospice, which does business as St. Francis Palliative Care, according to the FBI. 
Editor's Note: For more arrests that occurred later on 4/2, read our post "Feds charge 15 in SoCal hospice fraud crackdown."

April is Global Volunteer Month [share what you're doing] 
Points of Light - Global Volunteer Month; retrieved from the internet 4/2/26 
Global Volunteer Month is a time to honor and celebrate volunteers worldwide while encouraging volunteerism everywhere. Volunteers, you are the heartbeat of strengthening communities, and throughout the month, we recognize your vital role. We also urge everyone to join us in taking action, as every act of service contributes to a more connected world. 
Editor's Note: How is your hospice celebrating and honoring volunteers this April? We’re gathering meaningful and creative ways organizations express appreciation for those who serve in so many roles throughout the year. We’d love to include yours. Please email me at jberger@hospicepalliativecaretoday.com with a brief description and a link to more details (article or webpage). Let’s honor the heart of hospice—together.

Carolina Caring, nationally-recognized serious illness care provider, expands services to Davie County 
Carolina Caring, Davie County, NC; Press Release; 4/1/26 
Carolina Caring, the nonprofit serious illness care provider serving Western North Carolina and the Charlotte Region, announces an expansion of services into Davie County. Carolina Caring is one of the first 3 hospice organizations established in North Carolina and has remained committed to the mission of providing high-quality, compassionate care for more than 45 years. The organization continues to evolve to meet the growing needs and expectations of the populations it serves. The expansion into Davie County follows a period of significant organizational growth and distinction.

Private equity, AI, and the future of end-of-life care | part one 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner; 4/1/26 
In this thought-provoking episode, Chris Comeaux and Cordt Kassner unpack some of the most pressing forces shaping the future of end-of-life care—private equity, rising healthcare costs, and the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence. Grounded in real-world stories and industry data, the conversation explores a growing tension between the promise of Hospice as a gold-standard care model and the operational, financial, and expectation gaps that providers and families are increasingly experiencing.

Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties hosts Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony 
The Chronicle, Orange County and Sullivan County, NY; Press Release; 4/2/26 
Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties hosted a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony on March 30 at the Cornwall Yacht Club, bringing together veterans, community members and local leaders to recognize the service and sacrifice of Vietnam-era veterans and reaffirm its commitment to compassionate end-of-life care. ... The ceremony included the reading of the names of Vietnam veterans from Orange and Sullivan Counties who lost their lives in service, followed by a moment of silence. A Missing Man Table presentation honored those who never returned.

Expert panel updating NCHPC’s Palliative Care Clinical Practice Guidelines 
Hospice News; by Kevin Ryan; 4/1/26 
The National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care (NCHPC) has chosen a panel of 33 palliative care experts to develop the 5th edition of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care. Originally created in 2004, through the National Consensus Project, the guidelines established the first national, evidence-based standards for the palliative care field. The guidelines have been updated four times since 2004 and have been endorsed by more than 90 health and professional health care worker organizations.  

“I just feel alone and by myself”: How adolescents experience loneliness when their parent has cancer 
BMC Public Health; by Lydia Mckeown, Martin Dempster, Jenny Groarke & Lisa Graham-Wisener; 3/31/26
... Adolescents experiencing parental cancer report intrapersonal loneliness and interpersonal loneliness across their peer group and family life. Healthcare professionals should identify if patients have young dependent children early on so they can support parents to provide age-appropriate information about cancer to their young people and signpost parents to relevant support for their children. 
Editor's Note: This need becomes even more urgent when a parent is dying. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospice Conditions of Participation reference “family” 423 times—an intentional reminder that hospcie care extends beyond the patient. Supporting parents as they support their children is both essential and expected.

AI governance is not policy. It is infrastructure. 
Mondaq - Legal500| Intelligence; by Lowenstein Sandler; 3/23/26 
If a regulator or litigant asked your organization tomorrow to explain how a specific AI system produced a decision, could you? Most organizations would struggle to answer. Not because they lack policies. Because they lack reliable evidence. AI governance that exists only in documents cannot scale. Real governance lives in systems, pipelines, identity controls, telemetry, and monitoring infrastructure that produce verifiable proof that governance is working.

Executive Personnel Changes - 4/3/26 

• Affinity Care Hospice & Palliative Care of Florida has announced
• Dana Kuckan has been promoted to Executive Director, overseeing Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties
• Dennys Terry Morales is now Regional Executive Director Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties
  
• HoriSun Hospice in Lincoln, NE has named Nancy Hulewicz as Executive Director, effective March 1
  
  
• Samaritan of Mount Laurel, NJ has announced
• Robert Curatola of Hammonton has been named Chief Financial Officer
• Mark Biancaniello of Blackwood has been named Senior Vice President of Human Resources

Social Media Watch 4/3/26

• Tom McQueen, MDiv, BCC eloquently describes The Vocation of a Hospice Chaplain

The Heart has its reasons of which Reason knows not. ~ Blaise Pascal