State grant supports Navian Hawai'i, expands access to hospice care
Navian Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI; Press Release; 5/14/26 
As federal funding uncertainty continues to impact health care providers nationwide, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature has approved a $450,000 grant-in-aid to Navian Hawaii. The funds will be used to renovate the nonprofit organization’s Kailua Home, helping expand access to hospice care and potentially increase Medicare funding for the state. The funding was included in the state’s supplemental budget bill finalized April 30, which outlines operating and capital improvement priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. The measure comes amid broader federal budget concerns, including proposed cuts to Medicaid under H.R. 1. The state grant will help fund improvements to Navian Hawaii Kailua Hospice Home ...

Adoration Home Health and Hospice and At Home Care Hospice celebrates ribbon-cutting in Henrico, VA 
BrightSpring Health Services; Press Release; 5/28/26
On Tuesday, May 19, Adoration Home Health and Hospice and At Home Care Hospice, an Adoration Partner, hosted an open house and ribbon cutting celebration for the opening of their new location at 8751 Park Central Drive. 

NMAHHC supports efforts to combat fraud — warns against unintended harm to patient access 
Roswell Daily Record, Albuquerque, NM; Press Release; 5/28/26 
The New Mexico Association for Home & Hospice Care (NMAHHC) expressed support for federal efforts to address fraud and abuse within the Medicare home health and hospice programs ... However, the association urges policymakers and regulators to ensure enforcement efforts remain targeted and evidence-based so compliant providers and vulnerable patients are not harmed in the process.

The secret to great leadership from a Chick-fil-A executive — part two 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); pocast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Mark Miller; 5/29/26 
Through candid stories from his decades at Chick-fil-A, Mark challenges the modern misconception that leadership is about status, perks, or authority.  Instead, he reframes leadership as a responsibility to help others succeed — balancing high performance with genuine care for people. Mark and host Chris Comeaux dive deep into the tension between results and relationships, explaining why the best leaders refuse to sacrifice one for the other.  From redefining accountability as a gift rather than punishment to exploring the dangers of ego-driven leadership, this episode offers practical insights for leaders navigating today’s increasingly self-focused culture.

Early palliative integration for heart failure 
Medscape; by Karel De Pourcq, PhD; 5/27/26 
... Chronic conditions such as heart failure often bring relentless symptoms, repeated hospital admissions, and deep emotional and social effects for patients and their families. Bringing a palliative perspective into care widens the focus beyond disease-directed treatments to include ongoing symptom relief, emotional support, and help for overburdened caregivers. It also promotes early, shared planning about treatment intensity — deciding when worsening episodes can be managed at home vs when hospitalization is needed — and clarifying care goals as the illness progresses.

What I've learned at the bedside: Jewish wisdom for the time before death 
ReformJudaism.org - Jewish Life In Your Life; by Ptarmigan Emery; 5/27/26 
I have been a hospice nurse for 10 years. ... I am also a Jew, though not a particularly observant one. ... What has surprised me is how often those two parts of myself, the nurse and the Jew, have found each other in the same moment at the bedside. Jewish tradition has a great deal to say about the time before death. ... In traditional Jewish law, a person who is actively dying has a name: a goses. The rabbis gave this passage its own category, saying: this time is sacred and deserves our full attention. ...
Editor's Note: Sacred Time. Without rushing or turning away, this thoughtful reflection explores how Jewish wisdom honors the moments before death as deserving presence, meaning, and our fullest attention.

First do no harm: communication surrounding non-beneficial treatments 
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Cassie Stanzler, MD, Adam Marks, MD, MPH, and Laura Taylor, MD, MSc; 5/21/26 
Despite a consensus in the medical community that clinicians should not offer non-beneficial treatments (NBTs) to their patients, little guidance exists on the particular communication needs around this fraught topic. While intended in the spirit of non-maleficence, setting limits around NBTs can be seen by patients and families as abandonment, resulting in conflict. In this paper, we propose a framework to guide Palliative Care clinicians in communicating about these complex issues with patients and families. ... Our framework emphasizes proactive relationship building with patients and families, close attention to their values, and compassionate limit-setting when medically appropriate. 

CMS relaunching Hospice PEPPER Report in June 2026 
LeadingAge; by Katy Barnett; 5/27/26 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid temporarily paused PEPPER reports in January 2024, but over the last several months, the agency has released updated reports for other Medicare provider settings, such as critical access hospitals and short-term acute care hospitals.

CMS myth vs. fact: what hospice and home health providers need to know about the new Medicare enrollment moratoria 
JD Supra; by Polsinelli Law Firm: Stephen Angelette, Mary Canavan, Simran Nijjar, Ross Sallade, Elizabeth Tucker, and Deja Williams; 5/26/26 
[Polsinelli Law Firm responds to the CMS nationwide six-month moratoria barring new Medicare enrollments for hospice and home health agencies (HHAs), effective May 13] ... Any actions that trigger an initial Medicare enrollment are prohibited during the moratoria. This can include changes in ownership, new practice locations, additions of provider types, or other transactions requiring a new enrollment application. In this alert, we address common myths surrounding the moratoria and key considerations for providers during the six-month period. 
Guest Editor's Note, Judi Lund Person: Review this guidance for application to your hospice or home health planning, including mergers, acquisitions, and establishment of new practice locations or new branches.   

New Iowa law allows ‘adult close friend’ to make end-of-life medical decisions 
KCRG-9 ABC, Iowa City, IA; by Lacey Reeves; 5/28/26 
Starting in July, a close adult friend can make end-of-life medical decisions for someone who is unable to make them themselves under a new Iowa state law. When a patient can’t make medical decisions for themselves, a hierarchy establishes who can make the decisions for them. Typically a spouse, adult child or adult sibling of the patient can make those decisions. “Not everybody has a family member who is available, willing, capable to make decisions for them,” said Sara Krieger, CEO of Iowa City Hospice. Iowa City Hospice said it has been working for years to add “close adult friend” to that list through legislation.

How AI’s growing role in nursing raises questions about safety, ethics, and human care: Penn nursing report cautions that AI systems may add rather than reduce costs and workflow burdens
Penn LDI - Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; by Hoag Levins; 5/27/26 
As artificial intelligence systems spread through hospitals and clinics, a growing debate is emerging over whether the technology will ultimately strengthen nursing care — or gradually replace parts of it. That tension is at the center of a new University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing report, “Artificial Intelligence and Nursing Science: Opportunities, Challenges, Implications, and Guidelines,” published in the May-June 2026 edition of Nursing Outlook.

Welcome June! The month where office coffee turns into iced lattes.