Hospice leadership in a new era of scrutiny
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Melissa Calkins; 7/28/26
Hospice leaders are operating in a very different environment than they were even a few years ago. ...

• The old way won’t hold. ...
• The bar is rising. ...
• The path forward is clear.
• This is a defining era for hospice leadership. The decisions leaders make now will shape how their organizations perform, withstand pressure, and sustain their mission in the years ahead. For that reason, quality and compliance can no longer be treated as secondary functions.They need to be built into the core of how the organization operates, with clear structure, defined ownership, and leaders who can recognize risk early and act before it escalates.
• You do not have to build it alone. ...
• The organizations that prepare now will be ready to protect their mission, support their teams, and lead with confidence in the years ahead.

Same team, same care, new name: interim healthcare offices in Lubbock and throughout West Texas become ExcelaCare 
Newsnet, Lubbock, TX; by EIN Presswire; 7/27/26 
A trusted provider of home health and hospice care in communities throughout West Texas, formerly known as Interim Healthcare, is officially transitioning to a new name: ExcelaCare. These local offices across the region, including Lubbock, TX and surrounding areas, will continue delivering the same patient-centered care under new branding. “While our logo and colors are changing, our ownership, management, and the local teams you have come to know and trust are not,” said the organization’s founder. ... The rebrand comes as the organization continues to pursue excellence across all its services and reflects an effort to elevate its ongoing dedication to the communities it has served for years as Interim. The local staff and day-to-day operations remain unchanged; only the name and visual identity are new.

There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. 
YouTube; by Navacare; 6/27/26
There are moments that remind you just how powerful music can be. Recently, I had the privilege of attending a ceremony honoring a veteran for his service to our country. During the ceremony, Grace from AccentCare Hospice sang "I Will Always Love You." It was beautiful. It was moving. And if I'm being honest, it brought a few tears to my eyes. Not only because we were honoring someone who had given so much, but because it was also my dad's favorite song. Music has a remarkable way of connecting us to people, memories, and emotions that words alone often can't reach. For many older adults, especially those living with dementia or memory loss, music can spark recognition, comfort, and moments of connection that feel truly extraordinary. [Watch the video to the end, to hear the dad's response.]

Ingram: Hospice gave my parents comfort and dignity. Texas must protect that care 
Tyler Morning Telegraph, Tyler, TX; by Tim Ingram; 7/27/26
As a healthcare leader and family caregiver, I've spent years advocating for hospice and care at home. When people ask me why I am so passionate about my work, I tell them about my parents. ... As [my mother] neared the end of her life, she wasn't surrounded by unfamiliar walls, constant interruptions, or strangers coming and going through the hospital hall. She was in our family's home: the place she built a life, raised a family, and created decades of beautiful memories. ... [I have a photo showing] my dad reclining in his favorite chair, with a hospice nurse delicately shaving him because he was too frail to do it himself to get ready for my mother's funeral service. This simple act spoke volumes to our family. ... These final weeks of my parents' lives – having died just 15 days apart – changed how I think about the value of care at home. [Additional access may be limited to a paywall.]

6th Cir. vacates district court ruling against Medicare hospice 
Bloomberg Law; by Ganny Belloni; 7/26/26 

• A federal appeals court panel ruled that Medicare applied an incorrect legal standard when determining whether a hospice owed money for denied end-of-life services.
• The court found that a Medicare administrative law judge did adequately apply a “safe harbor” to the hospice, which allows payments for services if a provider reasonably, yet wrongly, concludes that Medicare will cover a patient’s care.
• The court remands the case to the district court to allow the ALJ to apply the safe harbor to each of the hospice’s disputed claims.

Physicians: proposed California rule threatens livelihood, providers
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/28/26
Some hospice medical directors contend that proposed emergency regulations in California represent a threat to their livelihood, as well as creating access risks for patients. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) proposed the rules in June in an effort to combat fraud. Within the 143-page document, the sticking point for physicians is a requirement that, if finalized, would limit hospice medical directors to serving only one hospice. CDPH recently held an online stakeholder meeting regarding the proposal in which several physicians called on the agency to allow medical directors to serve as many as three hospices, or to eliminate the limitation altogether for at least some doctors.

Steps Medicaid plans can take now to prepare for Final CMS Community Engagement (Work) Requirement Rules 
Healthcare Business Today; by Luke Henderson; 7/25/26 
Here’s the question on the mind of almost every Medicaid plan leader: Will our organization be ready once community engagement (work) requirements become mandatory? The answer could determine whether that plan succeeds or fails in the next few years. ...
CMS’s Latest Guidance on Work Requirements, Explained ...
The IFC specifies that work requirements will apply to non-pregnant, non-Medicare adults ages 19-64 who are enrolled in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion group or subject to certain Section 1115 demonstration waivers that provide minimum essential coverage to adult beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries falling into these categories must demonstrate at least 80 hours per month of qualifying activities, which can include work programs, community service or at least half-time enrollment in an educational program. Individuals may combine activities to meet the mandates or earn the equivalent of 80 times the Federal hourly minimum wage ($580/month).

Medical Aid in Dying Act faces 2 lawsuits ahead of Aug. 5 effective date 
Spectrum News 1, Buffalo, NY; by Jack Arpey; 7/27/28
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act faces two lawsuits just over a week out from its Aug. 5 effective date, though there are currently no injunctions stopping it from going into effect.
An initial lawsuit brought by disability rights groups ... claims that people with life-threatening disabilities belong to a protected class under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are at risk of harm if the law goes into effect. ...
In a second lawsuit filed earlier this month, four orders of Catholic nuns and several Catholic healthcare ministries argue that the law infringes on their religious freedoms by forcing them to participate in care that goes against their religious beliefs.

WVU Medicine gave $25K in cash to hundreds of aspiring nurses. Did it work? 
Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Paige Twenter; 7/27/26 
When WVU Medicine started handing aspiring nurses up to $25,000 in cash, the bet was that money for life’s expenses, not just tuition, would keep them in school. Early returns suggest it is. As of late July, the Morgantown, W.Va.-based system had signed 985 students to its Aspiring Nurse Program and expected to cross 1,000 within a month, said Jessica Huffman, DNP, RN, assistant vice president of system nursing services. The program, which launched in August 2023 at two sites before expanding systemwide, gives students their stipends upfront to cover living costs — a flat tire, a utility bill, groceries — in exchange for a three-year commitment to work as a full-time direct care registered nurse at the 25-hospital system. The premise, drawn from student surveys, was that money is what pushes West Virginia nurses out of school before they finish, not a lack of aptitude.

At and end-of-life care home, a young cancer survivor finds his calling  
The Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY; by Jon Harris; 7/28/26 
Seated in the chapel at Sloan Comfort Care Home, 22-year-old Evan Folsom reflected on what working at the end-of-life facility has meant to him. "The Home did come at the right time for me," said Folsom, hours after finishing an overnight shift there, and a day before taking the daylong Medical College Admission Test. Folsom survived a brain tumor as a toddler and spent years recovering. That alone shaped an interest in medicine. ... His work at Sloan Comfort Care Home helped him come to terms with certain issues and fueled his interest in studying the complex moral and ethical questions that arise in medicine. So he took a "shot in the dark" and applied to Harvard Medical School's Master of Science in Bioethics program, along with a few other schools. He got into all of them but chose Harvard because Boston holds a special full-circle meaning for him. Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, is where he received treatment as a toddler. "Harvard was specifically deep for me, because that's kind of where my journey started," he said. Folsom leaves for Boston on Aug. 1 ...

Companies are tapping retired CEOs. Could health systems follow suit?Companies are tapping retired CEOs. 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 7/28/26 
U.S. companies across industries are turning to retired CEOs to lead turnarounds, The Wall Street Journal reported July 28. Will health systems take a page out of their book? To an extent, they already have — though the practice looks different in healthcare than it does in corporate America. Most recently, Cracker Barrel appointed 69-year-old David Deno as its new CEO. Mr. Deno served as CEO of Outback Steakhouse’s parent, Bloomin’ Brands, from 2019 to 2024. The move followed similar appointments by Boeing and Verizon Communications in recent years, the Journal reported. ...

Happy Wednesday - "Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." ~ Sam Levenson