Beyond the picket lines: Why nursing strikes signal a need for systemic solutions 
Healthcare Business Today; by Eric L. Race; 2/15/26 
The recent nursing strikes in New York City are making headlines, but they represent something much larger than a single labor dispute. Across the country, healthcare workers are voicing concerns that go far beyond compensation. When nurses walk picket lines, their signs tell a more complex story:

• demands for safer patient ratios,
• protection from workplace injuries, and
• the resources needed to provide quality care without sacrificing their own health.

These strikes are a symptom of deeper, systemic challenges facing our healthcare system. NYC won’t be the last city to face these issues. ... While pay increases dominate the headlines, dig deeper into the picket signs and union demands, and you’ll find two critical themes: staffing adequacy and nurse safety. 
Editor's Note: How do these themes compare with your Employee Satisfaction data? With clinical staff retention? Likely, themes experienced by nurses carry over to other clinical interdisciplinary team members. What systemic solutions have you implemented? Need to develop?

Little houses of support for hospice care popping up 
NOLA.com, Slidell/New Orleans, LA; by Suzie Hunt; 2/17/26 
A new public arts project in starting in Slidell will soon see a plethora of festive-themed tiny houses spread throughout the city and surrounding area, all to support end of life care for patients in St. Tammany parish. The Hospice Hope House Project is taking off through the efforts of local businesswoman and artist Connie Born and a team of volunteers. Proceeds will benefit the work done at the Hospice House.

Trinity Health announces suspension of hospice services 
KFYR TV / KMOT TV, Minot, ND; by Kyona Rivera; 2/12/26 
Trinity Health in Minot announced Thursday that its Home Health and Outpatient Hospice services are suspended. A statement provided to Your News Leader from Trinity Health indicates the provider is looking at other ways to transition these services. The decision came after careful consideration and a thorough review of current operations, according to the statement. Trinity said the timeline for the change will be announced when plans are finalized. 

Mourning a former spouse: Disenfranchised grief 
AfterTalk; by Dr. Robert Neimeyer; 2/16/26 
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, ... Upon hearing that my ex died of cancer last February, I reacted viscerally which surprised my husband. I had to handle some of my ex’s legal affairs as he never remarried. Occasionally since then, I get flooded with memories of him and the good times we shared. It’s almost haunting. I am saddened he is missing the wonderful events in our children’s’ lives. Do people mourn their divorced spouses years after remarriage?  ... Carla
Dear Carla, ... [Read Dr. Neimeyer's important response.]

How to plan for a ‘good death,’ according to a VCU researcher 
VCU News, Virginia Commonwealth University; by Madeline Reinsel; 2/16/26 
People talk a lot more about death than dying. That’s according to Yifan Lou, Ph.D., a Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work assistant professor who studies how expectations around death and end-of-life care differ across cultures. ... “My job is really trying to understand different populations and then help design a policy and health care system that can support their value of the good death.” Planning for a good death requires patients and families to make decisions around hospice care, pain management, quality of life, financial affairs and long-term care, ideally alongside a social worker.

Bono residents donate blood in honor of boy battling cancer 
KAIT-8 News, Bono, AR; by Alejandra Hernandez; 2/16/26 
A community blood drive honored 7-year-old Jacob Garland, who is battling cancer and currently in hospice care. ... Doctors told the family they had done everything possible, but the cancer was too aggressive. Jacob is now in hospice care at home. ... While hospitalized, Jacob received nearly one blood transfusion per week. ... Several family members would travel to Memphis to donate blood, even though not all of the blood would go to Jacob directly—it was still helping a patient who needed it. ... Garland’s aunt, Sharon Hill, approached the family about hosting a blood drive, and they agreed. “There’s a lot of people out there that need life-saving blood, so if it helps other families,” Garland said. “Se’re happy to be here and support that need.”

Prison teaches Rock Island man how to care for others 
wn.com, The Daily Nonpariel; by Tom Loewy; 2/15/26 
Finis Leonard has helped 13 men die. That's not why the 48-year-old Rock Island native has been in Illinois prisons since 2007. Handed concurrent sentences of 30 years for being an armed habitual criminal and 10 years for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Leonard made a decision in 2016 that he says changed his life. He decided to study palliative care and started a hospice care program at Danville Correctional Center. Leonard said working with dying men and helping others learn palliative care has made him a better person. He has petitioned Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal for early release from his prison sentence, which is expected to last another six years. [Full article is behind a paywall.]

Physician Associates [PAs] in hospice and palliative medicine: Insights from a national needs assessment 
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Ryan Baldeo, MPAS, MSPC, PA-C, FAAHPM; 2/3/26
Results: Respondents were primarily female (89.8%) and hospital-based (57.1%), with 73.5% less than or equal to 10 years of experience in the specialty. While 55.1% had specialized training, only 16.3% were specialty certified. Qualitative analysis identified five challenges: regulatory and policy hurdles, workforce disparities compared to other APPs, misconceptions about the PA role, education gaps, and emotional strain.
Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggest a need for targeted organizational support in advocacy, particularly regarding legislative efforts for hospice inclusive, and professional development to bridge the certification gap.

This American Heart Month, Carolina Caring elevates cardiac care for serious illness 
Carolina Caring, Newton, NC; Press Release; 2/9/26 
February is American Heart Month, a national effort to raise awareness about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. As of 2025, 6.7 million Americans over the age of 20 are living with heart failure (Heart Failure Society of America, 2025). ... In response, Carolina Caring’s Advanced Cardiac Care program provides effective, tailored support to patients with chronic heart conditions. As the first cardiac care program of its kind in North Carolina, Carolina Caring combines nationally recognized standards of care with a home-based hospice approach. 

Embedding care in the ED: Liz Goldberg and Lauren Southerland 
GeriPal; podcast by Alex Smith with Dr. Liz Goldberg and Dr. Lauren Southerland; 2/12/26 
The idea of embedding various forms of non-emergency care in the emergency department makes a WORLD of sense.  If an older adult comes into the ED with a fall, the minimum the ED has to do is address the fall injury and send them out. But many emergency providers realize this is often a band aid.  They see that patient again the next time they fall.  And again.  And again.  The same could be said for the patient who is malnourished and dehydrated and admitted for “failure to thrive,” again. And again. Our two guests today, Liz Goldberg and Lauren Southerland, both emergency medicine physician-researchers, have had enough.  ...

[England] Almost one in three people in England die without the basic care they need 
Medical Xpress; by King's College London, edited by Lisa Lock; 2/16/26 
About 170,000 people in England every year spend their final days in pain, distress or without vital support that should be available to everyone at the end of life. These are the findings of the first major study in more than a decade to estimate unmet palliative care needs among people at the end of life. The paper was led by researchers at King's College London and Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, with contributions from the University of Edinburgh and was published in the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy.

The Winter Olympics prove that strength can shine even in the harshest conditions.