Luke’s Wings 
Hospice Foundation of America; 10/28/26 
Luke’s Wings’ Veterans in Hospice Transportation Assistance Program (H.T.A.P.) provides free flights for the loved ones of Veterans in hospice care. Through H.T.A.P., Luke’s Wings is honored to provide a final salute to these extraordinary men and women and ensure their loved ones have the opportunity to be physically present when it matters most. Join Ms. Yaede who will discuss this impactful program as well as their No Service Member Spends The Holidays Alone campaign, which helps ensure service members, Veterans, and their families can be together during the holiday season. This is a free 30-minute informational session. Continuing education not available.

Inside the evolving SNF-hospice relationship as OIG aims to get hospice numbers under control 
Skilled Nursing News; by Amy Stulick; 10/27/26 
Federal officials are homing in on the financial relationship between nursing homes and hospice providers, notably when that relationship affects potential Medicare savings and payment inefficiencies for hospice care in such settings. An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) work plan, announced in July, aims to determine Medicare payments for hospice care provided in a nursing home, and estimate cost savings from reducing the payment to address inefficiencies in payment structure. OIG also seeks to examine the practices of hospice providers with a high percentage of beneficiaries living in nursing homes.

The debate: vertical integration, payvider, or world-class care—which path forward? | part three 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 10/28/26 
Who should control the healthcare dollar—and what happens when the organization paying for care also decides how it is delivered? In Part Three of The Debate: Vertical Integration, Payvider or World-Class Care—Which Path Forward?, Chris Comeaux examines the payvider model and its implications for hospice, palliative care, and the future of serious illness care.  "Christopher" makes the case that clinical excellence alone may leave providers without the influence they need to shape access, fund prevention, and support patients earlier.

3 hospices reveal leadership changes 
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/28/26 
Two hospices have unveiled new operational and community engagement leadership roles. Meanwhile, one organization has promoted a clinical executive. ...

• HopeHealth has named Helena Moronta as its director of community engagement, a role created to oversee the hospice provider’s newly established public outreach and education program. ...
• New York-based MJHS Health System has tapped Susan Lage as its COO, a newly created role at the organization. ...
• Colorado-based Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care has promoted Ashley Brown as its new vice president of clinical services. She has served a nine-year tenure at the organization thus far.

Dartmouth Health study finds rural older adults have less access to intensive hospice care 
The Vermont Journal, Labanon, NH; 10/28/26 
Older adults living in rural communities are less likely to receive hospice care, and when they do, are less likely to receive the most intensive hospice services for severe symptoms, according to a new study led by a Dartmouth Health researcher and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study found that 52.4% of older adults who died in urban ZIP codes received hospice care, compared with 44.8% of those in the most rural ZIP codes. ... Dr. Claire Ankuda, lead author of the study, palliative medicine physician at Dartmouth Health, and associate professor of medicine and of health policy and clinical practice at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine [said,] “What we found is that the biggest differences emerge when patients need more intensive, round-the-clock support – and that’s the gap we need to understand better.”

The Rose Program: expanding palliative care in nursing homes 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/28/26 
“Palliative medicine saved my life.” These words from his daughter Rose inspired Dr. David Thimons to launch a new palliative care company. Rose is a survivor of bone cancer. The result of her family’s ordeal is the Rose Program, a for-profit company that provides palliative care primarily in nursing homes, with plans to expand into community-based services. Thimons early in his career was a nursing home geriatrician. But his daughter’s cancer experience led him to become palliative care board certified, eventually becoming chief medical officer of the national palliative medicine company Aspire. Hospice News sat down with Thimons to discuss the origins of the Rose program, its sustainable care model and plans for the future.

Acute delirium management in hospice and palliative care
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Shih-Yin Lin and Donna E. McCabe; 10/14/26 
... Effective prevention and management of delirium require a multifaceted, interprofessional approach that addresses modifiable risk factors, as well as the underlying acute medical causes. Hospice and palliative care nurses play a central role in implementing evidence-based nonpharmacological interventions and engaging family care partners to reduce symptom burden and improve outcomes through goal-concordant, supportive strategies, including early mobility, hydration, sleep-wake regulation, and careful pharmacological stewardship. 

Work requirements put new pressure on Medicaid member retention 
MedCity News; by John Marchisin; 10/28/26 
According to a recent report by the JAMA Network, one in five adults covered under Medicaid could lose their benefits due to new work requirements taking effect in January 2027. The community engagement (work) requirements apply to the able-bodied, non-pregnant Medicaid expansion population and affect 41 states plus Washington, D.C. These members will be required to participate in 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. Although 64% of Medicaid members are currently working either part time or full time, inconsistent work hours could prevent many members from completing the 80 hours a month required to remain eligible. 

Oregon OSHA’s new Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention Rules take effect January 1, 2027 
The National Law Review; by Anna B. Rao, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.; 10/28/26 

• Oregon OSHA has finalized a workplace violence prevention rule that expressly covers home health agencies and home hospice programs in addition to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.
• The rule defines “workplace violence” to include threats, harassment, and intimidating behavior not just physical assault.
• Oregon OSHA’s Discrimination Complaint Rule (OAR 437-001-0295) now includes reporting workplace violence incidents.

At Meridian Senior Living,  Kacy Kang is reshaping care through family engagement, data, and experience-driven operations 
American Healthcare Leader; 10/27/26 
The senior living industry is experiencing significant change. Today’s residents arrive with new expectations compared to earlier generations. Families now play a bigger part in choosing communities. ... Few leaders have witnessed this evolution as closely as Kacy Kang. As Co-founder, Principal, and Board Member of Meridian Senior Living, Kacy has spent more than 36 years in senior housing, skilled nursing, hospice, and post-acute care. Today, he guides one of the nation’s leading senior living operators, with communities from Vermont to Florida and as far west as California. For Kacy, one of the industry’s biggest blind spots is how operators view the people they serve. ...

BetterRX launches BetterVisit to cut mileage and labor costs for hospice and home health agencies
HJ News, Salt Lake City; by BetterRX; 10/28/26 
BetterRX today announced the launch of BetterVisit™, which helps hospice and home health agencies reduce mileage and labor costs by replacing the patchwork of caseload planning, patient assignment, and mileage reporting tools with one GPS-verified field operations system. In pre-launch field tests, BetterVisit cut mileage by an average of about 19% with optimized routes, and its Smart Patient Assignment saved an average of approximately 20 minutes on every new admission. For a busy agency, that time adds up to hours back every week.

If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. ~ Bob Hope