What Gallup's recent data says about the emotional price of leadership 
Forbes; by Julian Hayes II; 4/25/26 
Leadership offers deep fulfillment, but it's not without its challenges. Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace report confirms this: leaders outperform all others in engagement and life satisfaction. ... Compared to individual contributors, leaders are more likely to report high levels of stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness by margins of 7, 12, 11, and 10 percentage points, respectively. ... Leadership, more often than not, entails a paradox: the people with the most authority, the highest compensation, and the greatest organizational influence are less likely to experience simple daily joys and other basic emotional pleasures than those several levels below them.

Iowa City Hospice hosts Walk for Dignity 
KCRG-9 ABC News, Iowa City, IA; by Lacey Reeves; 4/26/26 
People in Iowa City walked through Willow Creek Park on Saturday in memory of loved ones who died after receiving hospice care. Iowa City Hospice hosts a Walk for Dignity every year to raise money to provide free end-of-life care to people who need it. ... “We give over $250,000 a year in unreimbursed hospice care to people in our community who don’t have insurance, because we believe that if you’re dying, you shouldn’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay for your health care,” said Sara Krieger, CEO of Iowa City Hospice. ... As the families walked, they passed by memory lane with yard signs with photos of people who have died.

AI Innovation Series 2026: Executive views on the future of AI in hospice care 
Hospice News; by eecker2025; 4/27/26 
This series of articles is sponsored by MatrixCare. Featured leaders include the following:

• Daniel Zhu, VP of Product Management, Data and AI/ML, MatrixCare ...
• Paul Minton, Head of Product, MatrixCare ...
• Tammy Flores, Manager, Health Informatics & Privacy, Hospice Alliance Inc. ...
• Allison Rainey, Head of Nursing and Clinical Informatics for Senior Living & Long Term Care, MatrixCare ...
• Sarah Williams, Director of Administrative Services, Hospice in the Pines ...

VITAS banks on length of stay, referral mix management 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 4/27/26 
VITAS Healthcare has been working to balance admission numbers from different settings and manage length of stay to prevent further payment cap liabilities after a rough go in the last months of 2025. Starting late last year VITAS began emphasizing hospital-based referrals in its admissions processes, which typically result in shorter length-of-stay patients. As of the fourth quarter of 2025, which marked the start of Fiscal Year 2026, the company has virtually eliminated that cap liability in Florida. This trend has continued into 2026, according to VITAS CEO Joel Wherley.

Local boy becomes honorary doctor with Hospice Family Care team
Fox 54, Huntsville, AL; by Caleb Aguayo; 4/24/26 
A young boy battling what his caretakers call a "likely incurable disease" got to live out a dream Friday when his hospice care team made him an honorary doctor for the day, complete with scrubs, a white coat bearing his name, a name tag and his very own stethoscope. Abobakr Almageleh, who has spent years surrounded by medical equipment, has long shown a fascination with the tools and routines of the health care professionals caring for him, from listening to his own heartbeat to tracking the rhythm of monitors nearby. His caregivers at Hospice Family Care took notice.

Arizona wound graft cases 
LundPerson & Associates Hospice Consulting - Enforcement Briefing; by Judi Lund Person; 4/23/26
Hospice Patient Targeting - Detailed Case Card

• USA v. Gehreke & King (Apex Medical LLC), Phoenix, AZ: Billed $1.2B - Paid $615M. Sentenced Oct 2026
• Gehrke and King deployed medically untrained sales reps into hospices, group homes, and ALFs to find elderly Medicare patients with wounds of any kind. ...
• Hospice Connections ... 
• USA v. Kontos, Kupetz & Kinds, Mesa / Scottsdale / Phoenix, AZ: Billed $1B+ - Paid $600M+
• A copycat of the Gehrke/King model ...
• Why These Cases Are Classified as 'Related' ...
• Shared Scheme Elements ...
• Case Timeline ...
• Total Combined Exposure ...

8 years later, Ohio takes another look at ‘medical aid in dying.’ Will this time be different? 
Cleveland.com, Columbus, OH; by Mary Frances McGown; 4/26/26 
Eight years after similar legislation stalled at the Statehouse, Ohio lawmakers are again weighing whether terminally ill residents should be able to determine the timing of their death. Rep. Eric Synenberg this week introduced legislation to legalize “medical aid in dying” in Ohio, allowing mentally competent adults with a terminal diagnosis and six months or less to live to hasten their deaths by taking a lethal dose of medication prescribed by a physician. ... Recent public polling has shown that most Americans are open to medical aid in dying, and advocates say that public education on the subject has improved since the last legislative battle. Yet opposition to such legislation is also strong, particularly among the religious.

Researchers at University of Pittsburgh target managed care (The state of hospice: Impacts on equity, quality, and nursing-an AAN consensus paper): managed care 
Insurance Newsnet; by a news reporter-staff news editor at Insurance Daily News; 4/24/26 
... This consensus paper examines the current state of hospice care in the US and the impact of changing hospice business models on health equity, healthcare quality, and nursing practice. Review of current literature and government policy statements related to hospice care and payment. Recommendations include updating policies to account for private equity involvement, evaluating current quality measures, addressing the existing Medicare Hospice Benefit, ensuring transparency and oversight for hospice agencies, and ensuring patient and caregiver education about hospice services.

Midland Care expands care model with VMA acquisition 
Midland Care; Press Release; 4/13/26 
Midland Care Connection has announced that its subsidiary, Midland Care Physician Services, has acquired Vintage Medical Associates (VMA), a primary care practice focused on serving older adults across northeast Kansas. This acquisition allows Midland Care to more closely coordinate medical and support services, enable streamlined care transitions, and improve communication among providers. Shawn Sullivan, President and CEO of Midland Care, “This acquisition strengthens our strategy to expand access to integrated, person-centered care for older adults.”

Hospice volunteer finds his 'happy place' tending the roses 
LNP | LancasterOnline; by Karyl Carmignani; 4/24/26 
The warmth and colors of springtime prompt many eager gardeners to get their hands back in the soil. Rich Braine, a volunteer with Hospice and Community Care where he tends to the rose gardens on Good Drive, is one of those people. “It is respite for me,” he says. “I love to work in the flower beds.” ... Serving the community is not new to Braine, 76. He volunteered as a firefighter for 27 years, but that’s “a young man’s job” he says. ... Volunteering at Hospice and Community Care is near and dear to his heart, as the organization has taken care of many of his family members, including both of his parents. 

Highest-paid payer CEOs in 2025 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Casolo; 4/22/26 
UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley topped the list of the highest-paid payer CEOs in 2025 — and it wasn’t by a small margin. The caveat is, as Mr. Hemsley stepped back into the C-suite in 2025, his compensation package included a one-time $60 million equity award. Former CEO Andrew Witty trailed Mr. Hemsley in the overall ranking. CEOs at Elevance Health, CVS Health and Humana saw pay bumps from 2024. Here are the highest-paid CEOs, in order: ...

I've learned that to ignore the facts does not change the facts. ~ Andy Rooney