MLN Fact Sheet: Creating an effective Hospice Plan of Care
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Learning Network (MLN); 5/10/25 
The hospice plan of care (POC) maps out needs and services given to a Medicare patient facing a terminal illness, as well as the patient’s family or caregiver. CMS data shows that some hospice POCs are incomplete or not followed correctly. This fact sheet educates on creating and coordinating successful hospice POCs. The primary goal of hospice care is to meet the holistic needs of an individual and their caregiver and family when curative care is no longer an option. To support this goal:

• The hospice provider develops an individualized POC
• An Interdisciplinary Group (IDG) sets up the POC and it’s overseen by a Registered Nurse (RN) coordinator

Editor's note: "Failing to plan is planning to fail," is a quote often attributed to Ben Franklin. What--if anything--is more important in hospice than the person's Plan of Care? Perhaps, actually using? Perhaps, knowing when, how, and with whom to adjust previous plans to changing needs? Perhaps, implementing each individualized Plan of Care with humanity, integrity, and clinical acumen? My questions are not to diminish the importance of effective Hospice Plans of Care. Rather, to emphasize its core, crucial roles in discerning and providing effective, efficient, coordinated, personalized hospice care. Do you think of the hospice patient's Plan of Care as a noun, "a plan"--or a verb, "to plan"? It's both. This CMS / MLN Fact Sheet is a must-have, must-know, must-use resource. Download it. Share it. Examine its linked reports. Learn. Listen. Improve. Ultimately, whose plan is it? Years from now, who will carry evocative memories of the good, bad, and everything-in-between from the care your hospice is providing, today? (Spoiler alerts: the patient; the caregiver and family.) It matters. Let's learn. Let's plan.

LeadingAge, Hospice Associations seek delay in HOPE implementation 
LeadingAge; Press Release; 5/28/25 
LeadingAge, along with the National Alliance for Care at Home and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, on May 19 urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay implementation of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation, or HOPE tool. In the letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz the associations outline concerns with technology implementation in preparation for the HOPE tool. The letter specifically asks CMS to waive the HOPE timeliness submission requirement for two calendar quarters post implementation. The letter further requests that CMS delay the HOPE implementation date until at least six months after CMS education, training, and final validation specifications are available and the application for iQIES access has been opened for hospices. 

Remove barriers that restrict hospice care, Alliance offers in new report 
McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/28/25 
Hospice providers can boost quality and patient satisfaction with a focus on transparent, culturally sensitive communication with clients, according to a new report by the National Alliance for Care at Home. ... For the report, the Alliance surveyed 2,000 adults who either recently experienced the death of a loved one or have been involved in healthcare decisionmaking for a person with a serious illness. Respondents included individuals of a variety of ages, income levels, ethnicities and educational backgrounds. ... . For many seniors, one of the largest barriers to care is ineffective communication, the survey found. Language barriers are a significant hurdle for non-English speaking older adults, particularly those who are first generation immigrants, it noted. Many seniors are also less comfortable with technology-based communication than younger people, and prefer face-to-face conversation over text messages.

Hospice El Paso to receive over $100K from Marathon Petroleum Corporation 
KTSM, El Paso, TX; Press Release; 5/28/25 
Hospice El Paso will receive a $174,000 donation from Marathon Petroleum Corporation this week, which includes the gift of a fully equipped ambulance to support the organization’s patient transportation needs. The donation will be held on Thursday, May 29, the organization said. ... The donation will enable the organization to “provide timely and compassionate transportation for patients requiring specialized end-of-life care, ensuring they receive the support they need with dignity and comfort,” read the news release by the organization. ... “We are deeply grateful to Marathon Petroleum for their unwavering commitment to our community,” Dr. Jim Voiland, CEO of Hospice El Paso, said.

Empath Health to sell service center location 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/29/25  
The Florida-based senior care provider Empath Health is selling one of its administrative service centers, located in Pinellas County in its home state. The center was initially established by Suncoast Hospice, which is now an Empath Health affiliate. The sale is part of Empath’s effort to “realign its physical footprint” to invent more directly in home-based, patient-centered care, according to a statement from the organization. “Selling an underutilized administrative building allows us to reinvest in the people, programs and technology that bring comfort, dignity, and support into homes and communities,” said Jonathan Fleece, president and CEO of Empath Health, in the statement. “It’s a return to our roots and a recommitment to the future.”

Capito sees earmark results in hospice renovations 
CBS 13 WOWK, Charleston, WV; by Sarah Davis; 5/28/25 
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) visited the Hubbard Hospice House in Charleston Wednesday to see her congressionally directed spending in action. The senator got an exclusive tour of the renovations being made, including a new roof, HVAC system and a fresh paving job on the facility’s parking lot. The construction project is supported by Capito’s 2024 congressional directed spending, also known as an earmark, which she said is a necessary investment for the welfare of West Virginians.

SpiriTrust Lutheran says Home Care & Hospice operations will wind down across three counties, end service on July 18th 
Tri-State Alert, Chambersburg, PA; Press Release; 5/29/25 
Earlier on Thursday [5/29], News Talk 1037FM was alerted to a WARN notice from SpiriTrust Lutheran as to a closure of a portion of their business. Throughout the process, that notice has been narrowed down to their Home Care & Hospice (HCH), with the company announcing their plans to discontinue operations out of their Franklin County office which serves clients in Franklin, Adams and York counties. The official closure will be July 18, 2025. ... SpiriTrust Lutheran says that roughly 65 home care and hospice employees will be affected by the shutting, but  some are expected to be reassigned or offered positions within the SpiriTrust Lutheran family of Life Plan Communities ... SpiriTrust Lutheran officials cited the organization’s ongoing challenges mirrored those confronting many similar organizations nationwide – significant increases in the cost of delivering care due to staffing shortages; rising benefit expenses; and the escalating prices for medical supplies and pharmacy. 

A ‘cloak of comfort’: an integrated approach to palliative care for cancer patients 
Sinai Health; 5/26/25 
At Mount Sinai Hospital, palliative care is fully integrated into cancer care, providing comprehensive, person-centered support for those with advanced illness. Palliative care, derived from the Latin pallium meaning “cloak,” offers comfort and support to individuals with serious illnesses. Often misunderstood as solely end-of-life care, it actually provides relief at any stage of a life-threatening illness and can be provided in tandem with cancer treatment. This holistic approach addresses physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, aiming to improve quality of life for both patients and their families. In fact, early integration of palliative care can enhance symptom management, extend life and offer greater support to caregivers. Patients can receive care at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Cancer Care Clinic, at home through the Temmy Latner Centre’s home palliative care program, and in the palliative care unit at Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital.  

Hospitalists should champion hospice as ‘life with dignity’ 
Medscape; by Julie Peck; 5/29/25 
If anyone can put a positive spin on the end of life, it’s Charles Vialotti, MD, director of Hospice Care at Holy Name Medical Center’s Villa Marie Claire in Bergen County, New Jersey. Violotti, who at the age of 80 lives at the 20-bed Villa Marie Claire to serve its residents full-time, says the hospice industry needs hospitalists’ help with sort of a rebrand, one that will almost certainly have a positive effect on patient and family satisfaction. “Providers used to stress offering people death with dignity. And if you think about that, who is ever going to choose anything that offers death? Death in any form is still death,” Vialotti said. “So, we really like to focus on offering people life with dignity, giving people back choice, giving them the option to structure their final days, weeks, or months the way they would most like to see it happen."

Door remains closed on CMS forums as new rules, requirements are phased in 
McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kimberly Marselas; 5/28/25 
Four months into the new presidential administration, skilled nursing leaders have had no opportunity to hear directly from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services staff during traditional Open Door Forums or National Stakeholder Calls. Open Door Forums have been held three-to-five times annually in a practice that started more than 20 years ago. The online meetings give providers, vendors and other stakeholders an opportunity to learn more about regulatory and logistical changes being pursued by CMS, as well as providing question-and-answer sessions with policy architects. In addition to skilled nursing forums, CMS has in the past also hosted similar events for home health, long-term care services and supports, rural health and other provider types. But CMS in January cancelled a skilled nursing forum and all others planned for February and has yet to add any new forums or stakeholder calls — which often feature the administrator discussing major policy or clinical updates — to its calendar.

Providers, advocates ask Senate to reject $700M in Medicaid cuts, Congress to save OAA programs 
McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/27/25
Providers and advocates for older adults are counting on the Senate to reject a portion of the proposed federal budget that would gut $700 million from the Medicaid program. Members of the House of Representatives passed their version of the bill late Wednesday. ... Home care advocates ANCOR and the National Alliance for Care at Home on Thursday also called on the Senate to reject the House-passed cuts to Medicaid.

Empathy meets efficiency: Voice AI in law, healthcare and debt collection 
Forbes; by Kumar Abhirup; 5/29/25 
When a grieving daughter calls a probate firm at midnight or a worried parent rings a pediatric clinic after hours, the first voice they meet decides whether they stay or stray. As organizations adopt AI, especially voice and conversational AI, that voice is increasingly synthetic. A recent survey from the American Bar Association found that the share of firms using AI tools rose from 11% in 2023 to 30% in early 2025. Healthcare has sprinted even faster: The American Medical Association found 66% of physicians now use some form of AI, up from 37% two years earlier. Collections agencies are also hopping aboard this trend ... 

A student film explores an end-of-life story: How Jingyi Li created the documentary that swept the Redstone Film Festival 
Boston University, College of Communication, Boston, MA; by Mike De Socio; 5/27/25 
When Jingyi Li set out to create a documentary about healthcare for elders, she struggled to find a family willing to sit in front of her camera. Li (’25) was inspired by the power of filmmaking to create social impacts, and wanted to explore hospice care in Chinese culture. The interest stemmed from Li’s experience interning at a local hospice care center in Yunnan Province, China, where she witnessed the complexities and cultural sensitivities involved in providing care for terminally ill patients within Chinese families. With the help of a hospice and palliative care service in Boston, Li started reaching out to Chinese families about filming the end-of-life process, but many rejected her request. ... She eventually found a “brave family” whose roots in the US date back to the mid-20th century. Li says the family’s “mix of Chinese and Western culture” made them more amenable to being filmed.  ... The resulting short documentary, named Pópo for the elder at its center, went on to win a bevy of awards at this year’s Redstone Film Festival, including best film and best documentary. 

[Canada] Strengthening hospice care through strategic partnerships 
Investors Hangout; by Addison Perry; 5/29/25 
HealthPRO Canada is making waves in the healthcare sector with an important new collaboration that promises to enhance the quality of care provided by hospices in Ontario. The strategic partnership with Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) seeks to benefit over 140 hospice programs across the region by leveraging HealthPRO’s extensive buying power. This initiative is set to bolster operational efficiency and support hospices in delivering high-quality services to families in need.
Editor's note: Trends continue. 

May has taught me lessons I will carry with me into June. ~ Anonymous   (What are these for you?)