Flooding in Texas: Updates and resources
Compilation by Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Joy Berger; 7/6/25

• LIVE from ABC News: Texas flooding updates: Statewide death toll now at least 78, say officials, retrieved Sunday 7/6/25 at 6:09 pm EDT
• By far the greatest number of fatalities occurred in Kerr County, where 68 people at last word are believed to be dead, according to officials, including 28 children. At least 41 people are missing statewide as of late Sunday afternoon, officials said.
• A father who died saving his family, children at summer camp, a loving grandmother: The faces of the Texas flooding tragedy, CNN, retrieved Sunday 7/6/25 at 7:52 pm EDT
  
  
• Hospice organizations in Kerr County, TX, per Hospice Analytics' National Hospice Locator
  Do you have colleagues in these affected areas? We will be providing ways you can help, as information becomes available.
• Hill Country Memorial Hospice - Fredericksburg
• Hill Country Memorial Country Memorial Hospice - Marble Falls
• Embrace Hospice - San Antonio
• Alamo Hospice - Boerne
• New Century Hospice of San Antonio - San Antonio
• Peterson Hospice - Kerrville

Children and their families: Grief and flood disaster news about camps
Compilation by Hospice & Palliative Care Today; by Joy Berger; 7/6/25
Summer can be both a healing and vulnerable time for grieving children, especially those attending bereavement camps. The devastating flooding in Texas, resulting in the deaths and "still missing" searches for children, teens and adults has undoubtedly shaken us all. Imagine the possible fears of children who are headed off to "grief camp" this week or in the near future. This type of tragedy can retraumatize children already processing loss, and create new layers of important, sensitive support from parents and counselors. We share with you these resources:

• Talking with Children About Tragic Events, Dougy Center, The National Grief Center for Children & Families, by Donna Schuurman, EdD, FT
• Understanding the Impacts of Natural Disasters on Children, Society for Research in Child Development
• Helping Children Affected By Natural Disasters, The Kids Mental Health Foundation
• En Español
• Early Childhood Disaster-Related Resources for Children and Families, Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response
• National Alliance for Children's Grief Resource Library

Natural disasters, climate change, and the impact on hospice and palliative care teams and their patients 
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Quarterly; by Larry Beresford; Summer 2025 Edition, 7/3/25 
Several recent natural disasters, including highly destructive wildfires in Los Angeles and Maui and flooding in the North Carolina hills caused by rains from Hurricane Helene, have provided vivid reminders that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime. Hospice and palliative care providers, responsible for the care of patients with serious illnesses who live in their homes and in long-term care facilities, could be dealing with disruptions in power or phone service, other communication barriers, staffing shortages, impassible roads, even large-scale evacuations of their patients. ... Are agencies doing what they can to plan, prepare, and practice for managing disasters, which could also include human-caused crises or events like earthquakes that are not subject to weather or climate?

• How Do We Talk About Climate? ...
• A Time of Disasters ...
• Leading in Climate Medicine ...
• Effects of the Heat ...
• A Hurricane in the Mountains ...
• Resources ...

Alliance Statement on House passage of Reconciliation Bill: Medicaid provisions threaten home and community-based services for millions of vulnerable Americans 
National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandira, VA and Washington DC; Press Release; 7/3/25 
The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement today in response to the House’s passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” also known as the Reconciliation bill, which now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature. “The Alliance is deeply troubled by the Medicaid provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has passed both chambers of Congress and now awaits President Trump’s signature,” said Alliance CEO Dr. Steve Landers. “These provisions—including work requirements, reduced provider taxes, and new cost-sharing mandates—prioritize short-sighted budget savings over the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens who rely on home and community-based services (HCBS).”

Home Health & Hospice’s 35th Jiggety Jog surpasses goal: Annual fundraiser supports McClure Miller Respite House 
Vermont Biz (VB), The University of Vermont Health Network - Home Health & Hospice; by Tim; 7/3/25 
A rainy forecast couldn’t stop supporters of the McClure Miller Respite House from gathering on May 31 for the University of Vermont Health Network - Home Heath & Hospice’s 35th Jiggety Jog. The annual 5K run/walk raises funds to directly support the care of residents at the Respite House in Colchester. The 2025 Jiggety Jog included 247 participants and secured 530 donations surpassing the event goal of $125,000. Meeting this goal will provide more than 140 days of care at Vermont’s only Medicare-certified inpatient hospice residence. 

Petaluma and Santa Rosa hospice workers kick off 2-day strike against Providence 
Petaluma Argus-Courier, Petaluma, CA; 7/2/25 
Nearly 100 hospice workers and supporters protested in Petaluma and Santa Rosa on Wednesday as part of a two-day strike against what they call bad-faith bargaining with Providence as the health care giant joins forces with a private equity-backed hospice company. The hospice workers, who are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, said they’ve been locked in negotiations for their first contract for two years and are frustrated with Providence’s “stalling.” They accuse the health care provider of not wanting to settle their contract while it works on a joint venture with a for-profit company. 

Center for Acute Hospice Care to close in August 
29 News, Charlottesville, VA; by Jacob Phillips; 7/1/25 
After nearly a decade of offering around-the-clock end-of-life care, Hospice of the Piedmont is closing their Center for Acute Hospice Care (CAHC) on Ivy Road in Charlottesville in August. “It gives us an opportunity to concentrate more on where patients want to be, which is home, and those services will still be provided,” Hospice of the Piedmont President and CEO Nancy Littlefield said. “[CAHC] is a 10-bed unit that we lease...and it’s for patients who might be having needs of a higher level of hospice care.” Littlefield says the main reason for closing the center is the lease is coming to an end and with uncertainty surrounding federal budget cuts of hospice care, continuing in this location is not sustainable. “Our hospice, as well as all hospices across the state, are having to be very cautious about what Medicaid and other reimbursement changes may occur under the current administration,” Littlefield said, “and I think the worst thing we can do for families and patients is to not be prepared.”

Should palliative care be in the survivorship business? A podcast with Laura Petrillo, Laura Shoemaker
GeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Laura Petrillo, Laura Shoemaker; 7/3/25
In this week’s episode, we dig into two deceptively simple questions: When does someone become a cancer survivor, and should palliative care be in the business of caring for them? Spoiler: It’s more complicated than it seems. We’ve invited two palliative care doctors to talk about survivorship with us: Laura Petrillo, a physician-researcher at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Laura Shoemaker, an outpatient palliative care doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. This episode is a must-listen for those navigating the evolving landscape of cancer care, and asking not just how we treat cancer, but how we support people who are living with it.

Gentiva unveils 3 disease-specific hospice programs 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/3/25 
Gentiva has set in motion three new disease-specific hospice programs branded as Cancer Comfort Care, Dementia Comfort Care and Cardiac Comfort Care. The three new suites of services have launched in select markets with plans for national expansion. They are designed to provide tailored services to serve the unique needs of terminally ill patients suffering from cancer, dementia or cardiac conditions, such as heart failure and other diseases. Those three types of diseases are among the most common diagnoses for hospice patients.

Avera Medical Minute: Family shares their experience with hospice care 
Dakota News Now, Sioux Falls, SD; by Dakota News Now staff; 6/30/25 
Hospice care is more than just medical support. At the Dougherty Hospice House, it can be considered a home away from home, where staff aim to offer patients and their families the assistance and comfort they need during this difficult time. In this Avera Medical Minute, one Sioux Falls family shares how, thanks to the hospice team, they were able to focus on spending time with their loved one. Craig Lloyd was known as a development leader in the Sioux Falls community, building homes and more throughout the city. “He had a big heart, so he just kept trying to improve things, his thought was always ‘God put me on this Earth to make it better,’” said Craig’s wife, Pat Lloyd. ... Craig was also in Florida at the time when he needed hospice care and Pat credits the work of Avera and the hospice team in making a smooth transition for Craig from there to home in Sioux Falls and then to Dougherty Hospice House.

CMS launches new model to target wasteful, inappropriate services in original Medicare 
CMS Newsroom; 6/27/25 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing a new Innovation Center model aimed at helping ensure people with Original Medicare receive safe, effective, and necessary care. Through the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, CMS will partner with companies specializing in enhanced technologies to test ways to provide an improved and expedited prior authorization process relative to Original Medicare’s existing processes, helping patients and providers avoid unnecessary or inappropriate care and safeguarding federal taxpayer dollars. This model builds on other changes being made to prior authorization as announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CMS on [6/23].

Case Summaries: 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown 
Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; retrieved from the internet 7/3/25
[Gleaned from this lengthy article for "hospice" involvement:] Criminal Division | Case Summaries

• Tyler Kontos, 29, of Mesa, Arizona, Joel “Max” Kupetz, 36, of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Jorge Kinds, 49, of Phoenix, Arizona were charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with a $1 billion amniotic wound allograft fraud scheme... [The] defendants targeted elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, ...
• Dr. Shivangi Amin, 39, of Los Angeles, California, was charged by information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with a $2 million hospice fraud scheme. ...
• Betzabe “Betsy” Wintermute, 55, of Malibu, California, and Dr. Sarkis Bolisajian, 58, of Los Angeles, California, were charged by indictment for their roles in a multi-million-dollar hospice fraud scheme. ...
• Carlos Munoz, 57, of Richmond, Texas was charged by information in connection with a bribery scheme ... to certify and re-certify Medicare and Medicaid patients for hospices services that they didn’t need or qualify for.
• Dera Ogudo, 39, of Richmond, Texas, Victoria Martinez, 35, of Richmond, Texas and Evelyn Shaw, 52, of Houston, Texas were charged by indictment with a $110 million health care fraud and kickbacks scheme. ... According to the indictment, Ogudo and Martinez operated a hospice company, United Palliative & Hospice Company (“UPHC”), that misled vulnerable elderly adults ...
• Hector Almanza, 41, and Diana Almanza, 39, both of San Antonio, Texas, were charged by information with conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks in connection with a hospice fraud scheme. ...
• Shireen Begum, 53, of Dublin, California; Dr. Mustafa Michael Kazemi, 64, of Rescue, California; Sarkhan Murad Koshkarli, 38, of San Ramon, California; Alok Malani, 39, of Danville, California; Dr. Narendra Malani, 65, of San Ramon, California; and Mohammed Abdul Majid Siddiqui, 49, of Dublin, California, were charged by complaint with healthcare insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit healthcare insurance fraud in connection with a $2.7 million hospice fraud scheme. ...
• Nathaniel G. Stimpson, 34, of Decatur, Indiana, ... [allegedly] stole medication from patients and obtained possession of the controlled substances for his own use while employed at Eleos Hospice Care.

Medicaid provisions threaten home and community-based services for millions of vulnerable Americans 
National Alliance for Care at Home, Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/3/25
The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) issued the following statement today in response to the House’s passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” also known as the Reconciliation bill, which now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature. “The Alliance is deeply troubled by the Medicaid provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has passed both chambers of Congress and now awaits President Trump’s signature,” said Alliance CEO Dr. Steve Landers. “These provisions—including work requirements, reduced provider taxes, and new cost-sharing mandates—prioritize short-sighted budget savings over the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens who rely on home and community-based services (HCBS).” The home care community advocated throughout the legislative process for Congress to mitigate these harmful Medicaid provisions.

Pennant announces home health acquisition in Southern California 
Classic 96.7 FM BWZ, Eagle, ID; 7/1/25; 7/1/25 
The Pennant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNTG), the parent company of the Pennant group of affiliated home health, hospice, home care and senior living companies, announces the acquisition of a premier home health agency, GrandCare Health Services. ... The Pennant Group, Inc. is a holding company of independent operating subsidiaries that provide healthcare services through home health and hospice agencies and senior living communities located throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. ... GrandCare Health Services is a 5-star rated provider of home health and hospice services across Southern California.

Hang in there, we're halfway through the year! ~ Unknown