One year after Hurricane Helene: Lessons in resilience, recovery, and renewal 
Hospice & Palliative Care Today; Joy Berger and Cordt Kassner with Vern Grindstaff, Millicent Burke-Sinclair, and Chris Comeaux; 9/26/25 
At this time last year, Hospice & Palliative Care Today brought you a series of articles reporting on the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast, focusing on hospices in the North Carolina mountains. We remain deeply grateful for the many ways you—our readers and colleagues—rallied in support of those hospice organizations and their communities during their time of urgent need. This Saturday, September 27, 2025, marks the one-year anniversary of that epic disaster. To reflect on what has been learned and how recovery has unfolded, Vern Grindstaff (CEO of Compassionate Care WNC, Burnsville, NC), Millicent Burke-Sinclair (President and CEO of Four Seasons, Flat Rock, NC), and Chris Comeaux (President and CEO of Teleios Collaborative Network, Flat Rock, NC) gathered in conversation with Cordt Kassner (publisher) and Joy Berger (editor-in-chief). The insights that follow honor the hospice employees who persevered to provide urgent patient care. We celebrate their spirit of compassionate community and courageous problem-solving from the onset one year ago through ongoing recovery.

Alzheimer's Association: New telenovela series highlights Alzheimer’s in Hispanic and Latino communities 
Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, IL; Press Release; 9/15/25
In conjunction with National Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month, the Alzheimer’s Association is premiering "Memories of My Grandfather" ("Recuerdos de mi abuelo"), a five-episode mini telenovela aimed at encouraging Hispanic and Latino families to have open discussions about memory loss, diagnosis and caregiving across generations. The series, available in both English and Spanish, follows the emotional journey of a multigenerational Hispanic family in the United States after their grandfather’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The telenovela will be screened during two webinars hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association: one in English on Sept. 30 and one in Spanish on Oct. 7. Both webinars will feature a moderated discussion hosted by actress, film producer and Telemundo news anchor Gabi Del Moral. ... Both webinars are free and open to the public. Register for the English-language webinar or the Spanish-language webinar.

Avow recognizes World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 
Priority Marketing; Press Release; 9/25/25 
Avow joins organizations around the globe in observing World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on Saturday, Oct. 11, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the critical role hospice and palliative care play in supporting patients and families facing serious illness. 
Editor's Note: For information to honor hits at your organization, visit our 7/15/25 post, World Hospice & Palliative Care Day 2025 - Achieving the Promise: Universal access to palliative care 

Hospice of Amador and Calaveras raises over $66,000 at 26th annual “Celebrate Life” Art Auction on the Lawn 
Ledger.news, Jackson, CA; Press Release; 9/25/25 
Hospice of Amador and Calaveras proudly announces the success of its 26th annual “Celebrate Life” Art Auction on the Lawn, which brought together community members, artists, donors, and supporters for an evening of generosity and celebration. Thanks to the incredible support of the community, the event raised over $66,000 to help provide compassionate, quality end-of-life care to patients and families in Amador and Calaveras Counties. “This event is a beautiful reminder of what can be accomplished when a community comes together for a cause,” said Samantha Lukow, Executive Director of Hospice of Amador and Calaveras.

New AAHPM CEO on ensuring widespread access to hospice and palliative care 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/25/25 
Workforce, access to care, reimbursement and public policy are top agenda items for the A merican Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine as new CEO Pierre M. Désy takes the reins. ... Hospice News sat down with Désy to discuss the academy’s current priorities and the top issues facing hospice and palliative medicine. ... [Jim Parker] "Could you tell me some of your top priorities as you come into this new role?" [Dr. Pierre Désy] I have been focusing on listening and alignment. So the first part is a listening tour and relationship building tour, where I’m talking with every board member, one on one. I’m talking with committee chairs, council chairs. I’m speaking with all of our partners, every staff person, sponsors and individual donors.

Emergency Departments report more consults for hospice, palliative care 
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; by Michigan State University; 9/25/25 
One-third of Americans will visit an emergency department, or ED, within a month of their death. While EDs are primarily purposed to provide emergent care, they’re increasingly becoming an initial touchpoint for hospice and palliative care, or HPC, referrals and consultations, according to a new study from several researchers at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences.  Why this matters:

• Emergency departments, or EDs, are becoming an initial contact for patients to get hospice and palliative care referrals and consultations when presenting to the hospital for care.
• In the five years since COVID-19, hospice and palliative care consultations in hospital emergency departments have increased over 170%, although this trend has been growing since 2000.
• Increasing access to hospice and palliative care from the ED can enhance quality of life for both patients and their families.

Cancer patients are living longer than ever. Pain drugmakers haven’t kept up. 
Biopharma Dive; by Jacob Bell; 9/25/25 
Decades of slow-moving research, along with broader failures of the healthcare system, have left millions of people in daily pain. Doctors fear that’s bound to continue. ... More than 2 million people in the U.S. alone are diagnosed with cancer each year. Conservative estimates hold that between 20% and 50% experience related pain, though that figure can climb as high as 80% for patients with advanced disease. Despite the large number of patients and the need for more therapies, drugmakers have mostly shied away from pain altogether, fearing that its complicated biology makes for too risky a research investment.  ... Opioids remain the core of many treatment regimens. This lack of drug choices is aggravated by much broader failures of the healthcare system. 

A hospice intervention for caregivers: Improving home hospice management of end-of-life symptoms (I-HoME) pilot study 
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Veerawat Phongtankuel, Sara J. Czaja, Taeyoung Park, Jerad Moxley, Ronald D. Adelman, Ritchell Dignam, Dulce M. Cruz-Oliver, Micah Denzel Toliver, M. C. Reid; 9/24/25 
Background: While home-based hospice care seeks to reduce suffering at the end of life (EoL), patients continue to experience a high symptom burden. High symptom burden contributes to adverse outcomes, including patient suffering, burdensome care transitions, and caregiver burden. Yet, most caregivers lack formal education in patient symptom management despite providing up to 65 h of care per week. ... Conclusion: The I-HoME intervention was feasible to implement in the home hospice setting and acceptable to caregivers and hospice staff. Future efficacy trials are needed to determine whether this caregiver-focused intervention ... can measurably improve patient and caregiver outcomes in the home hospice setting.

Let's face (to face) it: Important changes to hospice face-to-face attestation requirements and other tidbits from the 2026 Hospice Final Rule 
Husch Blackwell; podcast by Meg Pekarske; 9/24/25 
... All in all, the news is positive: while there is a new requirement for the F2F attestation to be signed and dated, the signed and dated F2F clinical note on its own can now serve as the F2F attestation. In this episode, Husch Blackwell attorneys Meg Pekarske and Andrew Brenton share their thoughts on what the updated F2F attestation rules mean for hospice operators and weigh in on other components of the final rule, including CMS’s attempt at housekeeping by clarifying the types of hospice physicians who can certify patients. 

[United Kingdom] 2 in 5 hospices planning to make cuts this year 
ehospice; by Hospice UK; 9/24/25 
Data from Hospice UK reveals that as many as 2 in 5 hospices are planning to make cuts this year. With demand for services rising fast, the stark reality of insufficient funding leaves hospices with no option but to shrink services just as they should be expanding. Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK says: “Hospices are on the brink. Recent short-term funding for hospices in England, Scotland and Wales has been a genuine help, but as costs continue to snowball and demand keeps rising hospices can’t keep up and many are making or considering cuts. 

• Good Shepherd Hospice  introduced Dr. Scott Avery as their new Medical Director.

Treasuring each moment has become more than a lesson--it's the way we live and serve every day. ~ Millicent Burke-Sinclair, President and CEO of Four Seasons, Flat Rock/Asheville, NC, reflecting on this 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene