Stillwater Hospice begins providing services in Steuben County 
inkFreeNews, Steuben County, IN; News Release; 10/6/25 
Fort Wayne-based Stillwater Hospice began providing services in Steuben County, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, extending its coverage area to 13 counties. Stillwater is now the only nonprofit hospice provider based in the region, offering in-home and facility-based care for patients in residential homes, assisted living facilities and nursing communities. ... Stillwater Hospice, founded in 1888, operates a 14-bed hospice home and maintains partnerships with regional hospitals, including Cameron Hospital in Angola. The move north aims to increase access to end-of-life and palliative care for rural Hoosiers.

Pine Tree Hospice celebrates 40th anniversary at Peaks Kenny State Park 
The Piscataquis Observer, Bangor, ME; by Staff, Piscataquis Observer; 10/6/25 
Sixty-plus volunteers and their family members gathered on Saturday, Sept. 20 to celebrate Pine Tree Hospice’s 40 years of providing free care and comfort to families in the greater Piscataquis County community. ... Executive Director Kristen Wortman credits the group’s longevity to the devotion of its volunteers to serving isolated and often house-bound neighbors in their communities, caregivers and those grieving the loss of a loved one. Pine Tree Hospice continues to focus on neighbors helping neighbors. Services are free and provided to clients without medical referral.
Editor's Note: Congratulations to this out-of-the-box, rural, "non-medical" hospice that saw end-of-life care needs and found creative "neighbors-helping-neighbors" ways to meet them. Put this into context of 1985, in an ongoing rural environment at the uppermost northeast corner of the U.S., long before Medicare hospice became the norm. 

Why are more older people dying after falls? 
KFF Health News; by Paula Span; 9/30/25 
... Public health experts have warned of the perils of falls for older people for decades. In 2023, the most recent year of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 Americans over 65 died from falls, an opinion article in JAMA Health Forum pointed out last month. More startling than that figure, though, was another statistic: Fall-related mortality among older adults has been climbing sharply. ... [Death] rates from fall injuries among Americans over 65 had more than tripled over the past 30 years. Among those over 85, the cohort at highest risk, death rates from falls jumped to 339 per 100,000 in 2023, from 92 per 100,000 in 1990.  ...

• Drug theory questioned ...
• 'Deprescribing' ...

Wisconsin rarely grants compassionate release as aging, ailing prisoners stress systems 
Wisconsin Watch; by Mario Koran and Sreejita Patra; 10/7/25 
Increased use of compassionate release could ease costs and crowding with minimal risks to public safety, experts say. But it remains off limits to many prisoners. ... Wisconsin grants few applicants compassionate release, leaving many severely ill inmates in short-staffed prisons that often struggle to meet health care needs. Wisconsin courts approved just 53, or 11%, of 489 compassionate release petitions they received between January 2019 and June 2025 — about eight petitions a year, Corrections data show. Courts approved just five of 63 petitions filed in all of 2024. 

Terminally ill patients would be able to use medical marijuana in Pennsylvania hospitals under new bipartisan bill 
Marijuana Moment; by Kyle Jaeger; 10/6/25 
Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators have introduced a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to use of medical marijuana in hospitals.Similar to a law previously enacted in California, the Pennsylvania legislation from Sen. John Kane (D) and 17 bipartisan cosponsors aims to ensure that cannabis patients with severe illnesses such as cancer retain access to regulated products as an alternative treatment option.

Winnetka man gets nearly 5 years for role in $16M Medicare fraud 
Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles, CA; by City News Service; 10/6/25 
A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced Monday, Oct. 6, to four years and nine months behind bars for his role in conning Medicare out of nearly $16 million through sham hospice companies and then helping launder the illicit proceeds. Karpis Srapyan, 35, was also ordered to pay restitution of $3.2 million to Medicare, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Bayada receives $1m grant for nursing scholarships 
HomeCare, Philadelphia, PA; Press Release; 10/2/25 
BAYADA Home Health Care, a nonprofit home health care provider, announced it has been awarded $1 million from the Regina Charitable Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation to sponsor 75 caregivers in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on their path to becoming nurses.  The Regina Charitable Fund is a nonprofit established to support organizations that provide care for chronically ill and indigent aged, and to train individuals to provide such care. ... While providing paid personal care and companionship services to BAYADA clients, program participants will receive scholarships of $10,000 each to attend the nursing school of their choice. 

Uplift Hospice acquires Grace Hospice, Medical Group 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/2/25 
Uplift Hospice has acquired Tucson, Arizona-based Grace Hospice & Palliative Care and Grace Medical Group for an undisclosed amount. The transaction not only boosts the company’s average daily census and builds density in their Arizona service region, it will also help them scale their small but growing home-based primary care and palliative care businesses. Uplift currently has one medical group active in Nevada and is seeking to expand those services across their footprint, which also extends into Texas. 

Healthcare AI in the United States — navigating regulatory evolution, market dynamics, and emerging challenges in an era of rapid innovation
Mondaq; by Jones Walker; 10/7/25
... As 2025 progresses, the convergence of technological innovation, regulatory adaptation (or lack thereof), and market shifts has created remarkable opportunities and complex challenges for healthcare providers, technology developers, and federal and state legislators and regulatory bodies alike. The rapid proliferation of AI-enabled medical devices represents perhaps the most visible manifestation of this transformation. With nearly 800 AI- and machine learning (ML)-enabled medical devices authorized for marketing by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the five-year period ending September 2024, the regulatory apparatus has been forced to adapt traditional frameworks designed for static devices to accommodate dynamic, continuously learning algorithms that evolve after deployment. 

Behavioral scientist breaks down what makes a great leader 
CBS Mornings / YouTube; interview with Jon Levy; 10/6/25 
Behavioral scientist and New York Times bestselling author Jon Levy spent the last 15 years meeting with different types of leaders. In his new book, "Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius," he talks about the preconceived notions of leadership.

[South Africa] Capturing the comfort and care of palliative care this World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 
Good Things Guy, South Africa; by Nothando Mthembu; 10/7/25 
It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and it is upon this very adage that the Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC) of South Africa has launched a powerful photographic campaign to capture the dignity, comfort and support that patients facing life-threatening illness receive and deserve through the provision of palliative healthcare services. With the hope of showcasing the impact of palliative care through real-life stories and images, the ‘Through the Palliative Care Lens’ campaign aligns with the theme for World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2025 (WHPCD2025): ‘Universal Access to Palliative Care’.

Experience is the teacher of all things. ~ Julius Caesar