Sunday Newsletters
Top read stories of the last week (in order) is the focus of Sunday newsletters - enjoy!

Creative examples of hospice fundraising
Compiled from recent news posts

• Pet Portrait Painting for Hospice: Community Hospice; Jacksonville, FL [Editor's favorite for most fun, meaningful]
• Muddy Dog Dash: Lewis-Manning Hospice Care; Dorset, United Kingdom [Editor's favorite for most creative]
• A Dance Competition With a Heartwarming Purpose: Highland Hospice; Inverness, United Kingdom
• Spring Bouquets: Niagara Hospice; Lockport, NY
• Festival of Trees: Talbot Hospice Foundation; Easton, MD
• Pancake Race: Winchester Hospice; Winchester, United Kingdom
• Swing for Compassion Golf Tournament: Hospice of the Chesapeake; Pasadena, MD
• Winter Blues Bluegrass Festival: Hospice of Crawford County, Meadville, PA
• Heroes for Hospice Race: CMH Hospice; Bolivar, MO
• Car and Truck Show: Avow Foundation; Naples, FL
  

Editor's Notes: These creative examples of hospice fundraising emerged in recent hospice web-based articles. While compiling a master-list is far more massive than the purposes of our newsletter, we hope these stir your hospice's imagination to support our larger hospice movement. Bonus: Check out Today's Encouragement!

Trends in pediatric palliative care research: February 2024 list
PedPalASCNET, editor Hal Siden, MD, MHSc, FRCPC; email; 2/26/24
PedPalASCNET: A network for accessible, sustainable, and collaborative research in pediatric palliative care. Trends in Pediatric Palliative Care Research, 2024, Issue 01.  

Palliative care doctor: What dying feels like 
Mind Matters, by Denyse O'Leary; 2/15/24
What does dying actually feel like? Most human beings have always believed that the essence of a human being survives the death of the body though the outcome is envisioned in a variety of ways. But, assuming that pain and distress are controlled, what does dying actually feel like? Can science tell us anything about that? 

Where hospices are investing their 2024 recruitment, retention dollars 
Hospice News, by Holly Vossel; 2/20/24
As hospices zero in on their investments in staff engagement and operational efficiencies, organizational culture is becoming a higher priority. ... Some have leveraged technology to streamline their operations and reduce documentation burdens, while others have poured resources into sculpting their organizational culture and developing training and career pathways.
Notable mentions: Tanya Marion, Enhabit; Craig Dresang, YoloCares; Cooper Linton, Duke HomeCare & Hospice.

NJ's 'medical aid-in-dying' law upheld by state Supreme Court 
Public News Service, by Roz Brown; 2/13/24
After a five-year court battle, New Jersey's medical aid-in-dying law has been affirmed by the state's Supreme Court, which rejected an attempt to overturn the statute. Signed by the governor in 2019, the law was soon challenged by a physician based on religious, personal and constitutional grounds. It allows mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to get a prescription they can use to end their lives.

More than $37,700 raised to fund grief and loss support for children in SWFL 
Avow Foundation Press Reslease; 2/26/24
Avow [Hospice] raised funds throughout January as part of a matching gift campaign with St. John’s Episcopal Church, resulting in more than $37,700 donated in support of the Avow Kids program. St. John’s Episcopal Church pledged to match dollar-for-dollar up to $17,350 for children’s grief and loss support, a goal Avow achieved well before the end of the month.

A year after Jimmy Carter entered hospice care, advocates hope his endurance drives awareness 
ABC News, by Bill Barrow, Associated Press; 2/18/24
Since Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at his home in south Georgia one year ago, the former U.S. president has celebrated his 99th birthday, enjoyed tributes to his legacy and lost his wife of 77 years. Rosalynn Carter, who died in November, about six months after the Carter family disclosed her dementia diagnosis, lived only a few days under hospice supervision, with her frail husband at her bedside. Experts on end-of-life care say the Carters’ different paths show the range of an oft-misunderstood service. Those advocates commend the Carter family for demonstrating the realities of aging, dementia and death. They express hope that the attention spurs more Americans to seek out services intended to help patients and families in the latter stages of life.
Editor's Note: How are you addressing this length of 1+ year with the patients you serve? Click here for the CMS pdf of the 6-month rule, "Face-to-Face Requirement Affecting Hospice Recertification." 

VITAS® Healthcare continues its pathway of success and promotes two key operations executives 
Investors Observer; 2/23/24 
Two executive leaders at VITAS Healthcare have been promoted to top operational roles. Joel Wherley now serves as president and chief operating officer (COO) and Bryan Wysong as executive vice president (EVP) of operations for the nation’s leading end-of-life care provider. 

HCA unveils executive performance incentive pay for 2024 
Becker's Hospital Review, by Laura Dyrda; 2/27/24 
Nashville, TN-based HCA Healthcare revealed its plans for the 2024 Executive Officer Performance Excellence Program in a Feb. 26 Form 8-K filed with the SEC. Top executives for the 182-hospital health system will be eligible to earn performance awards based on achieving specific targets, weighted as:

• 80% for hitting EBITDA targets
• 20% for hitting quality metrics targets

Commentary: Virginia hospice care coalition a model for other states to emulate
The Roanoke Times, by Steve Cone; 2/16/24
 Here in Virginia, eight nonprofit hospice care organizations are working together with a private sector sponsor on a statewide initiative called the Virginia Hospice Awareness Campaign to publicize the benefits of hospice. This approach should serve as a model for other states to emulate. (Two of the nonprofits in the campaign serve the Roanoke and New River valleys and Alleghany Highlands: Good Samaritan and ConnectionsPlus.)

Death and redemption in an American prison
KFF Health News / NPR, by Markian Hawryluk; 2/19/24
Publisher's note: This is a "must read" article about Steven Garner, including circumstances regarding how he was sentenced to life without parole at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, his 26-year service in their hospice program, his release two years ago, and his hospice work since.
Notable mentions: Warden Burl Cain; Jamey Boudreaux, Louisiana ~ Mississippi Hospice & Palliative Care Organization; Cordt Kassner, Hospice Analytics; Kim Huffington, Sangre de Cristo Community Care.

Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive. ~ C.S. Lewis