Literature Review

The hospice moratorium: what CMS is really signaling about the future | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Dr. Jennifer Kennedy; 9/2/26 In Part One of this timely conversation, host Chris Comeaux and co-host Cordt Kassner,  sit down with Dr. Jennifer Kennedy, Vice President for Quality, Standards and Compliance at CHAP, to unpack what the CMS hospice moratorium means, why it was implemented, and what hospice leaders should be watching next.  Jennifer explains how escalating concerns around fraud and abuse, rapid market expansion, transactional hospice models, accreditation oversight, and Medicare enrollment have created an unprecedented regulatory environment.  She also shares why she believes the moratorium could be extended as CMS continues strengthening enrollment screening and program-integrity efforts.

​Change management: inevitable but tangible Forbes; by Tal Frankfurt; 9/2/26 ​I was talking with a higher education client last week about their new CRM implementation. Everything had gone well technically. Data migrated. Dashboards built. Automations live. Then the president asked the team for a spreadsheet with the same data sitting one click away in the new system. ...  I have watched the same pattern play out hundreds of times since, ... The technology is almost always the easy part. There is very little that modern platforms cannot do or be customized to do. The persistent challenge is getting people to change how they work.

Office of the Governor — Gov. Green announces $58 million federal investment to strengthen rural healthcare across Hawaiʻi The America Watch - State of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI; by Office of the Governor, Josh Green, MD; 9/1/26 Governor Josh Green today announced $58 million in federal funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to improve access to healthcare and strengthen services in rural and underserved communities across Hawaiʻi. “As a physician who has practiced in rural communities, I know that distance can determine whether someone receives care in time,” said Governor Green. “This $58 million federal investment will help us train and retain more healthcare professionals, provide new ambulances in every county and modernize emergency communications. ..."

Record-breaking Lube-a-Thon for Hospice GreatNews.Life; by Center for Hospice Care; 8/31/26 On July 31, Tom’s Car Care Center hosted the 21st Lube-a-Thon for Hospice. At this one-day event, customers get an oil change – full- or semi-synthetic oil, it doesn’t matter – and a car wash for a minimum donation of $50 to Center for Hospice Care. This year’s event broke the “modern-day” record for the number of cars serviced and the amount of money raised to support our promise that no one eligible for hospice care will ever be turned away, regardless of their ability to pay. The team at Tom’s changed the oil in 177 vehicles that day. The doors on the two bays opened just before 7am and there were cars in each of them until just before 6pm. In fact, cars started to line up at 6am – a full hour before the event began. Including donations and sponsorships, the event raised over $12,500, with all proceeds benefiting Center for Hospice Care.

Palliative care is about living better — not giving up Patch, Westport, CT; by Hartford HealthCare, featuring Dr. Sara Dost; 8/31/26 For many patients and families, the words palliative care can be difficult to hear. Some assume it means treatment has stopped. Others confuse it with hospice care or believe it is only appropriate during the final stages of life. But according to Dr. Sara Dost of Hartford HealthCare's Cancer Institute at St. Vincent's Medical Center, palliative care is about something much different: helping people feel better and live as fully as possible while facing a serious illness. “I like to call palliative care supportive care,” Dr. Dost said. “We help patients deal with side effects, decision-making and the challenges that can come with a serious illness. Think of us as an extra layer of support.”

Bloom Healthcare expands Dallas-Fort Worth presence with acquisition of Christian Care House Calls Business Insider, Denver, CO; Press Release by GlobeNewswire; 8/31/26 Bloom Healthcare, a passionate team of medical providers specializing in in-home primary care for seniors with complex health needs, today announced its acquisition of Christian Care House Calls, a Dallas-Fort Worth-based home primary care practice. Effective August 31, Christian Care House Calls will operate under the Bloom Healthcare name, strengthening Bloom’s presence in the region and expanding its ability to provide high-quality primary care to patients in their homes and senior living communities. ... Through Bloom’s integrated Hospice, that coordinated approach can continue through end-of-life care, with individualized care plans that honor the wishes of patients and families and keep primary care closely involved throughout the care journey.

Frazier Healthcare Partners completes acquisition of MatrixCare, appoints Jonathan Lujan as Chief Executive Officer WKOW-27 ABC, Madison, WI; Press Release via Business Wire; 9/1/26 Frazier Healthcare Partners ("Frazier"), a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, today announced the closing of its acquisition of MatrixCare (the "Company") from Resmed (NYSE & ASX: RMD). MatrixCare is a leading provider of cloud-based electronic health record (“EHR”) and revenue cycle management (“RCM”) solutions purpose-built for out-of-hospital care settings, including skilled nursing, senior living, home health, hospice, and life plan communities. ... Concurrent with closing, Frazier Executive in Residence Jonathan Lujan has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of MatrixCare. Jonathan brings deep experience across healthcare services and technology, with a track record of operational leadership, commercial transformation, and value creation.Editor's Note: See our recent post, MatrixCare publishes their list of 2026 CAHPS Honors Elite and Honors Award winners.

Priorities for advancing palliative care for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: a consensus report from a palliative care for ALS working group in the United States Muscle & Nerve; by Kara E. Bischoff, Yaowaree L. Leavell, Jessica M. Besbris, Christi Lero, Kelsey Noble, Astrid Grouls, Jerome Kurent, Benzi M. Kluger, Steven Z. Pantilat, Ambereen K. Mehta, on behalf of the International Neuropalliative Care Society's Palliative Care for ALS Working Group; 8/31/2026 The Palliative Care for ALS Working Group was formed within the International Neuropalliative Care Society, consisting of interprofessional ALS and palliative care clinicians, researchers, advocates, and patients and care partner representatives who are committed to improving palliative care for people living with ALS. The group engaged in a strategic planning process to determine what is needed to advance palliative care for people with ALS over the next 3–5 years. This report outlines the core recommendations from that strategic planning process. Recommendations are divided into five sections: (1) clinician education, (2) clinical service expansion, (3) research, (4) public awareness, and (5) policy change. Editor's Note: ALS is an especially devastating, demanding disease for patients, caregivers and families, for your clinical staff and volunteers. What disease-specific education and resources do you provide? How many ALS patients have your organization served in "x" years? Do you partner in any way with your regional ALS association? For non-clinical leaders, an important, easy distinction for you to remember the clinical, deeply personal differences between ALS versus ALZ: 

Longtime hospice volunteer grateful for ability to help patients, families Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, MS; by Leslie Criss; 9/1/26 Back in 2000 when Pat Rutledge was new to Fulton, she realized she needed to find something to do with her time. She went through training to become a volunteer at North Mississippi Health Services Hospice. That was more than 20 years ago. "I'm the only volunteer from back then still here," said the 83-year-old. "I was assigned a patient, went to visit and just fell in love with being a hospice volunteer."Editor's Note: As hospice organizations' names, ownership, and services shift over the years, do your volunteers still feel seen? Pat began in her mid-50s and stayed 25 years — proof that purpose and appreciationcan keep a volunteer for decades. Look at your volunteers: what are you doing--today--to help them stay, through years ahead? What is something new you can do?

A year from now, you may wish you had started today. ~ Karen LambHappy September from Hospice & Palliative Care Today!

The death I feared, and the peace I found Gillette News Record; by Michelle Mathal; 8/29/26 ... From the dreaded day my brother was diagnosed, to two years later when my parents tragically died in a car accident and I surfaced from the glacial water knowing I had to live to be his caregiver, to grieve alone. ... We enrolled in hospice earlier than most because Tomas was falling and losing movement in his left hand. ... No one told me that caring for a dying person would be so intimate. When I dressed him in the morning, I realized we had the same hands and feet, big enough that we should’ve been a foot taller. No one told me about the deep trust between caregiver and patient. It is a sacred pact not bound by blood, but an understanding that we would be seen at our most vulnerable and sensitive times, but not judge each other for these moments, but respect one another despite them.

Hospice site featured in Ted Lasso's new season BBC News, England; by Nathan Briant; 8/31/26 A Berkshire hospice took center stage in hit show Ted Lasso after an unused wing was transformed into a film set. Thames Hospice's Otter Wing in Maidenhead was used by the cast and crew of the Emmy-winning program, which follows the fortunes of the fictional AFC Richmond, when filming took place last September. Chief executive Rachael de Caux said hiring out the space is an important revenue stream for the hospice, which needs £44,000 a day to provide its services.

[United Kingdom] Stirling University expert helps design dementia friendly flat for F1 legend Jackie Stewart's wife Lady Helen Edinburgh Evening News, Edinburgh, England; by The Newsroom; 8/28/26 An architect from the University of Stirling has helped design a dementia-friendly apartment for Lady Helen Stewart, wife of former racing champion Sir Jackie Stewart. Lady Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2012 and Sir Jackie has become a passionate campaigner raising millions of pounds for research through his charity Race Against Dementia. The couple celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary today, Friday, August 28. ... Dementia-friendly features in the renovated apartment include: low-level counters to allow Lady Helen to interact and participate in cooking; a see-through and easily accessible fridge; visible open cabinets and front-facing clothing in the bedroom; integrated lighting for personal items; subtle and custom-made medical, cleaning and disinfection areas; and private medical areas for Lady Helen and her care providers.