Literature Review

DAI closes HCA hospice, home health transactionHospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/5/26Deaconess Associations Incorporated (DAI) has closed its acquisition of 31 home health and hospice agencies from HCA Healthcare. The deal includes 24 home health locations and seven hospice locations across eight states... Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, DAI is a faith-based, independent, nonprofit health care enterprise with a portfolio of more than $1 billion spanning diversified health services, programs, investments and community grant initiatives nationwide. The organization operates in 23 states, including six where it offers home health and hospice services. Across its broader footprint, DAI also provides physical, occupational and speech therapy services in senior living communities. The 31 acquired operations are concentrated primarily in Texas and Florida, with additional locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado.

The LiBBY Study results are now available! [Agitation in dementia]LiBBY press release; by staff; 10/7/26The LiBBY (Life’s-end Benefits of cannaBidiol and tetrahYdrocannabinol) Study was the first of its kind to examine the possible benefits of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) as a safe treatment option for agitation in hospice-eligible people with dementia. The LiBBY Study results show that the THC/CBD investigational treatment administered as an oral, digestible combination oil reduced the symptoms of agitation, in comparison to the placebo treatment. The LiBBY Study results were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in London, United Kingdom on July 14, 2026. The slides are publicly available and can be viewed below.

Neurodegenerative disease death certification among National Football League players with dementiaJAMA Network Open; by Charlotte B. Luster, Christopher J. Nowinski, Bobak Abdolmohammadi, Evan D. Feigel, Michael J. Mastrodicasa, Brenna Finegan, Lee Goldstein, Douglas I. Katz, Robert C. Cantu, Brigid Dwyer, Yorghos Tripodis, Thor D. Stein, Michael L. Alosco, Ann C. McKee, Jesse Mez, Daniel H. Daneshvar; 9/26This cohort study of 202 brain donors found that only 30.7% of former NFL players with clinician-adjudicated dementia had NDD [neurodegenerative disease] listed as the underlying cause of death. This study suggests that NDDs are substantially underascertained on death certificates of former NFL players, which mirrors findings in the general population, suggesting that death certificates may underestimate the true burden of NDD, particularly in less-severe cases. Across 7 investigations, dementia was listed on death certificates for only 7.2% to 41.8% of individuals with documented dementia diagnoses. Similar underascertainment has been reported for Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease (AD). In a cohort of patients with AD, only 25.5% of death certificates listed AD or dementia as the underlying cause, while 63.5% recorded it as a contributing cause. Assistant Editor's note: In nursing school many years ago, I never learned much about dementia or AD. It was kind of an "aside diagnosis"--a problem "pertaining to old people", but never the primary diagnosis. It wasn't until I got into hospice care that I realized what a devastating disease it can be, and how it affects many body systems, not just the brain. Of course, it deserves to be a primary terminal illness in and of itself! As noted in this article summary, 63.5% of death certificates list AD or dementia as a contributing cause of death. I'm sure it is indeed a contributing cause of death in some cases. But in other cases, as the article summary suggests, it is likely the primary cause of death and simply not captured as such on the death certificate.

Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties brings veterans together for a salute to servicefocusmedia, Montgomery, NY; Client News; 9/30/26 Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties brought veterans, families and community members together on September 23 for a Veterans Brunch: A Salute to Service at The American Grill at Stony Ford Golf Course in Thomas Bull Memorial Park. The gathering honored local veterans and provided an opportunity to share experiences, form connections and learn about available support.With the surrounding mountains in view on a bright fall morning, attendees exchanged stories across generations and branches of service. Before the panel discussion, the program featured a medley of military service songs, with veterans standing for their branches.

Assumptions and principles for responsible AI development and use in grief and bereavement careDeath Studies; by Melissa Lunardini, Chris Hall, Larissa Hjorth, Phyllis Kosminsky, Val Massdorp, Andy Hau Yan Ho, International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWG); 9/26The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into grief and bereavement care represents a significant technological shift with therapeutic potential and ethical complexity. This paper establishes evidence-informed assumptions and principles to guide the responsible development and use of AI technologies in grief support, addressing the needs of bereaved individuals, families, communities, professionals, technology developers, and policymakers. We conclude that AI technologies can complement human-centered grief support through responsible development characterized by interdisciplinary collaboration, transparency, cultural sensitivity, and an unwavering commitment to human dignity and welfare over commercial interests.

End-of-life care patterns by transplant eligibility among patients with end stage kidney diseaseJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Annie Liu, Jennifer F.N. Kizza-Brown, Ayman Al Jurdi, Ayesha M. Malik, Anushka Dalvi, Sharneet Sandhu, Lina Nurhussien, Nora K. Horick, Onyenma E. Obiejesie, Grace Bizup, Malia Armstrong, Kassem Safa, Sahir Kalim, Samantha Gelfand, Joshua Lakin, James A. Tulsky, Areej El-Jawahri, Nneka N. Ufere; 9/26Adults with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) often spend years awaiting kidney transplantation, during which transplant listing status frequently changes from active to inactive – a phase marked by evolving expectations. In the last year of life, patients had a median of two emergency department visits ... , two hospitalizations ... , and 25 cumulative hospital days ... Overall, 61% died in the hospital and 59% remained full code at death, and 18% were referred to hospice (median stay four days ... ) Conclusion: Adults with ESKD on dialysis experience intensive end-of-life care regardless of transplant eligibility. Switches to inactive status may represent a clinical inflection point to address prognostic understanding and transplant expectations.

Top ten tips palliative care clinicians should know about caring for people with interstitial lung diseasesJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Jyothsna Kuriakose, Jacopo D'Andria Ursoleo, Barney Isaac, Balamugesh Thangakunam, Donald R Sullivan, Kathleen Lindell, Anne-Marie Russell, Rachel Hadler, Matthew Maddocks, Natalia Smirnova, Russell Portenoy, M R Rajagopal, Sarah Mohammed, Anand S Iyer, Smriti Rana, Natasha Smallwood, Christopher A Jones, Jenifer Jeba Sundararaj; 9/26Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) represent a heterogenous group of illnesses with significant multidimensional suffering and varied prognoses. The complex care needs of people with ILD and their caregivers are underrecognized and incompletely addressed. This gap necessitates shared care by a multidisciplinary team along the illness trajectory. PC [palliative care] clinicians need to understand the illness patterns, prognoses, therapeutic options including lung transplant, symptom management, and other supportive interventions in ILD care. This article distills the current evidence into 10 practical tips to assist PC clinicians in delivering comprehensive care to people with ILD. Well-informed PC teams can significantly influence the illness experience of individuals with ILD and their caregivers, thereby reducing serious health-related suffering.

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Woman in hospice gets final wish to experience the ‘horsey smell’ one more time when horses visit her bedsidePeople; by Rachel Raposas, Toria Sheffield; 10/4/26A hospice patient saw her final wish fulfilled when two horses walked up to her bedside. Denise Lee, a 79-year-old grandmother of four, always loved horses... But when she received a terminal cancer diagnosis three years ago, Lee’s condition separated her from the animals she loved most. In August, she told her daughter, Joanne Mullarkey, and her hospice staff at St. Barnabas House in Worthing, England, that she hoped to experience the “horsey smell” and touch a horse again once more. Joanne put out a call to the public for assistance on Facebook, and within hours, local horse owner Kerry Saunders offered to bring two ponies to St. Barnabas House for a visit.