Literature Review

One must pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while still alive.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Nurses, consider these documentaries Healthcare NOW Radio; by Zelda Meeker; 8/5/26 Tired of scrolling to find something to watch? We’ve got a list of excellent healthcare-related documentaries that will grab and keep your attention. Healthcare documentaries offer a window into the complexities of this world and show the daily struggles and triumphs of nurses, patients, and other healthcare providers. Over the past few years, several films have stood out for addressing critical and often controversial healthcare topics and offering insight into the realities of the healthcare system. Below are 12 such documentaries impossible for any nurse to ignore — films that are sure to stir emotions and provide perspectives on your career. ...

The new health system CEO job description, per 23 leaders Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon, Kelly Gooch, and Kristin Kuchno; 8/20/26 The health system CEO job description is getting longer, and increasingly filled with responsibilities that barely registered five years ago. Today’s CEOs are expected to steer AI strategy, prepare for cyberattacks, shape culture, advocate in statehouses and on Capitol Hill, protect employees from workplace violence, address affordability and serve as trusted voices in their communities. That shift is playing out at some of the nation’s largest and most prominent health systems. 

Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties’ 19th Annual Golf Classic raises almost $75,000 for patient care FocusMedia, Newburgh, NY; Press Release; 8/19/26 Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties held its 19th Annual Golf Classic at Osiris Country Club in Walden, N.Y., on Aug. 10, drawing a sold-out field of 100 golfers for the organization’s best golf fundraising event in recent years. The tournament raised close to $75,000 to support Hospice services throughout Orange and Sullivan Counties. ... “Today’s outing is about more than just golf,” Eric Gastik, President and CEO of Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties, told the golfers, sponsors and other attendees. “It’s about coming together as a community to support patients and families during one of the most difficult times in their lives. Every golfer, every sponsor, every raffle ticket purchased and every volunteer contributes to that mission."

How Andrew Bird wrote Louie’s farewell ballad for ‘The Pitt’: ‘What’s more fundamental than the fear of dying alone?’ Gold Derby; by Lyndsey Parker; 8/19/26... Andrew Bird wasn't even familiar with The Pitt when he was cold-called by the show's composer, Gavin Brivik, with an invitation to collaborate on a song for one of the series' most heartbreaking and gut-punching moments. [It was for] that scene, ... in which fan-favorite character Louie Cloverfield, the lovable alcoholic with a heart of gold, dies with only the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center staff by his side — the lyrics for "Need Someone" came quickly. There's a small but especially tearjerking detail when Emma grabs Louie's hand, right as Dr. Robby is telling them about how Louie had lost his eight-months-pregnant wife and their unborn child in a car accident years ago. Apparently hospitals leave a deceased patient's hand out from under the blanket so that a loved one at the bedside can hold it, but Louie only has the hospital staff, who've sort of become his honorary family, with him when dies. This goes perfectly with your lyric about how "you need someone who is gonna cry for you." ... Bird was partially inspired by the 2020 pandemic — not just society's shared post-COVID trauma, but the lack of appreciation of healthcare workers ...

In a recent study, most oncologists chose not to assist patients in dying Cancer Therapy Advisor; by Jason L. Harris; 8/19/26 Most oncologists asked to consult with a terminally ill patient seeking medical aid in dying (MAID) choose to opt out, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. In a California-based study, researchers found high rates of oncologists opting out, forcing many patients to pursue MAID with physicians they did not know. Further, a small number of physicians were responsible for most MAID-related prescriptions. “Our dataset likely underestimates these challenges, as it only includes patients who successfully found an attending physician and does not capture instances when opt-out was not documented,” the researchers added.

NPHI enters new phase of high growth as national community continues to expand National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; Press Release; 8/18/26 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is experiencing a period of significant growth, welcoming a growing number of mission-driven, community-based organizations from across the country since its 2026 Summit. ... This continued expansion brings new expertise, perspectives and community connections into NPHI’s national network, strengthening a community united by a commitment to high-quality, compassionate, people-first care. ... In recent weeks, NPHI has welcomed:

Hospice Wage Index, the Final Rule, and the signals CMS is sending | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); pocast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Annette Kiser and Judi Lund Person The 2027 Hospice Final Rule is more than a reimbursement update—it’s a window into where Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) believes hospice care needs to go next. In Part One, host Chris Comeaux sits down with hospice regulatory experts Annette Kiser and Judi Lund Person to look beyond the numbers and “read the tea leaves” in CMS’s latest rule.  They unpack what hospice leaders need to understand about the Hospice Election Statement Addendum, the growing scrutiny of unrelated services and non-hospice Medicare spending, telehealth reporting, and the Service and Spending Variation Index (SSVI).  As Judi explains, CMS’s commentary and responses to industry feedback can reveal as much about the agency’s direction as the regulations themselves.

What end-of-life experts know about living well: love your wrinkles, celebrate birthdays and don’t obsess over work The Guardian; by Sarah Phillips; 8/13/26 We will all face death one day, but our attitude towards this is individual. How can our understanding of mortality shape our approach to life? Here, palliative care doctors and death doulas share what they know about the end – and how it informs the way they live. Prioritize people, not things Dr. Rachel Clarke is a palliative care doctor who works at an NHS hospital in Oxfordshire [England] and is the author of several books, including The Story of a Heart. “I have learned what matters to my patients as they approach the end of their life,” says Clarke. “All the irrelevant stuff is stripped away. No one cares about how much power they had, how big their house is, how fancy their car is, how much status they had at work. What they care about is the people they love.” In short: “The way to live a life that is rich and deeply fulfilling is to build human connections. That matters more than anything else.”

Honoring my daughter's final wishes Substack; by Larry Lehmer; 8/7/26 I own one pink shirt. I wear it once a year, on Feb. 28, my daughter’s birthday. It’s mostly her idea. “Please wear more pink!” she wrote for her husband, Paul, to read at her celebration of life. “To the men — you can pull it off.” It’s been three years since Paul had to deliver Meghan’s final words, at the Des Moines Botanical Garden, the same place where they began their married life 13 years earlier. “I once read ‘Love doesn’t die, people do’,” Meghan wrote. “So when love is all that’s left of me, give me away.” Meghan died on Aug. 8, 2023. It still hurts, of course, but we continue to celebrate her life, her devotion to family and try to honor her dying wish “that we all help each other a little more.” Here’s what I wrote about her in August 2023: ...

New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect: what clients and providers need to know JDSupra; by Dana Walsh Sivak; 8/18/26 ... Provider Obligations and Protections