Literature Review

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

We should not be the same person the day after Yom Kippur that we were the day before Yom Kippur. We should be moving ahead, raising our lives to a higher level. ~ Rabbi Marc D. Angel

Rural Solterra Hospice triples patient census Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/17/26 Oregon-based Solterra Hospice has seen its average daily census rate triple in the last year. The organization’s leaders attribute the expansion to balanced clinical capacity and strong community collaboration. Solterra Hospice began serving patients in November 2024 after receiving its Medicare and Medicaid certifications earlier that year. The family-owned organization’s average daily census currently hovers around 75–80 patients, tripling from 25 patients in fall 2025. Prioritizing small patient caseloads for clinicians allowed for meaningful, sustainable growth, according to Christie Rivelli and Dr. Chris Eilersen, co-founders and co-owners of Solterra Hospice. ... This clinical strategy opened up opportunities to better reach under-resourced, remote regions, Rivelli said.

Gentiva Hospice opens new Peoria location to expand end-of-life care Nexstar local, Peoria, IL; by Kennedy Caldwell; 9/16/26 Gentiva Hospice is opening a new Peoria location as the healthcare provider looks to expand access to hospice and end-of-life care across Central Illinois. The new office, located at 3930 W. War Memorial drive, held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday, the location will serve patients and families within an approximately 50-mile radius including Peoria, Knox, Fulton, Woodford, Tazewell, Marshall and Stark counties.

Teen barber giving back with free haircuts [and raising money for local hospice] BBC News, East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire, UK; by Lara King; 9/17/26 A young barber is combining a new career with fundraising and free haircuts for people in need in Cleethorpes. Connor Lancaster went into the profession after teaching himself with a pair of clippers. The 16-year-old is now training at a barber shop in the North East Lincolnshire town. ... The teenager, who works at KL Studio, has also raised £300 for St Andrew's Hospice. ... St. Andrew's Hospice in Grimsby holds personal significance for Connor. It provided support after he was injured in a scooter crash and helped with respite care for his younger sister. "I've raised £300 for the hospice and I'm also raising money for The Trin Centre in Cleethorpes, and I'm hoping to be going to a different country to cut poor kids' hair there," he said.

The strategic trifecta: Aligning AI, data and cybersecurity for real outcomes McKnights Senior Living; by Adam Arker; 9/16/26 The use of artificial intelligence is the No. 1 topic in the senior living industry these days, and for good reason. AI is positioned to transform our world more than any previous technological revolution, including both electricity and the internet. ... If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: The goal for senior living providers related to AI should be to build the data discipline and security foundation that lets AI work safely, consistently and at scale. Organizations that get those fundamentals right will move faster in the long run, and they’ll be able to adopt new tools with confidence instead of constantly starting over and losing money on failed experiments.

When to stop coaching and get someone off the bus Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Chris Comeaux; 9/17/26 One of the hardest leadership decisions is determining when coaching has run its course and when it’s time to help someone exit the team. Great leaders want to believe every person can succeed with enough support, enough clarity, enough encouragement, or enough time. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes it isn’t. ... There are three principles that help leaders navigate this difficult decision with clarity and compassion. ...

59% of health care workers say they will look for a new job in the next year, and employers guess 39% Physicians Practice; by Austin Littrell; 9/16/26 The 2026 Healthcare Workforce Barometer measures the gap between what practice leaders think their staff want, and what staff say they want. Fifty-nine percent of U.S. health care workers say they are likely to look for job openings, interview for or switch to a new role in the next year, according to the 2026 Healthcare Workforce Barometer released Wednesday by The Harris Poll. Employers surveyed alongside them estimated that 39% of their own staff would. Forty-two percent of employees said they are likely to look outside their organization; employers put it at 32%. ... Roughly 40% of the employee sample are physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners or physician assistants; approximately 60% work in other patient-facing roles.

Hospice Home & Garden Tour raises $40K+ for Granite VNA The Laconia Daily Sun, Laconia, NH; Press Release; 9/15/26 Nearly 500 attendees explored four exceptional properties in East Alton and Wolfeboro during Granite VNA’s annual Hospice Home & Garden Tour on July 15. The tour raised more than $40,000 to support the agency’s hospice services. Guests enjoyed an afternoon experiencing rich history through architecture and thoughtfully designed and renovated interiors and taking in stunning views of Lake Winnipesaukee from three of the properties. 

Hospice families and Mercy patients navigate overlapping Allina strikes as health system reports 37 doctors crossed picket linesMedical Daily, Minneapolis, MN; by Elena Vega; 9/16/26Allina Health says only about half of the nearly 150 physicians represented by Doctors Council SEIU walked off the job when a four-day strike began Monday, Sept. 14, at Mercy Hospital's Coon Rapids campus and Unity campus in Fridley. Allina spokesperson Blois Olson told the Minnesota Reformer that 37 union doctors crossed the picket line and 40 were not scheduled to work this week. ... As of Wednesday, Sept. 16, MedicalDaily had not found a newer official count or a public response from the union. The physician strike is running alongside a separate seven-day walkout by roughly 60 Allina hospice nurses that began Friday, Sept. 11, and is scheduled to run through Thursday, Sept. 17.

Death Matters: The bedside vigil (Part 2) — after death arrivesSequim Gazette, Sequim, WA; by Jeanette Stehr-Green and Astrid Raffinpeyloz; 9/16/26The bedside vigil is the act of sitting by a dying person during their final hours or days, holding space for them with a loving presence, and tending to their needs. The vigil can provide comfort and companionship to the dying person. It can offer meaning and peace to all involved. The undertaking, however, does not end with the loved one’s last breath. Immediately following the death, the vigil enters a new stage, one that allows time to honor the moment but also attend to the practical steps that must follow. ...

National trends in types of hospice disenrollment among older adults with dementia, 2012–2019 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Lauren J. Hunt, Siqi Gan, Krista L. Harrison, Melissa D. Aldridge, Claire Ankuda, W. John Boscardin, Alexandra K. Lee, and Alexander K. Smith; 9/15/26 Key Points

Phoenix Home Care & Hospice expands Technology Assisted Waiver Services to Southeast Kansas The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO; Press Release; 9/15/26 Phoenix Home Care & Hospice has expanded its Technology Assisted Waiver services into six Southeast Kansas counties: Allen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and Neosho. ... Phoenix's Technology Assisted Waiver nurses provide individualized care based on each child's medical needs and plan of care. Services may include ventilator management, tracheostomy care, G-tube feedings, medication administration and management, IV therapy, total parenteral nutrition, routine blood draws and other skilled nursing services.