Literature Review

Go slow and you'll get there fast. ~ Unknown

[Updated] DOJ files proposed final judgment on Amedisys, UnitedHealth Merger Home Health Care News; by Morgan Gonzales; 8/7/25 On Thursday, Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorneys General of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York filed a proposed final judgment regarding the UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) planned acquisition of Amedisys. UnitedHealth and Amedisys agreed to the proposed final judgment, which, if approved, would resolve the DOJ’s and states’ opposition to the merger. The proposed judgment would require UnitedHealth and Amedisys to divest at least 164 home health and hospice facilities, including one affiliated palliative care facility, across 19 states, worth approximately $528 million in annual revenue. It would also impose a $1.1 million civil penalty on Amedisys for falsely certifying that it had provided “true, correct and complete” responses under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, according to a DOJ announcement. 

Lorazepam reduced restlessness, agitation in cancer patients with delirium: Patients were also less likely to require any rescue medications MedPage Today; by Mike Bassett; 8/5/25Use of lorazepam-based regimens reduced persistent restlessness and agitation associated with end-of-life delirium in cancer patients, a randomized study showed.Key Takeaways:

Hospice volunteers recognize local floral donors Uvalde Leader News, Uvalde, TX; 7/27/25 Uvalde Memorial Hospital hospice volunteers recently recognized the Flower Patch and Uvalde H-E-B for their weekly donations of fresh flowers for hospice patients. Hospice volunteers deliver the gifts, valued at approximately $1,950 annually from each business, to patients, brightening their homes and hospital rooms while providing emotional comfort during difficult times.

Glendale woman sentenced to 9 years in federal prison for $10.6 million hospice fraud scheme involving kickbacks for patients United States Attorney's Office - Central District of California, Los Angeles, CA; Press Release; 8/5/25 A Glendale woman was sentenced today to 108 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme in which hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks were paid and received for patient referrals that resulted in the submission of approximately $10.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for purported hospice care. Nita Almuete Paddit Palma, 75, of Glendale, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered her to pay $8,270,032 in restitution. 

[United Kingdom] Hospice staff learn life-saving skillsehospice, UK Edition, Derbyshire, UK; 7/26/25 Treetops Hospice is upskilling all its staff, from nurses to fundraisers, with essential life-saving skills, including CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillator use, through Basic Life Saving (BLS) training. The hospice, based in Risley, Derbyshire, welcomes hundreds of people through its doors every year. The rollout of the vital BLS training programme reflects the simple truth that anyone, anywhere, can face a medical emergency. ... Phil Shreeve, Director of Clinical Services, explained, “Just because we provide end-of-life care doesn’t mean we ignore medical emergencies.  We have a lot of people on site, including patients, families and carers, staff and volunteers, and even the general public who can walk around our grounds.

Arkansas Hospice to rebrand as LifeTouch Health Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 8/5/25 Arkansas Hospice Family of Care will soon rebrand as LifeTouch Health to better reflect its evolving mix of services. The nonprofit’s rebranding will take effect in October. The move marks a period of revitalization for the hospice provider, according to its recently named President and CEO Brian Bell.

Hospitals accused of hiding deaths, storing bodies for months, and not telling families Nurse.org; by Brandy Pinkerton, RN; 7/25/25 Families in the Sacramento area say they spent months, and in some cases years, desperately searching for loved ones who had vanished—only to discover that their remains had been left to decompose, unidentified and forgotten, in an off-site morgue operated by Dignity Health hospitals. Now, a series of lawsuits and regulatory audits allege that one of California’s largest healthcare systems demonstrated “callous, reckless, and outrageous failure” by neglecting to notify families of patient deaths, withholding death certificates, and consigning bodies to languish in storage, compounding the anguish of those left behind. 

A WNC assisted living facility stopped paying its staff. Two remained to save 27 residents BlueRidgeNow Times-News; by Will Hofmann; 8/6/25By the time the sun rose on Aug. 2, Macie Vance knew nobody was coming to replace her. Vance had just finished the night shift at The Heritage of Sugar Mountain, a 40-bed assisted living facility in her hometown of Newland, where she worked as a resident care aide. The 20-year-old was at the "bottom of the food chain" in terms of office hierarchy, she said, but after weeks of staff resignations, Vance was one of just two remaining employees caring for Heritage’s 27 residents, some of whom were in hospice.

How one man’s dying wish was denied by the health care system Synopsi, from MedPage Today; by Caitlin E. Morh, MD; 8/5/25 “This is Dr. Mohr.” I answered a number I didn’t recognize. “It’s Irving,” said the frantic voice. “He collapsed. The paramedics are working on him now.” “They’re doing compressions? Stop! Put the paramedic on the phone!” My father-in-law, Irving, the stoic Danish-American Navy veteran, had been on hospice for 3 months. His POST (physician order for life sustaining treatment) form was on file with the hospice agency and his custodial care facility: DNR/DNI, comfort measures only. ... “I’m Irv’s daughter-in-law. I’m a physician. He’s a DNR, he’s on hospice. Stop doing compressions.” 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ... I listened to the ACLS algorithm unfold in the background. ...

[United Kingdom] Hospice to become 'first for LGBTQ+ people in UK' BBC News, Sussex Beacon; by Josh McLaughlin; 8/5/25 A hospice in East Sussex has announced it is to become the UK's first dedicated hospice for the LGBTQ+ community. The move by Sussex Beacon, based in Brighton, has been dubbed a "landmark development" by NHS Sussex, aiming to combine inclusive care with expertise in specialist HIV care. The charity has been offering palliative and end-of-life care to people with HIV for more than 30 years, recently expanding its services to the wider LGBTQ+ community, regardless of HIV status. 

Closing the gap: Addressing social determinants of health and racial disparities in hospice care Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Alyson Cutshall; 8/4/25... While Americans’ health trajectories are inevitable at the time they become eligible for hospice services, SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) still play a major role for the patients and families our field is privileged to serve. ... [To] fully impact health equity, we must be cognizant of other examples of SDOH, such as racism and implicit bias.  Unfortunately, our collective field has not been as successful in addressing access to hospice care across differing racial and ethnic groups. ... Certainly, there are some pockets of improved access.  One Teleios member organization, Ancora Compassionate Care, recognized the alarming disparities within its community and set about to create change. Ancora leaders recognized that the Black community in their service area typically placed high trust in their religious leaders. To better understand their needs and preferences regarding end-of-life care and services, Ancora embarked on a "listening tour" to gather feedback and insights from these religious leaders. Using the wisdom imparted, Ancora adapted their care delivery to be more inclusive to the Black community.  As such, the organization is making incremental improvements in lessening the racial divide in access to hospice care.