Literature Review

What stands in the way is the way. ~Marcus Aurelius

COUNTDOWN: 16 Days Until HOPE Tool Starts, October 1, 2025

Developing competencies to advance health care access and quality for Latino, Hispanic, and Spanish origin populations-A consensus statementJAMA Network Open; by Débora H. Silva, John A. Davis Rodríguez, Hector Rasgado-Flores, Pilar Ortega, Deion Ellis, Fernando Sánchez Mendoza, Victor Cueto, Fabiola Quintero-Rivera, Norma Iris Poll-Hunter, Minerva Romero Arenas, Kenneth Lee Dominguez, Juan Emilio Carrillo, José E. Rodríguez, John Paul Sánchez; 8/25Question: What competencies and milestones are essential for advancing health equity for Latina, Latino, Latinx, Latine, Hispanic, and Spanish Origin (LHS+) populations? Since the 1970s, the LHS+ population has increased 6-fold and grown to be the largest ethnic or racial group in the US and accounts for approximately 20% of the US population. The LHS+ health equity competencies and milestones resulting from this study add to prior work by creating a blueprint for standardization and broader application of such educational experiences on a national level. As a tool to enhance CBME [competency-based medical education ] efforts aligned with care for LHS+ populations, the competencies may aid educators and institutions through an LHS+–informed lens in conducting gap analyses for the development of local curricula, developing teaching and assessment materials, supporting the professional development of learners and faculty, and facilitating educational scholarship. 

Medicare Advantage plan spending and payments under the hospice carve-outJAMA Network Open; by Meghan Bellerose, Andrew M Ryan, Claire K Ankuda, David J Meyers; 8/25In 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implemented a Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model to test the impact of including hospice services in the Medicare Advantage (MA) benefits package. In December 2024, the VBID was ended following widespread dissatisfaction ... Under the carve-out model, after an MA enrollee elects hospice, health care related to their terminal illness is paid for by fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. MA plans stop receiving the inpatient and outpatient portions of that enrollee's capitated payment but continue to receive premium and rebate payments. In this cross-sectional study, MA plans received high premium and rebate payments for beneficiaries enrolled in hospice despite low health care spending after enrollees elected hospice. To reduce excess payments, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could require MA plans to submit information on enrollees' use of supplemental benefits and adjust payments made after election of hospice to align with spending.

Improving community-based palliative care explanations: Insights from persons declining servicesAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care; by Kira G Sheldon, Kathryn H Bowles, Elizabeth A Luth; 8/25Beneficiaries and caregivers had mixed understandings of palliative care, including: no knowledge, belief that it was the same as or pre-hospice, and accurate, but often one-dimensional understandings of it. Participants recommended providing individualized, tailored explanations focused on the person's health concerns in simple language with follow-up materials to improve engagement with palliative care. Small adjustments to how palliative care is explained may increase understanding among older adults and caregivers, particularly among those with limited or inaccurate knowledge. Among those familiar with palliative care, providing accessible and clear explanations customized to the person's specific care needs can further broaden understanding and increase perceived relevance.

Implementing education for community adult hospice nurses to expand pediatric hospice and palliative careJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Shelly C Wenzel; 8/25Pediatric hospice and palliative patients require specially-trained clinicians to provide holistic support in areas such as disease progression, illness trajectory, and goals of care. An asynchronous online educational module, including a pre- and postmodule survey, was developed to provide education on timely pediatric quality-of-life conversations and skills for nurses who work with the adult population. Following the education module, participants reported an increase in comfort from 25% to 93.3% and willingness from 59% to 93.3%. Additionally, postmodule confidence level increased to 94%. These findings suggest an asynchronous educational module approach benefits the needs of community-based adult hospice and palliative nurses and gains learned from this module may enhance nurse skill and improve access to care.

Perspectives of hospice medical directors on challenges and solutions for improving care for persons living with dementias (PLWD) and their caregiversAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; by Taeyoung Park, Abhay Tiwari, Elizabeth Luth, Yongkang Zhang, Simone Prather, Micah Toliver, Giancarlo Chuquitarco, Veerawat Phongtankuel; 8/25A larger proportion of PLWD [persons living with dementia] outlive the 6-month hospice eligibility requirement compared to other terminally ill patients, which leads to high rates of hospice live discharge. Hospice medical directors (HMDs) are physicians with unique insights into both the clinical aspects of care and the administrative and regulatory guidelines of hospice care delivery. To address these challenges, HMDs suggested (1) establishing a dementia-specific hospice program, (2) extending hospice benefit availability for PLWD, and (3) creating a step-down service for families experiencing live discharge from hospice. HMD participants suggested providing additional supports and/or reforming the current Medicare hospice benefits to better address end-of-life care for PLWD, who may require prolonged and intensive end-of-life support.

[Australia] The unmet needs of parents in pediatric palliative care: A qualitative systematic reviewJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Piyumi Senanayake, John Oldroyd; 8/25The goal of pediatric palliative care is to improve the quality of life of children with life-limiting or life-threatening disease and their families through a holistic care approach. Thirteen studies were included [in this analysis]. Five major themes emerged: (1) pediatric palliative care services delivery and care coordination, (2) emotional, psychological, and spiritual support, (3) end-of-life care and bereavement support, (4) practical and daily living support, and (5) communication and information. Parents reported unmet needs in multiple dimensions and wished for more support in caring for their children. Given that all of the unmet needs align with already established pediatric palliative care standards, this review highlights the need for revised health care policies and practices that will lead to better implementation of these standards in practice.

Benefits and burdens of research participation: A mixed methods systematic review in palliative and end-of-life careJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing; by Cara L Wallace, Stephanie P Wladkowski, Ruaa Al-Juboori, Anna Wingo, Kathryn W Coccia, Rebecca Hyde, Verna Hendricks-Ferguson; 8/25Research participation of hospice and palliative care patients and family caregivers is essential to develop and test best practices. Yet, healthcare professionals are often hesitant to ask patients and caregivers to participate in research, fearing it is too intrusive or unethical during a sensitive time. This review focused on the motivating factors, benefits, and burdens of research participation for patients with serious illness and their family caregivers. For clinicians and researchers, connecting patients and caregivers to palliative and end-of-life research may be both beneficial as a contribution to scientific literature and as an additional source of ongoing support.

Disaster preparedness in 2025: Recommendations for healthcare chief executive officers Becker's Hospital Review - Leadership & Management; by Anne Davila Casas Diamond; 9/9/25 September is National Preparedness Month, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies. The American College of Healthcare Executives advises healthcare executives to actively participate in disaster preparedness for natural and man-made disasters. This advice has never been more relevant as healthcare organizations plan for the 2026 fiscal year. The decreased financial resources from local, state and federal agencies require increased vigilance by healthcare leaders. ... Our preparedness now for the potential of man-made or natural disasters will benefit both our local communities and our workforces as we strive to keep highly reliable and effective operations under all situations. Editor's Note: For a wealth of resources, information, and stories we have published, go to our homepage, click on "Search" (if not already, "Login" to your subscription), and type in a key word that is relevant to your service area, e.g. disaster, hurricane, flood, fire, tornado, evacuate, et. al. 

Social Media Watch 9/12/25

Lights, camera, act up! Residents get royal treatment during photo sessions McKnights Long-Term Care News, The Brighter Side; by Foster Stubbs; 9/2/25The Village at Incarnate Word in San Antonio is home to approximately 275 older adults, including over 50 retired religious sisters. Some of them have recently found a new calling: modeling. Terri Landez, the community’s director of communications, had seen a news story about the work of Pop of Colors Images and struck up an Instagram friendship with the organization. ... Once they got the go-ahead, Pop of Colors photographers Megan Bowling and Jessica Rodriguez-Green turned the facility’s memory care floor into a photography studio, complete with a variety of royalty-themed props and outfits. Editor's Note: Do you need a smile? This will bring it! Enjoy and share. 

Executive Personnel Changes - 9/12/25