Literature Review

Video palliative care improves symptoms but not outcomes in rural hospitals, study reveals McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Donna Shryer; 7/15/25 Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham recently studied whether video consultations could improve palliative care for patients age 55 and older in small hospitals lacking specialized end-of-life services. Participants had an average age of 73. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that culturally tailored video consultations — designed with community input to reflect patients’ cultural values and communication preferences — led to a clinically meaningful but not statistically significant reduction in symptom distress. ... [The] video consultations had little effect on hospital readmissions or emergency department visits. The research addressed a critical healthcare gap, as the study notes that only 70% of the Deep South has access to palliative care services, compared to 85-94% in other US regions. This disparity particularly affects rural communities where specialized end-of-life care is often unavailable. 

Time and location of specialty palliative care for women dying with metastatic breast cancer Breast Cancer Research and Treatment; by Andrea King, Cynthia Ortiz, Rachna Goswami, Tara L Kaufmann, MinJae Lee, Lynn Ibekwe-Agunanna, Navid Sadeghi, Donghan M Yang, Lindsay G Cowell, Timothy P Hogan, Lauren P Wallner, Megan A Mullins; 7/15/25 online ahead of print Background: Despite guideline recommendations, evidence suggests many women with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) do not receive specialty palliative care services despite high morbidity burden. ... Results: ... Most palliative care encounters were inpatient and occurred within ~ 1 month of death. ...Conclusion: Palliative care for women with mBC is infrequent and often late, with referrals seemingly driven by the imminence of death rather than metastatic diagnosis. Strategies to better identify and triage specialty palliative care needs and make timely referrals are needed.

World Hospice & Palliative Care Day 2025 Achieving the Promise: Universal access to palliative care ehospice; by Stephen Connor; 7/7/25 This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day (World Day). ... World Day is organised by the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance each second Saturday in October, this year on 11 October 2025, on behalf of the global palliative care community, including international, national, and regional palliative care organisations such as the IAHPC, ICPCN, PallCHASE, APCA, EAPC, ALCP, APHN, and including national organisations such as the IAPC. ... This year’s theme, Achieving the Promise: Universal Access to Palliative Care, builds on last year’s to explore what is needed in the coming 5-10 years to build toward universal access to palliative care, especially as part of universal health coverage. The subthemes this year are:

VA announces expanded burial benefits for those under VA-provided hospice care Tri-State Alert; by Staff Report; 7/11/25 The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today it has temporarily expanded burial benefits for certain Veterans, per the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. The new law specifies eligible Veterans are those who are discharged from VA-provided medical or nursing care to receive VA-provided hospice care at their home and who pass away between July 1, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2026. Previously, Veterans who died at home under VA hospice care after discharge from VA-provided medical or nursing care were not always eligible for a full VA burial allowance. The Dole Act addresses that gap.

HPCC strengthens commitment to DEIB across credentialing programs Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association / Foundation / Credentialing Center (HPNA/HPNF/HPCC); Press Release; 7/10/25 In 2025, the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) has continued its implementation of strategic initiatives that advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) across its credentialing programs. From in-depth exam item reviews to national outreach and inclusive resource development, HPCC remains committed to ensuring fairness and inclusivity in all certification processes. The following strategic initiatives reflect the progress HPCC has made and showcase the future direction of its DEIB efforts. ... This work is part of HPCC’s broader goal to strengthen the inclusivity of its credentialing programs. As HPCC explores the expansion of DIF analyses across additional certification exams, the organization remains rooted in its mission.

[England] Marie Curie hospice unit to close permanently BBC News; Liverpool, England; by Angela Ferguson and Marc Gaier; 7/5/25 Liverpool's Marie Curie hospice inpatient unit is to shut permanently after it was temporarily closed last year, the charity has said. The hospice's 26-bed unit in Woolton was closed in July 2024 due to a shortage of specialist nursing staff. Chief executive Matthew Reed said it was "an incredibly tough decision" in the face of "significant financial deficits" but they remained committed to providing care in other ways. Campaigners from the Liverpool Hospice Action Group described the news as "devastating" and called on Marie Curie to allow another provider to step in and run the unit.Editor's Note: Closing Marie Curie's hospice inpatient unit is significant and reflects trends throughout the UK. Though the international articles we post are limited, Hospice & Palliative Care Today has published 16 articles from or about Marie Curie's hospice services in the shart 16 months of our newsletter. 

Hospice programs shutter amid financial strains Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/3/25 Financial and staffing headwinds are chipping away at hospices’ sustainability, with some providers recently pausing or closing their programs. Concerns have also mounted amid federal Medicaid cuts.

Center for Acute Hospice Care to close in August 29 News, Charlottesville, VA; by Jacob Phillips; 7/1/25 After nearly a decade of offering around-the-clock end-of-life care, Hospice of the Piedmont is closing their Center for Acute Hospice Care (CAHC) on Ivy Road in Charlottesville in August. “It gives us an opportunity to concentrate more on where patients want to be, which is home, and those services will still be provided,” Hospice of the Piedmont President and CEO Nancy Littlefield said. “[CAHC] is a 10-bed unit that we lease...and it’s for patients who might be having needs of a higher level of hospice care.” Littlefield says the main reason for closing the center is the lease is coming to an end and with uncertainty surrounding federal budget cuts of hospice care, continuing in this location is not sustainable. “Our hospice, as well as all hospices across the state, are having to be very cautious about what Medicaid and other reimbursement changes may occur under the current administration,” Littlefield said, “and I think the worst thing we can do for families and patients is to not be prepared.”

Trump administration to end 988 suicide prevention specialized service for LGBTQ+ youth in JulyCNN; by Jacqueline Howard; 6/18/25The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth will no longer be in operation starting July 17, according to a statement from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). ... According to the latest data from SAMHSA, more than 14.5 million people have called, texted or sent chats to the 988 Lifeline and have been transferred to a crisis contact center since July 2022. Nearly 1.3 million of those were routed to the LGBTQ+ specialized service.Editor's Note: This 988 LGBTQ+ specialized option was piloted in September 2020, expanded on March 6, 2025, and rolled out fully nationwide in July 2023. This data translates to approximately 1,250 LGBTQ calls per day; 52 calls per hour; 1 call per minute. Who--in your world of family and friends--might this ultimately affect? Research, data, and personal stories (sure to be in each of our circles of family and friends) tell us why this matters. A resource for you to use is The Handbook of LGBTQIA-inclusive Hospice and Palliative Care, 2nd edition by Kimberly D. Acquaviva. This handbook is the first place winner, 2024 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award in Palliative Care and Hospice.

[United Kingdom] King's College London: Half of UK adults worried about painful death King's College London; 6/24/25 Almost half (47%) of UK adults are worried that they or their loved ones will have a painful or undignified death, according to a survey commissioned by King’s College London. The survey conducted by Focaldata explores public attitudes to death and dying and finds that almost half (44%) of respondents also feel worried about the quality of palliative and end-of-life care in the UK. Previous research indicates that up to 90% of people in the UK will require palliative care before they die. ... 40% of respondents said they did not know how to access palliative care in their area, and almost one third said they did not know enough about the healthcare system to find the support that a dying person needs. 

Wisconsin author discusses her mother’s aging, dying in the American health care system: The long-term care system failed both her and her mother, she writes Wisconsin Public Radio; by Colleen Leahy; 6/27/25At age 99, Judy Karofsky’s mother was kicked out of her Wisconsin hospice facility. Within 48 hours of that decision, Karofsky became her mother’s default nurse. “I had to find a wheelchair for her. I had to keep track of her meds. I had to buy all the bandages and supplies that she would [need],” Karofsky told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” Karofsky is the author of “Diselderly Conduct: The Flawed Business of Assisted Living and Hospice.” In it, she chronicles nightmare scenarios as her mother aged and died in the American healthcare system: making her way through independent living, six different assisted living facilities, memory care, skilled nursing and hospice.  

Strategies to prepare hospice providers to interact with adolescents with a parent in hospicePalliative & Supportive Care; William Grayson, Denice Kopchak Sheehan, Pamela S Stephenson, Kristen DeBois, Caitlin Sheehan; 5/25The sample included 18 young adults (18-28 years old) whose parents died in hospice or palliative care while they were adolescents (12-18 years old). Semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. The participants described a variety of skills that are important for hospice providers to know. They provided specific suggestions for hospice providers who seek to help adolescents navigate this critical time when their parents are dying or have recently died. These results can also be used to inform the development of interventions that assist hospice providers with strategies tailored to an adolescent's specific needs.

Yocha Dehe provides $1 million grant to YoloCares for new hospice shelter The Davis Enterprise, Davis, CA; 6/18/25The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is proud to announce a $1 million grant for YoloCares to expand its adult day care program in Davis and operate a new hospice shelter in Sacramento that will address the complex needs of unhoused terminally ill patients. The first of its kind on the West Coast, Joshua’s House was dedicated on Wednesday and will feature six separate homes that will welcome up to 15 people at a time. YoloCares’ commitment to support and serve the rural and Indigenous communities in its six-county service area means that Joshua’s House will prioritize service to unhoused rural and Indigenous community members in need of care. The professionally staffed home will provide shelter, food, and clothing to people from Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, Solano, Sutter, and Colusa Counties to hospice-eligible patients referred by the major health systems. Licensed professionals will provide hospice care to patients staying at Joshua’s House.