Literature Review

St. Croix Hospice expands access to care with new locations Investors Hangout; by Evelyn Baker; 10/6/25 St. Croix Hospice is dedicated to enhancing the quality of end-of-life care, and they have taken a significant step forward by opening four new branches across the Midwest. This initiative not only increases their reach but also improves access to compassionate care and support for families during challenging times. The four new locations are strategically placed in communities that can greatly benefit from additional hospice services. Each new branch is situated in:

Milton Village Open House builds community to support caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's, dementia, or other cognitive conditions GreatNews.Life; by Lauren Grasham; 10/6/25 To help healthcare providers better understand the numerous resources available, Milton Village hosted an open house on Tuesday, September 30. Milton Village is a collaborative effort between Milton Adult Day Services (a program of the Center for Hospice Care) and Alzheimer’s & Dementia Services of Northern Indiana (a REAL Services program) to provide comprehensive care and support to individuals living with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive conditions and their caregivers. “Inviting healthcare providers to see our facility and learn more about our programs is a great way to help them understand our unique model,” said Sarah Youngs, director of Milton Adult Day Services. “As providers tour the facility and hear how our guests engage in the programming, it’s so satisfying to see them recognize what this can mean for their patients and the patients’ caregivers.”

Stamford-area seniors can now enjoy free daytime care Evergreen, Stamford, CT; by Evergreen Daytime Senior Care and CT Hospice; 10/3/25Thanks to a groundbreaking Medicare initiative, seniors living with dementia now qualify for benefits that help cover the cost of adult daytime care. Designed to improve quality of life, the GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience) Model, offered by Connecticut Hospice's Stand By Me program, features a full range of valuable services, including care coordination, caregiver education, and an annual respite benefit for up to 25 free days at adult day centers like Evergreen Daytime Senior Care. ... "We're excited to partner with Evergreen to provide high-quality adult day services to families enrolled in the GUIDE Model program," explained Mark Olynciw, GUIDE Program Manager at Connecticut Hospice. "Having trusted partners like Evergreen ensures our families have excellent options for their respite benefits."

Shutdown places brakes on hospital-at-home, sending hundreds back to strained hospitals McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy and Liza Berger; 10/1/25The shutdown of the federal government Wednesday has brought the hospital-at-home program to a screeching halt, resulting in hundreds of patients being discharged from the program or sent to hospitals for continuation of care, stressing an already-taxed healthcare system, providers disclosed to McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. ... Several weeks ago, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instructed hospital-at-home programs to discharge or return patients to the hospital as of Tuesday. CMS also said it no longer would accept waiver requests for participation in the AHCaH initiative after Sept. 1, 2025. Late Wednesday, CMS announced that it will allow up to 60 days of noncompliance with the AHCaH waiver. 

End-of-life outcomes and staff visits for hospice recipients residing in assisted living Journal of the American Medical Directors Association; by Wenhan Guo, Shubing Cai, Yue Li, Brian E McGarry, Thomas V Caprio, Helena Temkin-Greener; 9/26/25 Objectives: ... We hypothesized that more frequent staff visits and specific regulatory provisions would be associated with improved EOL outcomes. ... Conclusions and implications: Hospice staffing intensity, especially clinical visits, appears to be associated with EOL outcomes for AL residents. AL state regulations are also associated with hospice quality. These findings underscore the role of both organizational practices and regulatory policy in shaping hospice experiences in AL settings.

Instilling hope: A comprehensive model of cancer care for younger adults Targeted Oncology; by Andrea Eleazar, MHS and Shane Dormady, MD, PhD; 9/29/25 In the past decade, the incidence of numerous cancer types has increased, particularly among younger adults under age 50. For younger adults, many of whom are primary breadwinners of their households or in the height of their educational or professional careers, a cancer diagnosis at this life stage can be unexpected and jarring. ... In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Shane Dormady, MD, PhD, medical director of El Camino Health Cancer Center, describes the unique needs and challenges of younger adults, outlines El Camino Health’s comprehensive care strategy, and offers insights and considerations for treating and interacting with this patient population.

Nevada hospice provider launches first-of-its-kind palliative care in Las Vegas education program ABNewswire; by Summerlin Hospice and Palliative Care; 9/29/25 Summerlin Hospice and Palliative Care has announced the launch of an innovative educational initiative designed to increase awareness and understanding of specialized comfort care services throughout Nevada. ... Summerlin Hospice and Palliative Care has developed partnerships with local medical centers, healthcare providers, and community organizations to maximize the program’s reach and effectiveness. These collaborations ensure that educational resources reach diverse populations throughout the Las Vegas Valley and surrounding Nevada communities.

Virtual visits boost hospice home care services across Dallas-Fort Worth area The Smithfield Times, Aubrey, TX; Press Services; 9/26/25 Sovereign Hospice in Aubrey, TX, explains how telehealth and virtual visits help patients and families get hospice home care services faster. In the Dallas–Fort Worth area, these tools let nurses and doctors check patients quickly and answer questions without delay. Families far away can also join care meetings by video, making them part of the journey and improving understanding of the services the hospice offers.

The effect of the Care Ecosystem Collaborative Care Model on end-of-life outcomes for people with dementia and their caregiversAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care; by Lauren J Hunt, Krista L Harrison, Rachel Kiekhofer, Jennifer Merrilees, Alissa B Sideman, Sarah Dulaney, I Elaine Allen, Kirby Lee, Winston Chiong, Sarah M Hooper, Stephen J Bonasera, Tamara L Braley, Bruce L Miller, Katherine L Possin; 8/25Collaborative care models that feature care navigation have been found to have a range of benefit for people with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers, but their effect on end-of-life (EOL) outcomes has not been robustly evaluated. Our primary objective was to evaluate the effect of the Care Ecosystem-a telephone-based collaborative care model for dementia with care navigation-on EOL outcomes for PWD and their caregivers. Compared to Usual Care, Care Ecosystem caregivers had higher ratings of caregiver self-efficacy prior to PWD death ... but caregiver's satisfaction with EOL care did not differ between groups ... Qualitative analysis revealed Care Ecosystem provided helpful emotional and practical support, but participants wanted more anticipatory guidance, more information about hospice care and earlier referral, and better coordination with the healthcare team.

[United Kingdom] 2 in 5 hospices planning to make cuts this year ehospice; by Hospice UK; 9/24/25 Data from Hospice UK reveals that as many as 2 in 5 hospices are planning to make cuts this year. With demand for services rising fast, the stark reality of insufficient funding leaves hospices with no option but to shrink services just as they should be expanding. Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK says: “Hospices are on the brink. Recent short-term funding for hospices in England, Scotland and Wales has been a genuine help, but as costs continue to snowball and demand keeps rising hospices can’t keep up and many are making or considering cuts. 

Avow recognizes World Hospice and Palliative Care Day Priority Marketing; Press Release; 9/25/25 Avow joins organizations around the globe in observing World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on Saturday, Oct. 11, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the critical role hospice and palliative care play in supporting patients and families facing serious illness. Editor's Note: For information to honor hits at your organization, visit our 7/15/25 post, World Hospice & Palliative Care Day 2025 - Achieving the Promise: Universal access to palliative care 

‘Churning’ hospice patients yields no significant financial benefits, study find McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 9/22/25 Hospices that try to game Medicare payment rules by “churning” patients are producing negligible financial benefits, according to a new study published in the Journal of Public Economics. Researchers used Medicare hospice claims data from 2000 to 2019 to identify instances of providers churning patients. “Churning” refers to the practice of rapidly enrolling and discharging beneficiaries as a means of undercutting Medicare payment caps. ... For FY 2026, the hospice cap amount is $35,361.44, an increase of 2.6% from FY 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in the hospice final rule. ... Hospices may try to “game” the system by rapidly enrolling and discharging patients to raise their payment cap, the researchers noted. ... Previous research has indicated that churning may be associated with worse end-of-life outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries, researchers noted. 

Hospice, palliative care services yield high quality, cost savings Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 9/22/25 Hospice and palliative care services can result in better outcomes and reduced costs, recent research has found. A recent study by Empassion Health examined 45,957 seriously ill patients receiving supportive care through the organization from January 2023 to April 2025. The study found a 35% reduction in total cost of care per patient during the final year of life when compared to other individuals. ... The study illustrates the significant quality and cost impacts of hospice and palliative care delivery, Robin Heffernan, CEO and co-founder of Empassion Health, said ...