Literature Review

Death Matters: The gift of presence: Tips for visiting someone who is dying Squim Gazette, Squim, WA; by Jeanette Stehr-Green, Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County; 2/12/25 We sometimes avoid visiting friends or family members who are terminally ill. We make lots of excuses. We don’t know what to say. We don’t know how to act. We don’t want to be a bother. The hard truth is that dying, the final stage of life, can be a lonely experience without the presence of family and friends. A visit during this time can bring comfort to the dying person and their family. It can also provide an opportunity to share feelings, reminisce, and say goodbye. Visiting a dying person seems difficult because most of us lack experience. It only takes a little courage and a few ideas to create a meaningful moment. ... Editor's note: These excellent guidelines empower hospice patients' families and friends--and protect patients' vulnerable energies and emotions--in multiple settings across the trajectory of dying. How might you adapt these for your own patient/caregiver support and community outreach?

Advanced cardiac care boosts symptom management, quality of life Carolina Caring, Newton, NC; by Cassidy Collins; 2/12/25 For those living with advanced heart disease or heart failure diagnoses, access to the right medical care can greatly improve their quality of life. This Heart Month, Carolina Caring is spotlighting the Advanced Cardiac Care Program, which provides treatment and clinical support to help patients with heart failure manage their symptoms from wherever they call home. It is the first program of its kind in North Carolina and one of the first established in the nation. It also recognized as a Certified Care program in Palliative/Hospice Heart Failure from the American Heart Association (AHA). Since this certification, Carolina Caring saw a drop to zero readmissions for primary congestive heart failure Hospice patients by the end of 2024. The benefits of this comprehensive, home-based cardiac care program are best illustrated through individuals such as Shirley, a hospice patient who began her journey with Carolina Caring last spring.

Teleios announces completion of Boomer End-of-Life Care Survey Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN), Hendersonville, NC; by Tina Gentry; 2/12/25 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN) announced the completion of its survey titled “What Baby Boomers Want in End-of-Life Care.” This survey aimed to gain insights into the healthcare preferences and needs of the Baby Boomer generation as they age, transition into retirement and seek end-of-life care. On February 5th, TCN’s Visioneering Council, which comprises member CEOs, C-Suite staff, and marketing managers, gathered to discuss the survey results and explore the best ways to utilize this information to enhance patient care. Before reviewing TCN’s survey findings, Matthew Wilkinson from NPHI and Bill Keane from Emergence presented results from NPHI’s “Aging and End of Life Care Survey.” Additionally, Dr. Terry Fulmer provided insights from the John A. Hartford Foundation’s survey titled “What Older Adults Want from Health Care.” TCN President and CEO Chris Comeaux said, “Over my career, we have been honored to care for the greatest generation. Now that we are at the dawn of the baby boomers being the majority of those we will be honored to care for as they enter their twilight years. Knowing what they expect, what they care about, what they do not want to worry about, all of this is such important data to ensure hospice over the next 30 years is providing an even greater service to patients and families. That’s what this study was looking to accomplish. It’s a great start in that direction.” 

Shameless star Justin Chatwin had a pivotal Law & Order role in a heartbreaking episode NBC; by Jill Sederstrom; 1/30/25 Attorney Nolan Price found himself at odds with his brother, played by Chatwin, as the siblings were forced to make a painful decision. ... Justin Chatwin — who rose to fame on the hit comedy-drama series Shameless — took on the role of Thomas Price, the brother of Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price, in “The Hardest Thing" episode, which premiered on January 30, 2025. The siblings disagreed about how to handle their father’s failing health. ... The brothers had to decide whether they wanted to put in a feeding tube, which could prolong their dad’s life by a few months, or “manage his pain levels” to “make his passing as comfortable as possible," a doctor explained. 

How a St. Louisan helps her community navigate death by filling out advance directives NPR - St. Louis on the Air; by Jada Jones; 1/28/25 When Vivial Lopez’s grandmother was on life support, her family was faced with many difficult decisions. Her grandmother did not have an advance directive, so her family did not know her final wishes. The experience of navigating her grandmother’s end-of-life plan without any direction led Lopez to advocate for families to prepare advance directives - especially those in Black and brown communities. Approximately only on ein three adults complete an advance directive for end-of-life care. Lopez works with the Gateway End-of-Life Coalition to empower members of the St. Louis community to navigate death through quality end-of-life care.  Editor's note: Click here for AARP - Find Advance Directives Forms by State, also available in Spanish.

Hospice of Savannah awarded grant for safety improvements NBC WSAV Savannah News, Savannah, GA; by Eric Dorsch; 1/27/25 Hospice of Savannah Inc. (HSI) has announced it has been awarded a grant for repairs and home modifications. HSI will receive $1,999,111 in Older Adults Home Modification Program grant funding to complete safety and functional home modifications and limited repairs in the primary residences of two hundred eligible homeowners and renters over age 62 with low income. The work aims to improve general safety, increase accessibility, reduce falls, and improve residents’ functional abilities in the home for their safe and successful aging in place. 

Spread some love to seniors this Valentines Day WKBN Youngstown, OH; by Dave Sess; 1/21/25 As you’re making Valentine’s Day plans, consider spreading some love to local seniors. You can make special cards or buy a thoughtful card and share the love. Home Instead is organizing the collection again this year. It has three schools already committed to making cards as it hopes to double last year’s total of 1,000. Each of the Valentine’s Day cards will carry a heartfelt message to seniors in nursing homes and assisted living communities that they’re loved, appreciated and remembered. ... The seniors will also receive flowers from Harmony Hospice. “These seniors appreciate anything from a simple smile to a card or a flower and just a simple hello,” said Sara Stevens with Harmony Hospice.Editor's note: Calling community outreach professionals--what a simple, meaningful way to engage your community for meaningful, intergenerational engagement and support. Now's the time! What can you do?

If you’ve overcome these 9 challenges in life, you’re more resilient than you think Personal Branding Blog; by Lucas Graham; 1/21/25 Resilience isn’t always about being unshakable or invincible. Sometimes, it’s just about surviving the chaos, picking yourself up after the mess, and somehow finding the courage to keep going. In the moment, it’s hard to see how strong you really are—you’re just trying to make it through. But when you pause and look back, you realize the grit it took to get here. ... [If] you’ve been through these nine challenges and made it out, you’re way more resilient than you give yourself credit for.

For 27 years, I had minimal contact with my abusive mother. Then she moved in with me. HuffPost; by Carole Brodsky; 1/20/25 ... Living with my mom was the last thing I ever thought I’d be doing as an adult. Perhaps I accepted her back into my life because there were no other options available. Perhaps it was because I was the daughter of someone who in today’s vernacular would be called a “tiger mom,” and I’d been taught caring for an aging parent was what “good daughters” did.  ... As a child, my mother was abusive.  ... [Now, as] Mom’s verbal skills declined, we had to use our eyes, guts and hearts to discern the needs of a person whose tether to this world was fraying before our eyes. ... My partner has a saying: I always forgive, but I never forget. I have unequivocally forgiven my mother for everything. I have tried, with varying degrees of success, to let the vestiges of her abuse die with her and not invade the lives of my children, grandchildren and now, great-grandchildren. The work on forgiving myself will continue for the rest of my life.

Home … where we all want to be The Journal; Dr. Sarah Phillips, Medical Director Hospice of the Panhandle; 1/12/25 Two days before Christmas, I arrived at the home of a patient who had been recently admitted to Hospice services. ... [Story of the patient being on a ventilator in a hospital.] This courageous and self-determined woman expressed the desire to be free from pain, suffering, and the complications and progression of her disease. Knowing that the ventilator was life-sustaining and essentially breathing for her, she made the decision to stop it. To ensure her comfort during discontinuation of the ventilator, the hospice team was present before, during, and after the procedure. Medications were used to ease shortness of breath, pain, and anxiety. ... “It’s a Wonderful Life” was playing on the TV, the Christmas tree was lit. I looked over and see the daughter wiping away her mother’s tears. Each reassured the other that everything will be OK and that they are at peace with this decision. As the medications took effect, the patient drifted off to sleep. The ventilator was stopped. Next, something happens that I will never forget. The daughter leans in and whispers to the patient, “Mom, the ventilator is off now, you are back in total control. This was profound to me on many levels. It certainly spoke to the power and importance of autonomy, the ability to make independent decisions that are aligned with one’s values and goals. ... Despite working in end-of-life care for over a decade, I still have these moments of being overwhelmed by the human spirit.

Bestselling author: I asked 26,000 people around the world their biggest regrets—these were the top 4 NBC News NECN Channel 4, Boston, MA; by Aston Jackson, CNBC; 1/11/25 Living life without regrets is impossible, says bestselling author Daniel Pink. "Everybody has regrets. It's one of the most common emotions that human beings have," said Pink, in a podcast episode that published last month. "And yet, we've been sold such a bill of goods about positivity and being positive all the time that when we feel regret, we think we're the only one." Pink combed through decades of research and surveyed more than 26,000 people from 130 countries about their biggest regrets for his 2022 book, "The Power of Regret," according to his website. Most of those people struggled with four core regrets:

Global healthspan-Lifespan gaps among 183 World Health Organization member statesJAMA Network Open; Armin Garmany, BS; Andre Terzic, MD, PhD; 12/24Gains in life expectancy across global populations are recognized as a societal achievement, ... but increased lifespan, ...  does not necessarily mean a longer healthy life. An estimate of healthspan is the health-adjusted life expectancy whereby years of life are weighted by health status. Notably, gains in life expectancy have not been matched by an equivalent rise in health-adjusted life expectancy. The resulting healthspan-lifespan gap reflects the extent of lifespan burdened by disease. Against the backdrop of the greatest noncommunicable disease burden, the US recorded the largest healthspan-lifespan gap ... , with a gap 24% larger than projected from the country’s life expectancy. Specifically, in the US the mean healthspan-lifespan gap increased from 10.9 to 12.4 years over the past 2 decades ... , resulting in a 29% higher gap than the global mean. Women exhibited a 2.6-year higher healthspan-lifespan gap than men, increasing from 12.2 to 13.7 years or 32% beyond the global mean for women.