Literature Review

Vet to Vet Cafe brings veterans together Tribune Chronicle, Warren, ; by Bob Coupland; 7/26/25 Veterans looking for a casual place to gather for fellowship, conversation, snacks and education can visit the newly formed Vet to Vet Cafe at the Warren SCOPE Senior Center. The new program, which started this summer, runs from 2 to 4 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the senior center, ... John Bower, chaplain for Grace Hospice, said there are educational programs focused on veterans, including assistance with therapy access, acquiring necessary items such as hearing aids and utilizing services offered by the Veterans Association.  “We started in June as an opportunity to get veterans together for conversation or educational programs,” Bower said. ... Autumn Lopez, administrator for Grace Hospice, expressed enthusiasm for organizing the Vet to Vet Cafe with participating veterans. “The goal is to connect veterans with the services and programs that are out there to help them,” she said.

Be on the lookout for this new Medicare scam Las Vegas Review-Journal; by Toni King; 7/24/25 Dear Toni: A hospice agent recently came knocking on the doors in my neighborhood saying he represented Medicare. He was giving away hospice gifts and told me that I could receive these Medicare services at no charge for me and my husband. I told him that I did not give out personal information to anyone that I do not know. Now, I’m concerned that I could have made a mistake. Should I call and ask if this Medicare service is still available? —Deidre, Katy, Texas Dear Deidre: Medicare is not giving away anything free! This is a new scam that is targeting America’s Medicare population.  ...Editor's Note: Though we’ve addressed this topic repeatedly in recent months, ongoing awareness and community education remain essential. Please continue seeking opportunities to collaborate with media outlets in your service areas to help inform and protect vulnerable populations. Use the following articles—previously featured in our newsletter—as reference points:

Online reputation management crucial for hospices, home-based care providers Hospice News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 7/18/25 Hospice and home-based care providers cannot put online reputation management on the back burner. That’s a key takeaway from a recent report from Transcend Strategy Group. While all businesses should be concerned about maintaining a good online reputation, this is especially important for home-based hospice care providers due to their unique care delivery setting, according to Tony Kudner, chief strategy officer at Transcend. A hospice provider’s digital presence can give patients and their families greater insight when it comes to the quality and depth of their services, Kudner said. “When you are dealing with the intimacy of someone coming into your home, the personalization and how you feel about the agency that you open the door for matters more,” Kudner told Hospice News.

‘Little Golf’ and Grill brings community together for hospice The Monroe Times, Monroe, WI; 7/11/25 The Monroe Clinic & Hospital Foundation’s annual “Little Golf” and Grill event, held on June 17, once again brought together community members for an evening filled with laughter, camaraderie, and purpose. The event began with an afternoon of mini golf at Swissland Miniature Golf in New Glarus. Hospice volunteers and staff provided games and fun facts about hospice throughout the course until the Alp Horns signaled the transition to a festive dinner and program under the tent at Chalet Landhaus Inn. During the program, the Colden Family shared their hospice story and gratitude for their loved one’s care so that “they could be family, not caretakers”. Thanks to the generous support of local businesses, donors, and attendees, the event raised $78,853 in support of local hospice care. This brings the total raised over the event’s 33-year history to more than $1,084,000.

[India] Enhancing palliative care through university-community partnerships: A systematic review of models, impacts, and challengesBMC Palliative Care; Alaka Chandak, Priyadarshini Bhalchandra Kulkarni; 6/25This systematic review highlights the deep potential of university–community partnerships (UCPs) to act as agents of change in palliative care education and service provision. Such collaborations complementarily improve the quality of life of the elderly while availing healthcare students with essential experiential learning opportunities. Exceptional models, such as the CARE program, illustrate the double benefit of improved community welfare and the creation of effective empathetic professionals with the capability to cater to the complex demands of caring.

Avera Medical Minute: Family shares their experience with hospice care Dakota News Now, Sioux Falls, SD; by Dakota News Now staff; 6/30/25 Hospice care is more than just medical support. At the Dougherty Hospice House, it can be considered a home away from home, where staff aim to offer patients and their families the assistance and comfort they need during this difficult time. In this Avera Medical Minute, one Sioux Falls family shares how, thanks to the hospice team, they were able to focus on spending time with their loved one. Craig Lloyd was known as a development leader in the Sioux Falls community, building homes and more throughout the city. “He had a big heart, so he just kept trying to improve things, his thought was always ‘God put me on this Earth to make it better,’” said Craig’s wife, Pat Lloyd. ... Craig was also in Florida at the time when he needed hospice care and Pat credits the work of Avera and the hospice team in making a smooth transition for Craig from there to home in Sioux Falls and then to Dougherty Hospice House.

Students organize death café to discuss the inevitable Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT; by Brad Thomas; 6/27/25 The annual event gathered more than 50 students and faculty from assorted disciplines for meaningful conversations about death and dying. ... [Student Jillian O'Brien '25] helped organize the second annual Death Café during her final semester at Fairfield. She and her classmates in “End-of-Life Communication,” an interdisciplinary course taught by Michael Pagano, PhD, wished to build on the success of last year’s event by continuing to create a space for meaningful conversation about death and dying. At the event, they led thoughtful table discussions about how their perspectives and ways of communicating about death have evolved.

Adoray makes annual conduit contribution Star-Observer, St. Croix County, WI; 6/17/25Family Friendly Workplaces (FFW) is pleased to announce that Adoray Home Health & Hospice, a Gold-Level certified Family Friendly Workplace, recently made an annual conduit contribution to the Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley. This meaningful contribution reflects Adoray’s ongoing commitment to supporting families and strengthening the local community. “At the heart of Adoray are caregivers, whether they are mothers, family caregivers, or professional caregivers. We understand the profound importance of walking alongside our community through every step of their caregiving journey,” said Christa Walz, Executive Director of Adoray Home Health & Hospice.

Celebrating Father’s Day when Dad is on hospice Roze Room Hospice, Culver City, CA; retrieved from www.rozeroom.org on 6/12/25Father’s Day is often synonymous with backyard cookouts, gifts, cards and large family gatherings. Honoring your father or a father figure means celebrating the role this important person has played in your life. It can be a sentimental day where we slow down and consider the gift this person has been in our lives. But if your father is in hospice care, Father’s Day can take on even more significance. You may believe the day will be filled with sadness and unease. But truly capturing this day will be a gift to your dad and all those who love him. Here are five ways to celebrate Father’s Day when your dad is on hospice.

Surviving grief: A guide for older Coloradans, or anyone, experiencing loss CPR News; by Nell London; 6/8/25 ... “Grief really is a universal experience,” said Jenn Flaum, executive director of the HeartLight Center, a Colorado nonprofit that provides grief support and education. Grief afflicts people at every age, but the longer you live, the more likely you will find yourself facing this powerful emotion. Indeed, many older people can feel under siege. ... Here are takeaways ... :

Death literacy is fostering positive conversations about the end Counterpunch; by Caren Martineau; 5/30/25 “[D]eath literacy is defined as the knowledge and skills that make it possible to understand and act upon the end-of-life and death care options,” according to a 2024 article in the journal Palliative Care and Social Practice, and its four foundational pillars: knowledge, skills, experiential learning, and social action. ... The U.S. Census named 2024 as the start of “Peak 65,” a period that will last through 2027. Around 4.1 million Americans are expected to turn 65 each year from 2024 to 2027 (approximately 11,000 a day). By 2030, all baby boomers will be 65 or older. Implications of “Peak 65” include:

Experts warn of scams during Medicare Fraud Prevention Week Public News Service; by Suzanne Potter; 6/4/25 Medicare loses $60 billion to $80 billion a year to fraud and this year, for Medicare Fraud Prevention Week, your local Senior Medicare Patrol has good advice on how to spot a con. There are plenty of scams to be aware of. Karen Joy Fletcher, communications director with the nonprofit California Health Advocates, said beware if a caller asks to verify your Medicare number, claiming the program needs to send out a new type of card. ... ... Caregivers can be on the lookout for medical equipment arriving at the house even though the beneficiary never ordered it. Another red flag? A stranger may approach you in a parking lot asking you to sign up for new, free Medicare services like house cleaning or meals, which are then fraudulently billed to the government. ... Another scam involves tricking people into unknowingly signing up for hospice care. It is especially dangerous, because once a person is on hospice, Medicare will only approve palliative care and could mistakenly deny an essential surgery or medication.

Experts discuss what hospice and palliative care are and how they can help ideastream public media; by Leigh Barr; 5/21/25Contemplating a life-limiting or life-changing illness or even death can be difficult topics for Americans.  Last year, USA Today conducted a survey which found about 30% of Americans surveyed found it difficult to talk about or even contemplate their own mortality. When it comes to managing serious illness or the final phase of life, surveys show that a majority of Americans say they have at least heard of hospice or palliative care but most admit they may not know a lot about either topic. We're going to talk about both to begin Wednesdays “Sound of Ideas” and try to dispel some of the myths that may surround hospice and palliative care.