Literature Review

NPHI proud to announce its partnership on the upcoming documentary for PBS, Caregiving, from Executive Producer Bradley Cooper National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; 5/19/25 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is proud to announce its partnership on the upcoming PBS documentary Caregiving, a powerful new film executive produced by Academy Award-nominated actor, director, and producer Bradley Cooper. Created in collaboration with Cooper’s production company, Lea Pictures, as well as WETA Washington, D.C., and Ark Media, Caregiving will shine a national spotlight on the often unseen yet essential work of caregivers across the country. NPHI is honored to serve as a national partner on this important project. Narrated by Uzo Aduba (The Residence, Orange Is the New Black) and directed by Chris Durrance, Caregiving intertwines deeply personal stories of caregivers with the untold history of the American care system. The documentary examines how caregivers—often family members, friends, and frontline professionals—navigate the immense challenges and unseen achievements of their roles.

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.

Letter: Honoring hands that hold us in life’s final chapter Delaware Gazette, Delaware, OH; Letter by Jennifer Porter, Volunteer Coordinator, OhioHealth Hospice with Compassus; 6/11/25 As we recognize Certified Nursing Assistants Week, June 12–18, I want to speak directly to the hospice aides — those whose hands so often become the bridge between suffering and peace. In hospice, our work is sacred. It asks for clinical skill, yes — but also deep compassion, patience and emotional resilience. Hospice aides are at the center of this calling. They are the ones who bathe patients too weak to speak, who brush their hair, adjust their pillows and whisper comfort into quiet rooms. They walk into spaces heavy with emotion and bring calm ... Their care isn’t measured only in tasks, but in dignity restored, fears soothed and final moments honored. ... Whether they are called hospice aides, certified nursing assistants, nurse aides or simply “the ones who helped my loved one feel like themselves again,” they are the heart of this work. They deserve our respect, our thanks and our unwavering support. Take a moment to thank a hospice aide in your life. 

HHS faces $31B cuts in proposed FY ’26 budget: 6 notes Becker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley; 6/2/25 President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget slashes funding for the National Institutes of Health by $18 billion to $27.5 billion as part of a sweeping overhaul to realign federal healthcare spending.  The NIH received $46.4 billion in program level funding in 2024 and just over $46 billion in 2025, according to the budget proposal. [Continue reading for this article's lists of (1) consolidated institutes and centers; and (2) "six things to know."]

7 Brutal truths about leadership no one tells you at 29Forbes; by Nirmal Chhabria; 5/29/25At 29, I was handed my first leadership role. Six months later, I was drowning—my inbox was overflowing with problems, top performers were quitting and morale was plummeting. "What am I doing wrong?" I asked my mentor. "You're trying to be the hero instead of creating heroes," she replied. That conversation began my real leadership education—years of failures that revealed truths I wish I'd known from day one. Here are seven leadership insights that only experience taught me:

LeadingAge, Hospice Associations seek delay in HOPE implementation LeadingAge; Press Release; 5/28/25 LeadingAge, along with the National Alliance for Care at Home and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, on May 19 urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay implementation of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation, or HOPE tool. In the letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz the associations outline concerns with technology implementation in preparation for the HOPE tool. The letter specifically asks CMS to waive the HOPE timeliness submission requirement for two calendar quarters post implementation. The letter further requests that CMS delay the HOPE implementation date until at least six months after CMS education, training, and final validation specifications are available and the application for iQIES access has been opened for hospices. 

Remove barriers that restrict hospice care, Alliance offers in new report McKnights Home Care; by Adam Healy; 5/28/25 Hospice providers can boost quality and patient satisfaction with a focus on transparent, culturally sensitive communication with clients, according to a new report by the National Alliance for Care at Home. ... For the report, the Alliance surveyed 2,000 adults who either recently experienced the death of a loved one or have been involved in healthcare decisionmaking for a person with a serious illness. Respondents included individuals of a variety of ages, income levels, ethnicities and educational backgrounds. ... . For many seniors, one of the largest barriers to care is ineffective communication, the survey found. Language barriers are a significant hurdle for non-English speaking older adults, particularly those who are first generation immigrants, it noted. Many seniors are also less comfortable with technology-based communication than younger people, and prefer face-to-face conversation over text messages.

Jewish hospice volunteer goes beyond ‘Shabbat blessings’ with ‘Froth and Bubble’ Jewish News; by Shannon Levitt; 5/20/25 Jeff Lewis, 71, had about 100 boxes of books with him when he moved to the Valley from California more than a decade ago. Surprisingly, those books became his first link to Hospice of the Valley (HOV), an organization that would become very important to him through the years. ... Thus, when he decided to retire from his photography business but wanted to stay busy, his friend again nudged him toward HOV and its Shabbat Blessings volunteer program. ... As a Shabbat Blessings volunteer, Lewis, a member of Temple Solel in Paradise Valley, offers hospice patients a small Shabbat service, including lighting Shabbat candles, saying the Hamotzi and Kiddush blessings and offering small prayers. [Story of patient financially choosing between medicine and food.]  ... [Lewis} started buying $75 grocery gift cards to give away. [This developed into] The Froth and Bubble Foundation for Food Assistance. Editor's note: This inspirational Shabbat blessings story tells the rich background behind our 3rd top-read story from last week, Hospice volunteer donates 10,000 gift cards to cancer patients. Scroll to the end of this story for the meaning behind the name "Froth and Bubble." 

Awards and Recognitions: May 2025

TCN/HPC Today: Storm clouds on the horizon for reimbursement - Top news stories, May 2025 Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Cordt Kassner, 6/4/25 What happens when artificial intelligence meets end-of-life care?  How do we reconcile private equity's profit motives with hospice's mission-driven ethos?  These questions took center stage in this month's roundup of hospice news with host Chris Comeaux and guest Cordt Kassner. The May edition of TCNtalks' top news stories reveals a healthcare sector at a fascinating crossroads.  AI has emerged as both a tantalizing promise and a practical challenge for hospice providers.  ... In this episode of TCN Talks, hosts Chris Comeaux and Cord Kassner reflect on Memorial Day and discuss significant news stories from May, including the complexities of thanking veterans for their service, the role of artificial intelligence in hospice care, and the importance of honest conversations about racism in healthcare.Editor's note: This monthly podcast combines quantitative data and qualitative discussion from articles gleaned from the 400+ posts we provide each month. Do you seek to make sense of it all? Tune in and learn. We welcome your feedback via our newsletter's Contact page. 

[UK] Students face the realities of hospice care in powerful visitDevonLive; by Lewis Clarke; 5/27/25 A visit to Exeter Hospice gave South Devon UTC students a moving insight into care careers—and the deep compassion behind them. Students from South Devon UTC in Newton Abbot have been given a rare glimpse into the realities of end-of-life care during a visit to Exeter Hospice, in what educators described as an eye-opening and inspiring experience. The visit formed part of the students’ health and social care curriculum and broader enrichment programme. Involving pupils from Years 10 to 13, the day provided an in-depth look at the range of careers within the hospice setting—from nursing and palliative care to occupational therapy, physiotherapy, counselling, and volunteer coordination.

Proposed California budget calls for prior authorization for hospice in Medicaid Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/22/25 The proposed California budget would require prior authorizations for hospice care within the state’s Medicaid program. Currently, Medicaid managed care plans who provide coverage through the state’s Medicaid system, Medi-Cal, may not perform prior authorizations for hospice. California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) indicated in a 2025-2026 budget revision that this could save $25 million over the next two years and more than $50 million in the long term. If enacted, this would make California the first state in the nation to implement such a rule, according to the California Hospice & Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA). The association contends that the anticipated $25 million in cost savings is “speculative and fails to account for the downstream costs and systemic burdens this proposal would create,” according to a position paper shared with Hospice News. ... CHAPCA recommended to the state government three alternative approaches: ...