A Family Death During the Holidays Prompts Questions and Reflection

It wasn’t the Thanksgiving holiday any of us had expected. Two weeks before, my 94-year-old father-in-law, Melvin Zax, suffered a stroke after receiving dialysis and was rushed to a hospital near his residence in western New York. There, he underwent a series of tests over the course of several days. With each test, Mel became … Read more

Shift in Child Hospice Care Is a Lifeline for Parents Seeking a Measure of Comfort and Hope

POMONA, Calif. — When you first meet 17-month-old Aaron Martinez, it’s not obvious that something is catastrophically wrong. What you see is a beautiful little boy with smooth, lustrous skin, an abundance of glossy brown hair, and a disarming smile. What you hear are coos and cries that don’t immediately signal anything is horribly awry. … Read more

Hospices Have Become Big Business for Private Equity Firms, Raising Concerns About End-of-Life Care

Hospice care, once provided primarily by nonprofit agencies, has seen a remarkable shift over the past decade, with more than two-thirds of hospices nationwide now operating as for-profit entities. The ability to turn a quick profit in caring for people in their last days of life is attracting a new breed of hospice owners: private … Read more

New Laws Let Visitors See Loved Ones in Health Care Facilities, Even in an Outbreak

Jean White’s mother has dementia and moved into a memory care facility near Tampa, Florida, just as coronavirus lockdowns began in spring 2020. For months, the family wasn’t allowed to go inside to visit. They tried video chats and visits from outside her bedroom window, but White said that just upset her mom, who is … Read more