A clinician gently holds a patient's hand, representing hospice's focus on dignity and comfort at the end of life. When we hear the word “hospice,” some may intuitively visualize death, grieving, finality, and the act of providing comfort in anticipation of loss. By definition, hospice serves as a specific type of palliative care provided to individuals with terminal illnesses, focusing on dignity and quality of life. To fully understand how hospice has continued to evolve to

In February 2019, Oswego Community Hospital, a 12-bed Critical Access Hospital in southeast Kansas, pictured above, abruptly closed. The organization cited financial instability arising from low reimbursement rates and high volumes of uninsured patients as factors contributing to its closure. This closure exposed how fragile rural health infrastructure has become. When a rural hospital closes , headlines tend to focus on abandoned emergency rooms and extended ambulance routes

A healthcare professional fills out medical forms. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed  into law, reshapes numerous pieces of legislation, particularly those related to healthcare, education, and the allocation of public funding. While the media has covered the changes to Medicare and Medicaid eligibility as well as the restructuring of loan payments, the implications on college students caught between the intersections of these policy changes are often not di

Protesters demanding protection of Medicaid funding. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduced sweeping changes to Medicaid,...