"Yes Sharon, but the article said that Oscar doesn't seem to be a naturally affectionate cat with the patients, ignoring them most of the time - until they are about to die. It sounds like he doesn't curl up on beds as a matter of course - only on the beds of dying patients."

Well, yeah, that was my theory: that the cat isn't necessarily being affectionate by curling up on the dying patient's bed, just finding a warm bed to sleep on where he's not going to be disturbed by people trying to be affectionate with him, grabbing him, petting him roughly, etc.
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"I've noticed cats often head for the non-cat-people too, but I doubt whether it is because they are 'the calmest spot in an agitating environment'. "

That one isn't my theory; I've read that in several books and magazine articles about cats.
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"...our animals often seem a lot more affectionate when we are sick or distressed in some way."

Often, perhaps, but not always -- I've had a bad cold these last couple of weeks, and every time I cough when my cat is in the room, she runs out of the room! LOL
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"I think cats, like many animals, have a more highly developed sensitivity to all kinds of subtle cues..."

Undoubtedly they do. I'm just not ready to assume that that's what is happening with Oscar. The fact that he lives in the "final stages" ward makes the phenomenon look a lot like happenstance to me. Sorry to be so cynical, but what smells to me is this story -- I'm catching a whiff of a news staff so desperate to find a local human interest story and a nursing-home staff so desperate to get their 15 minutes of fame that they've all blown one cat's sleeping habits WAYYYYYYY out of proportion!