Schedule

Pre-Conference Sessions Check In

Pre-Conference Workshop: Lessons in Leadership Using the Art of Poker

 Ginger Marshall, MSN, ACNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN® and Holli Martinez, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN®

Shuffle the deck and elevate your leadership game! In this hands-on session, palliative care professionals will explore the art of leadership through the strategic lens of poker. Just as poker players assess risks, make critical decisions under pressure, and understand the importance of reading people, attendees will learn to enhance their leadership skills in complex clinical environments. Attendees will engage in interactive activities that draw parallels between poker strategies and leadership tactics, such as calculating risks, managing team dynamics, and maintaining a “poker face” in challenging situations.

By the end of the workshop, attendees will be equipped with innovative tools and insights to lead with confidence and decisiveness in the high-stakes world of palliative care. This workshop concludes with some non-cash poker play. Come ready to learn and use new skills at the poker table.

This pre-conference workshop may be added to your registration for $159 during checkout.

Morning Sessions

These sessions do not offer contact hours.

Registration Open

Break & Exhibits

Nessa Coyle Lectureship & Opening Keynote Session – The Leadership Imperative: Preparing Nurses to Shape the Future of Hospice and Palliative Care

Keynote Speaker: Michelle Webb, DNP, RN, CHPCA®, FPCN®

The future of hospice and palliative care depends on strong nursing leadership that can navigate complexity, influence policy, and drive innovation. This lecture highlights the leadership imperative facing nurses today: to step into roles that shape care delivery, advocate for equity, and lead interdisciplinary teams toward excellence.

Attendees will examine trends impacting palliative care, the competencies required for leadership success, and strategies to prepare nurses for positions of influence. This session offers inspiration and practical guidance for nurses committed to leading change in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

HPNA Awards Program

Join us as we proudly recognize the 2026 HPNA Award recipients, honoring individuals whose dedication, leadership, and innovation continue to advance excellence in hospice and palliative nursing. This ceremony will celebrate nurses and supporters from across the country whose work has made a lasting impact on patients, families, and the profession.

During this ceremony, we will honor recipients of the HPNA Champion Award, Distinguished Nursing Practice Award, Distinguished Nursing Researcher Award, New Investigator Award, Vanguard Award, and Volunteerism Award. Together, these awards highlight outstanding contributions in clinical practice, research, leadership, advocacy, and service.

Celebrate with us as we acknowledge these inspiring individuals and friends of HPNA, HPCC, and HPNF.

Rapid Poster Pitch at the Podium

This session features bold, practice-changing work across hospice and palliative nursing—delivered through engaging 60-second pitches. From burnout reduction and workforce resiliency to communication excellence, education innovation, and care delivery in complex, underserved settings, presenters will spotlight real-world solutions impacting serious illness and end-of-life care.

This fast-paced session serves as a teaser to spark connection with presenters from across the country during dedicated poster viewing, inviting attendees to engage in deeper conversation, exchange ideas, and vote for their favorite poster shaping the future of palliative nursing practice, education, and policy.

Lunch on your own
Posters & Exhibits

Concurrent Sessions

Following the Symptom Management Cues in CAHPS and HOPE
Facilitator: Caren McHenry Martin, PharmD, BCGP
Track: Pain Management, Symptom Management

The CAHPS Hospice Survey and the new Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool can provide cues to hospices about opportunities for improving ways to manage patient symptoms at end of life. This session will discuss optimal symptom management of the common end-of-life symptoms included in these tools, how to communicate these strategies with patients/caregivers, and when to plan for meaningful follow-up.

Compassion Meets Innovation: AI and Simulation in Palliative Care Nursing Education
Facilitator: Meera P. Suthar, DNP, FNP-C, ACHPN®, CNN-NP, FNKF
Track: Education, Innovation

AI and simulation can strengthen palliative care education in nursing by providing realistic, safe, and ethical learning environments when clinical experiences are limited. It emphasizes that these technologies help students practice clinical decision-making, communication, and empathy, while also addressing challenges like cost, accessibility, and faculty preparedness. Overall, this session will frame AI and simulation as innovative, evidence-based strategies to better prepare future nurses and nurse practitioners for delivering compassionate, patient-centered palliative care.

Code Comfort: Prioritizing Palliative Care for Better Outcomes in the ICU
Facilitator: Janine Galeski, DNP, MA, APRN, FNP-BC, ACHPN®
Track: Leadership, Quality/Performance Improvement

This session will offer a structured framework to enhance palliative care integration in the ICU. Despite its proven benefits, application remains inconsistent, leading to missed opportunities for goal-concordant care. This nurse practitioner-led initiative employs a three-pronged approach: patient/family education, ICU team training, and a referral scoring tool. Grounded in evidence-based models like CAPC IPAL-ICU and LifeChoices, it facilitates timely, criteria-based consults. Institutional data confirms its feasibility and impact. The session will underscore the leadership role of APRNs in driving interdisciplinary collaboration, improving care quality, and equipping clinicians with practical tools for implementation.

How to Include Family in Your Patient Experience
Facilitators: Cara Abbott, MS; Michelle Hyde RN, MSN
Track: Innovation, Quality/Performance Improvement

Family caregivers are core members of the hospice team, yet gaps in communication, anticipatory guidance, and grief support persist. This session will translate evidence-informed communication into nurse-friendly workflows using SMS plus phone outreach from admission through 13-month bereavement. The facilitators will map high-impact touch points to CAHPS domains, share brief scripts and escalation thresholds, and demonstrate documentation steps that fit real clinical workflows. Attendees will leave with a practical playbook to triage family caregiver needs, decrease avoidable inbound calls, and strengthen person- and family-centered care—without adding workload.

Break & Exhibits

Concurrent Sessions

Gabapentin: Possible Deterrent for End-of-Life Agitation?
Facilitator: Sylvia Jones, MSN, PhD Candidate, RN
Track: Innovation, Symptom Management

Terminal agitation, a distressing syndrome affecting up to 88% of dying patients, has been linked to poor sleep quality. This study analyzed EMRs of 370 hospice patients to examine the relationship between gabapentin use and end-of-life agitation. Of the patients studied, 35.4% experienced agitation, but only 4.6% of those on gabapentin displayed agitated behaviors. This session will discuss logistic regression which showed gabapentin use was significantly associated with reduced agitation, with no other factors contributing. Findings suggest gabapentin may reduce terminal agitation by improving sleep, highlighting the need for further research on sleep-focused interventions in end-of-life care.

Respiro: A Global Learning Experience for US and Mexican Palliative Care Development
Facilitators: Sharon Bigger, PhD, MA, RN, CHPN®, CNE; Barbarita Lee, RN, MSPC, CHPN®
Track: Access and Outreach, Education

Respiro was a global learning experience. In this session, attendees will hear how a United States hospice nurse researcher collaborated with the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC)-Mexico team by traveling to Mexico as a consultant, then inviting the Mexican team to the U.S. to learn about complementary therapies, varieties of models for serious illness and end-of-life care, and local Latino issues in family caregiving.

Measure What Matters: Navigating the Benchmarking Gap in Palliative Care
Facilitators: Danielle DiGennaro MSN, ARNP-BC, ACHPN®; Anna Eisenzimmmer
Track: Leadership, Quality/Performance Improvement

Benchmarking is essential for evaluating and improving palliative care programs, yet the lack of national benchmarks presents challenges—particularly when compared to hospice programs that have established metrics. Internal benchmarking offers meaningful, context-specific insights, while external comparisons require careful interpretation due to variability across programs. This session will explore how to select appropriate palliative care metrics and use them to drive quality improvement and advocate effectively to executive leadership. Special attention will be given to the risks of applying hospice benchmarks to palliative care and how internally driven data can be a powerful tool for program development and strategic investment.

Trauma-Informed and Equitable Approaches to Medical Treatment Goals Discussions
Facilitator: Jamie Lee Rouse, DNP, AGNP-C, ACHPN®
Track: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging

Equitable hospice and palliative care requires clinicians to connect across cultural and socioeconomic differences while recognizing how trauma and systemic inequities shape care experiences. Trauma-informed care principles—safety, trust, empowerment, collaboration, and cultural context—offer a foundation for compassionate engagement. When paired with core palliative care practices such as active listening, empathy, and eliciting goals of care, this approach fosters trust, reduces repeat traumatization, and honors patient autonomy. Integrating cultural humility and equity into communication and care planning strengthens dignity, ensures alignment with individual values, and advances justice in serious illness and end-of-life care.

Closing Keynote Session: Finding Your Folks: The Importance of Building Social Networks as Palliative Care Clinicians

Keynote Speakers: Shena Gazaway, PhD, MSN, RN, CHPN®, FPCN®, Brandon M. Varilek, PhD, RN, CCTC, CNE®, CHPN®, FPCN®, and Rachel Wells, PhD, MSN, RN, CNL, CHPN®, FPCN®

This session highlights the emotional demands of palliative and hospice care, especially for solo clinicians, researchers, and small teams, and the resulting risks of burnout, isolation, and moral injury. It introduces “Finding Your Folks,” a session focused on building intentional peer support networks that foster resilience, psychological safety, and interdisciplinary connection. Drawing on research and clinical experience, it offers practical strategies to cultivate meaningful relationships that normalize vulnerability and restore purpose. Ultimately, the session reframes connection not as optional self-care, but as a collective necessity to sustain compassionate care and uphold the humanity at the heart of this vital work.

Networking Event

Morning Sessions

These sessions do not offer contact hours.

Exhibits

Keynote Session – Comfort in a Box: Practical Guidance on Hospice Medications for Clinicians, Families, and Caregivers

Keynote Speakers: Alexandra L. McPherson PharmD, MPH and Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, PhD, FAAHPM

Break & Exhibits

HPNA Membership Meeting and Networking Activity

All attendees are invited to attend the HPNA Membership Meeting as an opportunity to meet HPNA’s Board of Directors, hear updates on key initiatives and organizational priorities, and learn how HPNA continues to advance expert care through education, advocacy, and community.

This session will also provide insight into HPNA’s strategic direction and future plans, offering members and attendees a transparent look at what’s ahead and how member engagement will help guide the organization forward.

Exhibits

Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) Certification Luncheon

All attendees are welcome to attend the HPCC Certification Luncheon! During this ceremony, we will celebrate and honor the recipients of the 2026 HPCC Certificant of the Year Awards. Celebrate with us as we acknowledge these individuals for their contributions to advancing expert care.

Registration is not required. All attendees are welcome and will receive a complimentary boxed lunch on a first-come, first-served basis.

Concurrent Sessions

Beyond the Heart: Innovative Approaches to End-of-Life Symptom Management in Advanced Heart Failure
Facilitator: Nicole Harpold, DNP, RN, AGPCNP-BC
Track: Education, Symptom Management

This session will explore innovative approaches to managing end-of-life symptoms in patients with advanced heart failure. The session will briefly review the pathophysiology of heart failure and heart failure classifications. It will also review current evidence-based pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions, highlight the role of palliative care in improving quality of life, and address barriers to hospice access. Special attention will be given to advanced therapies such as inotropic support and mechanical circulatory support, such as left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) with practical guidance for symptom management and care transitions.

Enhancing Organizational Engagement through First Friday Education and Professional Development
Facilitator: Donna M. Fahey, MSN, MFA, RN, CHPN®, AHN-BC, CNL
Track: Education

This session will discuss “First Friday,” a monthly interdisciplinary education initiative at Samaritan designed to foster team cohesion, professional growth, and staff well-being. Programs include Clinical Coffee Hour, Lunch & Learn, Leadership Forum, Afternoon Matinee, and Dive into Diversity, each tailored to diverse roles and interests. Evaluation data show improvements in team dynamics, job satisfaction, and organizational belonging. Staff report increased collaboration, clinical confidence, and emotional resonance. The initiative aligns with national models of interprofessional education and demonstrates how consistent, inclusive programming can strengthen workplace culture. Future expansion will focus on non-clinical content and flexible formats to increase accessibility and engagement.

Twilight Grief: Exploring the Continuum of Disenfranchised Pre-Death Loss
Facilitator: Elizabeth Schandelmeier, LCSW, APHSW-C®, FT; Amelia Seraphia Derr, PhD, MSW
Track: Grief and Bereavement, Interdisciplinary Team

What grief arises when terminal illness becomes a chronic, uncertain journey? This session introduces Twilight Grief, a form of lived loss experienced by patients and caregivers navigating long-term, life-limiting illness. Drawing on hospice practice, lived experience, and grief theory, we explore how Twilight Grief differs from better-known types like anticipatory or disenfranchised grief. We examine the emotional toll of prolonged proximity to death and highlight the need for new language, research, and clinical frameworks. Attendees will leave with deeper insight into the realities of Twilight Grief and new tools to support those living through it.

Break

Concurrent Sessions

The Anticoagulant Conundrum: Facts, Fallacy, and Finding the Right Words
Facilitator: Caren McHenry Martin, PharmD, BCGP
Track: Regulatory/Compliance, Disease Management

Decisions about continuing or deprescribing anticoagulant medications are challenging due to the inherent complexity of the potential outcomes. This session will focus on improving the hospice team’s understanding of the current research and assessment tools available for anticoagulant use at end of life and strategies for shared decision making with patients and caregivers.

ADAPT: A Novel Digital Adaptive Self-Care Approach to Integrated Palliative and Bereavement Care
Facilitator: Nancy Dias, PhD, MSN, RN, FPCN®
Track: Grief and Bereavement, Pediatric Palliative and End of Life Care

Annually, approximately 2.5 million people die, and each death has at least five bereaved individuals. Bereaved individuals need preventative, affordable, and accessible bereavement care. Bereaved individuals are an “at-risk” population for multiple morbidities with familial and societal implications and need a public mental health care approach with interventions adaptable to individual experiences. In this session, attendees will hear about a developed and tested interactive digital bereavement care intervention for bereaved caregivers and their families. This session will review a mixed-methods design, using a survey to assess ADAPT’s feasibility and acceptability, and interviews to corroborate data on acceptability. This preventative self-care approach can address constraints to current bereavement care.

Clinical Lectureship – Painting the Picture – Advocating for Patients Through Documentation
Facilitator: Rikki Hooper, MBA, MLAS, MSN, FNP, ACHPN®, NE BC, FPCN®

All hospices are facing increased audit activity, everyone is having to navigate necessary documentation. This session will address how to demonstrate eligibility and advocate for your patient’s care through your documentation while meeting regulatory requirements. Using an interactive,  case study approach, attendees will gain some impactful documentation guidelines.

Break the Silence: Using Your Voice to Transform Care, Build Trust, and Advance Equity in Serious Illness
Facilitator: Tammy Stokes, RN, MSN, CHPN®

In this powerful and deeply personal session, facilitator Tammy Stokes will share the story that changed everything—her own unexpected heart crisis at age 36, the fear and uncertainty her family lived through, and the moment she discovered how a single conversation can alter the course of someone’s life. This experience ultimately led her into palliative care, where she has spent more than a decade helping patients, families, and clinicians find their voice in moments that matter most.

Drawing from her book, Break the Silence: Health Conversations You Can’t Ignore, Tammy explores why communication failures are often the root of inequity in health care—and how simple, structured, human-centered conversations can bridge the trust gap, especially for those who have felt unseen, unheard, or overwhelmed by the medical system.

Through storytelling, real-world examples, and practical communication tools, attendees will learn how to build trust, create safety in difficult conversations, and elevate equity in serious illness care.

Break

Closing Session: A Purposeful Career: Leadership, Growth, and Authentic Connections

Keynote Speaker: Ginger Marshall, MSN, ACNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN®

This session will explore the essential principles for creating a fulfilling and impactful career. Ginger will discuss how to bridge organizational hierarchies, embrace curiosity, and master patience and timing in your professional journey. Learn why volunteerism and non-profit engagement pay long-term dividends, and how working with people you genuinely like fosters success. This session will also cover the importance of trusting your instincts, investing in yourself, and setting healthy boundaries—because doing the right thing and protecting your well-being are key to sustainable growth.

Closing Remarks